Help please!!!

[Taubert83]

Went to replace my universal joints tonight and come to find out the rear joint is different than the front. Apparently the po swapped in a 12 bolt rearend. Does anyone possibly know what the part number for this u joint might be? Also had a hell of a time even dropping the driveshaft, no forward movement into the transmission at all, fought with this for an hour trying to get in back in only to realize the u joint was wrong.

[Taubert83]

Also what year rearends will fit in my 83? would a 88-98 ten bolt work? Thanks again

[74 stepside]

Any 10 or 12 bolt rear will fit from 73-87. 88-98s are wider and spring perches are not in same spot as 73-87s. It shouldnt be too hard to find the correct u-joints.

[mrhino]

take your old joint with you to a competent auto parts store. I said competent! you know, one with books and people who can read them. what you looking for is known as a conversion joint. they have conversion joint listing in the back of U joint books that should be able to get you the right one.

[Taubert83]

Thanks guys. The only other problem i face now is putting the driveshaft back in, i need to see if the flip brackets are in the right position because the driveshaft doesnt have any movement to get it out or in, i had to pry and pull to even get it out. The holes in the flip brackets should be toward the front correct?

[74 stepside]

Yes the flip brackets push the rear back so the holes should be facing the front. You should be able to slide the yoke into the trans and then pull it back slightly to attach the rear joints on the diff.

[Taubert83]

Got the right u joint and got it installed, still had to loosin the rear end and pry it back to get the drive shaft in, very little if any slip in the yoke. Ran into other problems, will post pics later, might as well start my DD build thread.... Thanks again for everyones help.