how to tell if my u joints are bad?

[jasonroman]

i have an issue with truck up around 40 mph. range.
some times truck has a wobble to it around them speeds. drives me nuts.
had it looked at, was told balance and align...had a shop do that same thing 3-4 times, and the truck is in the same place and still pulls right.
rather not get into the whole story.
point is, truck has shakes...
u joints?

[77chris03]

inner/outer tie rods? if you had it aligned 3/4 times....they shouldve told you what was wrong...better yet stand there and watch them do it...if you cant watch them do it or some of it, i wouldnt take my truck there...the dealership down here will let me be there even when they are changing the oil...if a shop isnt confident in their work despite insurance and osha regulations....then id take it somewhere else...

[jasonroman]

trucks not going back there...
just had complete front end replaced with moog parts...
truck had this issue, stock height, stock wheels with big tires, old front end.
had front end parts replaced and 5/7 kit installed.
still shakn

[old Rusty C10]

does it pull only when brakeing or all the time? are all the tires same size and the air pressure is good in all? do you hear any noises out of the tires .. sometimes a bent belt or a bubble will do the same thing..
also do you have the one or two piece driveshaft?
Finally can someone sit outside the truck and watch it going to make sure there is no bent rim

im thinking it may be the driveshaft particularly if there is a carrier bearing although a tire could also be the culprit

[ont_guy_38]

Just replaced the ones in my Avalanche cuz it was shaking , totally cleared it up . Take the driveshaft off the rear end and you will soon find out if that's the problem

[jasonroman]

tires are 2 different sizes but the same tires and wheels blue truck had.
and that truck drove like a caddy,
but again, i had issue with stock parts and different tires

[jasonroman]

Originally Posted by ont_guy_38

Just replaced the ones in my Avalanche cuz it was shaking , totally cleared it up . Take the driveshaft off the rear end and you will soon find out if that's the problem

need more info on what you mean....thanks

[andrewmp6]

How to check your ball joints http://www.spike.com/full-episodes/v...eason-4-ep-104

[jasonroman]

Originally Posted by andrewmp6

How to check your ball joints http://www.spike.com/full-episodes/v...eason-4-ep-104

Thanks for link but ball joints,upper and lower,tie rods,pitman,idler, etc are all new parts
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[ont_guy_38]

I mean remove the driveshaft and move the ujoints around and you will soon tell if they are bad or not , sometimes they are so bad they fall apart and it's hard to tell when it is on the truck

[andrewmp6]

O u joints sorry i read the title of the post half a sleep.On u joints i was always told just grab the driveshaft and try to wiggle it left and right if it moves at all like that they are bad.But its a old truck who knows when they was replaced last i would just go a head and do it so i know they are new if it was my truck.

[jasonroman]

No prob.
I'll look into how hard the job is, and go from there.
Never did u joints or pulled driveshaft.
If driveshaft is the problem....rusty, where can I get replacement ?
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[donut]

u-joints aren't that difficult, more of a pain in the rear really. Someone did a nice write-up recently on how to change them.

Checking, crawl under with a flashlight, look at them. If any are showing signs of "rust dust" around the u-joint cap, its bad. I don't mean surface rust that they all get, but rust coming out of the cap because the needle bearings are dry and grinding up.
Then check for slop. I rotate the shaft back and forth and look for slop between the 2 pieces.

I've changed more bad ones because of "rust dust" than actually finding slop. 95% of the time the needle bearings were bad, but hadn't ground down enough to allow slop in the driveline yet.

If still in doubt, change them. iirc they're about 10-15 bucks a piece.

I see your also lowered, by chance any binding issues? I haven't dealt with lowered vehicles but you never know...

[jasonroman]

thanks for reply
dont think im binding...as i had the same set up on 85 longbed
no issues on that rig.
ill check and see what i see a little later.
anything else to replace while there?

[jasonroman]

talked to a buddy today, old mechanic.
he said my issue is prob not u joints, i have no signs of bad joints and if they were bad id have issue all the time. not sometimes....?