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Axle Ujoint replacement in a YJ Dana 30

55K views 75 replies 46 participants last post by  Sprungover 
#1 ·
Ok....

So, figured since I had to do it....I'd take pictures ;)

Scenario:

Driving home last night I hear a big "Ping!!!" under the jeep driving about 70mph. Felt a

little something..but not sure what, so I proceeded home at a slower 50mph pace.

Nothing drastic happened, so figured I'd check it out in the morning. So I start in

looking around and don't see much wrong visually...until I look at the passenger side

ujoint.....



So I begin the job of teardown and replacement. BTW...this is a stock Dana 30,

nothing fancy other than the crossover steering bracket, which has no bearing on this

R/R project. Needless to say....let's begin.

Jack up the jeep. Find a secure place to lift, paying close attention to the jeep/jack

as you raise it. I had a jackstand to place under the axle....but if your on the trail and

this should happen....always have someone man the jack to make sure it doesn't fly

out and the jeep fall and crush you. :doh: I chose the front bumper...because it's

welded to the frame ;)



Next up, remove the wheel lug nuts and the wheel to expose the axle/hub/brake

assembly. From there, you will need to remove the caliper. There are two caliper

retaining bolts on the back/inside of the caliper that need to be removed. I used a 1/2"

12pt socket to get them out. The pads may still have some force applied to them. If

so....a light tapping should get them moving. If not, loosen the brake bleeding valve

and push on the caliper cylinder just enough to get the caliper off the rotor. Retighten

the bleeding screw. Once the caliper is out, set it aside. I set it on the leaf spring...as

not to pull on the brake line.



And removed:
 
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#2 ·
Next up, you need to now remove the hub retaining bolts. This is where many ppl get frustrated. And rightfully so. A hub has usually been on for anywhere from 12-19 years! Ujoints, for the majority, only get changed when they break. But there is an easier way. This was originally posted by mr blaine I believe a few moons ago...and has since worked for many a jeeper. Here's what you do.

There are 3 hub bolts holding the hub/axle assembly in place. Mine are 1/2" 12pt heads. First things first, if you know you have lots of rust....PB blast these bolts in advance of this project. I personally....just got a long pipe to the end of my ratchet ;) You will need to loosen these 3 bolts roughly 1/8" to 1/4".....but not remove them. You will need to turn the steering driver to loosen the back two bolts...and passenger to loosen the front bolt.



Once the bolts are loose, take a deepwell socket slightly larger than the hub bolt and put it over the front hub bolt. Now, slowly turn the wheel until the socket binds on the inner "C" of the axle. Since my sockets were a bit long...I had to kinda tap it in so that it would hold. You may need another person to turn the wheel while you hold the socket until it binds. Be careful not to get fingers caught between moving parts! Once the socket is in place....crank on the steering wheel....hard driver. Only need to do this once/twice. Then check the hub:







Repeat this on the back two bolts, turning hard passenger this time....then remove them. With a few slight taps, the assembly comes out! Take note of the position of the brake backing plate....you will need to reinstall in the same position! Voila!

 
#3 · (Edited)
Now....here is where I kinda lost out getting pictures. I was gettin in a bit of a hurry at this point...as I need to get the rig done to drive to work!

Getting the ujoint out is not as hard as one might think. A good writeup on removing and replacing the ujoint in the axle shaft can be found here. I followed it to the tee, had the joint out in just a few min. Follow it to the tee and you will have your joints out in no time as well. Otherwise....take em to the local parts house and they can usually replace them in just a few minutes.

It must be noted that this is a great time to check your axle seals, and any wear and tear items...such as ball joints/tie rod ends/brake pads/rotors....etc.

Once the new ujoint is back in, the procedure is the reverse. Carefully slide the axle back in the axle tube with the brake backing plate on, being cautious not to rub the sides of the tube and risk damaging the axle seal. Make sure the backing plate is in the same position as when it was removed, as it will only allow the brake rotor to be installed in one position.

Insert and tighten down the hub assembly bolts to recommended torque (alot).

Install rotor on lugs and reinstall caliper with caliper bolts. Again, tighten to recommended torque.

Reinstall tire/wheel....and your ready to wheel again! This is a relatively common failure on the trails....so doing this in your driveway or garage is great practice if you or your buddies ever need to do it on the trail.

-Scott
 
#4 ·
thanks for the write up and pics... good info. :2thumbsup:

Tomb Raider said:
Jack up the jeep. Find a secure place to lift, paying close attention to the jeep/jack as you raise it.
one of the best things I ever bought that has been the most usefull is the cheap charlie 3 ton floor jack from HF. Makes everything soooo much easyer. :thumbsup: and on sale, was'nt that much $$$.

WoRM :dunno:
 
#5 ·
RockWoRM said:
thanks for the write up and pics... good info. :2thumbsup:

one of the best things I ever bought that has been the most usefull is the cheap charlie 3 ton floor jack from HF. Makes everything soooo much easyer. :thumbsup: and on sale, was'nt that much $$$.

WoRM :dunno:
Your welcome.

Unfortunately, a 3 ton floor jack under an SOA and 37's....doesn't raise enough to get the tire off the ground. :thumbsup:
 
#7 ·
this should be made as a sticky. too many people ask this exact question.
 
#8 ·
Great write up man. The info you linked from pirate works great. I found that using my bench vice instead of hammering went a little faster when at home. The info you posted here will work great on the trail someday. Thanx man
 
#10 ·
#14 ·
Jeepfreak81 said:
This write up has been on JF since about 2002, then I was asked to repost it when it was lost late last year...

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=302057


Sorry I just found it funny
Definitely a good thing to have multiple writeups. How many times have you seen this posted....even tho both your's and mine were here. I've been a member since 05, yet never saw your post...even with search. Go figure.

Only other thing different I see....I used "trail tools." instead of an impact, 3 jaw puller and vise....none of which I think most ppl carry on the trails.

You forgot a step. You should have done this so your caps don't work themselves out again.
In theory...that probably works well. I personally however....would not want to heat up my brand new cap bearings like that. If the caps work themselves out....they needed to be changed regardless, or the axle is "wallered" out and should be replaced.
 
#15 ·
Tomb Raider said:
Definitely a good thing to have multiple writeups. How many times have you seen this posted....even tho both your's and mine were here. I've been a member since 05, yet never saw your post...even with search. Go figure.

Only other thing different I see....I used "trail tools." instead of an impact, 3 jaw puller and vise....none of which I think most ppl carry on the trails.

In theory...that probably works well. I personally however....would not want to heat up my brand new cap bearings like that. If the caps work themselves out....they needed to be changed regardless, or the axle is "wallered" out and should be replaced.
oh definitely! I just was saying I thought it was funny how often it was asked, when there has been a halfway decent writeup on JF for a very long time... it is also 2 very different ways of doing it...

A 3 jaw puller is not always the best way either, I have been told you can pull the hubs/bearings apart using it, I never have though and I have ~225,000 miles on the jeep now.
 
#16 ·
please continue. i will be doing this soon and i don't have a puller.the more the merry.
 
#17 ·
Tomb Raider said:
In theory...that probably works well. I personally however....would not want to heat up my brand new cap bearings like that. If the caps work themselves out....they needed to be changed regardless, or the axle is "wallered" out and should be replaced.
So did you replace your axle then? I am not saying it is 100% true, but I be you lost your cap because you axle shalft yokes have begun to expand. I am puzzled by why you say "In theory"? There was no theory about it. It has been proven to work on my rig and many others. The number one failure point of D30 and D44 axles is because of u-joints busting or the ears on the axle shaft yokes expand and spit caps (then the ujoint break and rip ears of the axles).

I know this is "to each his own". I chose to eliminate one of the failure modes by spot welding caps. You can't say the axle "should be replaced", because you would be replacing them every 4 to 5 hard trails if you chose the do nothing approach. Really spot welds do not heat up the metal that much or burn that much grease. You can even use a soaked towel to cool down the weld.
 
#18 · (Edited)
so im in the process of doing this now, using this as a guide, and it has helped. however, i tried your method of using a deep socket to get the hub off..no dice, it just made my pwoer steering fluid piss all over the place. maybe im doing something wrong? but i dont think so...how the hell can i get this off? im on the driver side right now...

edit: i took the bolts completley out to ask this question...these ARE the right bolts right? running inside, back outside, back inside, its hard to tell, hahaha, sorry bout the poor pics, its starting to get dark






i think ours are a little different, mines an 88. it was a 13 mm 12 pt socket that fit perfect. and the caliper bolts were like a 7mm hex head type thing...pain in the dick.
 
#19 ·
E_ROCK said:
So did you replace your axle then? I am not saying it is 100% true, but I be you lost your cap because you axle shalft yokes have begun to expand.
I lost my axle cap because the needle bearings were gone, and there was nothing to keep the ear from beating around inside it....knocking it out.

I'm not saying you shouldn't weld the caps. Go for it. And I don't have a "do nothing" approach to it. No, I didn't replace the shaft. And yes, I do "harder" trails. But if I'm having to weld on the joint caps....then there is something worn and needs replaced. If that means a new axle shaft, then thats what it means. One ujoint cap, the original 12 year old ujoint cap, comes out after driving the pee outta it on 37's on the trusty dana 30 comes out....doesn't mean the shaft is worn. If it does it 2 more times in the next few months.....then yes, it's new shaft time.

Again, I'm not saying your wrong about welding the caps. I'm simply saying, I'd rather have a new shaft then weld the caps.
 
#20 ·
FarrellX said:
so im in the process of doing this now, using this as a guide, and it has helped. however, i tried your method of using a deep socket to get the hub off..no dice, it just made my pwoer steering fluid piss all over the place. maybe im doing something wrong? but i dont think so...how the hell can i get this off? im on the driver side right now...

edit: i took the bolts completley out to ask this question...these ARE the right bolts right? running inside, back outside, back inside, its hard to tell, hahaha, sorry bout the poor pics, its starting to get dark

i think ours are a little different, mines an 88. it was a 13 mm 12 pt socket that fit perfect. and the caliper bolts were like a 7mm hex head type thing...pain in the dick.
Yes, those are the right bolts.

I used a socket a hair bigger than the bolt. About a 16mm socket if I remember right. That allowed it to angle a hair into the "C." If your power steering is "pissing" then there is a leak somewhere. You shouldn't need the vehicle on when doing this. My last resort....of which I had to do on a different time, is remove the bolts about an 1/8" and leave the socket on them. Then pound the pee outta the socket. Moving from one bolt to the others. Good luck chief...looks like you got a fair amount of rust to deal with. PBblaster is your friend.
 
#24 ·
BTW, a ball joint press kit will make short work of changing u joints, takes @5 mins to replace a driveshaft u joint...without beating the snot out of the cap!!!
the press and a 7/8" socket/wrench and yer good to go.

back up for you scott.....
 
#26 ·
i'm trying to do this today and my u-joint c-clips are rusted pretty good and don't want to come out. anybody have tips on removing them?
 
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