05 Jeep TJ front drive shaft question

[Mud Rookie]

Hey everybody,

Well I have narrowed down my vibration issue and the culprit is the front drive shaft. I had it removed and took it for a drive up to 100km and there was NO vibrations. Had the drive shaft put back in and the vibration comes back. Its not severe and I know that I am being " picky " but I do want to make it as minimal as possible because I do commute back and forth from work every once in while and it gets a little annoying.

So I went ahead and replaced the single u-joint on...

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[Kunker]

Bourk's (where Mike Lorint works) did mine on the Dodge for under $200, although it might be a bit cheaper if Mike chimes in on where they are sent out to (Malmberg?). I know they didn't do mine in house.

 

[Mud Rookie]

Just called Malmberg (http://www.malmbergtruck.com/1427-michael-st/) and the gentlemen their (which I need to say was very cool and down to earth) said that I could have the 2 stock u-joints removed, everything cleaned and inspected, new u-joints inserted and the drive shaft balanced for $140 plus tax and it will be done in 2 days tops........ a very far cry from the $400 I was quoted an hour ago. I am thinking that we have got a winner here.... I am off to Malmberg's next week......

Thanks for the feedback Kunker....

Lets hope that this fixes the vibrations...

 

[2Greys]

before going that far rotate your driveshaft in both of the yokes. when I had mine rebuilt I had marked off the yokes as per FSM stated and unfortunately when they rebuilt it they covered the marks. I had to rotate through until the vibes disappeared. good choice on Malmberg though. have them look at your centering ball while they are at it

 

[aweber]

+1 on Malmberg's :beer:

 

[Mud Rookie]

when I had mine rebuilt I had marked off the yokes as per FSM stated and unfortunately when they rebuilt it they covered the marks. I had to rotate through until the vibes disappeared.

I am not too sure what you mean by this... Is there a specific way that the DS is positioned or sitting when its installed that I am not aware of.... When removing it and re-installing does it need to go back in the exact same way it was removed ???

 

[junkpile]

Quote "So I went ahead and replaced the single u-joint on the end that inserts into the TC (NP231) and noticed that the vibes are getting less. So I want to now replace the 2 u-joints on the end that inserts into the front axle."

First off your drive shaft is on backwards, the single joint should be at the front diff. Second, be sure that the yokes on both ends of the driveshaft tube are in line, aka "phased". If you pulled the drive shaft apart at the slip yoke at some point and did not phase the shaft when you reinstalled it, then you are guaranteed to have vibrations! Google "driveshaft phasing"for a better explanation.

 

[Mud Rookie]

LOL.... my mistake... what you said is what I actually meant.... Thanks for correcting me. I looked up Driveshaft Phasing and now I understand. So when I remove it I need to make sure that when I re-install it that its " phased (yokes are aligned ) " properly... I understand. I am going to mark the shaft and its associated yoke to make sure I re-install it back to what it was....

https://www.google.ca/search?q=driv...Fdrivetrain%2Fdriveshaft-'phasing'%2F;600;675


Thanks

 

[2Greys]

Exactly.
I had marked mine off but they had painted over it without realizing. So basically I pulled it off and flipped each yoke (yes it technically could have taken 8 tries to get it right, got it on the third) and then drove it to see if it was ok. Also if you don't have ratchet box wrenches get at least the 10mm (I think that is it) makes it a hell of a lot easier to take off the bolts at the Transfer case end without having to pull the skid. Lift the driver side tire so you can rotate the drive shaft when taking it off.

 

[junkpile]

Your marks won't mean anything after they balance your driveshaft. They balance the shaft and slip yoke together, phased.
The reason you mark your shaft is to make sure you put it together the way it was balanced, it will still be in phase 180degrees off but not balanced.

 

[2Greys]

Then why in the Factory Service Manual does it say:

Also make alignment reference marks (Fig. 5) on the propeller shaft yoke and axle, or transmission, yoke prior to servicing. This helps to eliminate possible vibration.

That kind implies that you want to make sure the yokes are attached the same way they were attached before removing. Remove the markings off of the drive shaft and you can't do that
It sure as hell fixed mine after I rotated it through 3 different positions. For clarity I wasn't taking the driveshaft apart, I was taking the driveshaft off the axle side, rotating the pinion yoke 180* and then reattaching drive it repeat on TC Yoke side, rinse and repeat. Basically it ended up being the TC yoke was the one that was off. If I had the markings still on the drive shaft I would have just rotated that the TC side yoke 180 and it would have been fine. Doing this in the driveway in the middle of the winter was not fun.

Definitely at this point the Double Cardon joint needs to be moved to the back which is where it needs to be. That might be all you need. But if you still have vibes get it in to Malmberg and have them look at it and esspecially the centering ball in the middle of the Double Cardon joint. If it goes bad it has been known to seized and take the Transfer Case out with it.

 

[junkpile]

Yes, if removing and reinstalling a driveshaft to replace say...... a pinion seal, reinstalling it exactly the way it came off can help prevent vibes. Vibes associated with crusty u-joint surfaces siting back into there crusty yoke, or other such scenarios.
New u-joints in a rebalanced shaft is like installing a new part. It was never on your truck before so how could you line it up with your marks?

 

[2Greys]

that was what I originally thought except that when I put it on I got vibes. rotated the TC yoke and reattached and no vibes.way I look at it is if he does it an it works it may save him 150 bucks

 

[rikker001]

I rebuilt mine for a hundred or less. I'm no authority on drive shaft but I did not find it very hard. There is no bearing between the two ujoints, it is a ball with a spring and it sits in a cap and rotates on it. But for 140 you can't beat that.

 

[2Greys]

I rebuilt mine once and then called malmberg and asked how much at that point I decided my spare time was worth more than doing it myself.

 

[rikker001]

I agree we'll worth the money. However you should do it at least once so you know how to do it.

 

[2Greys]

totally agree

 

[chunkytrunks]

Danny if you are doing this replace your centering ball. You can get a greasable one from napa if you want that route.
I think you can do this all yourself, you have the tool. Just mark everything like stated above. If you need a hand i could give it to you but i think you can figure this one out. You can drive the jeep without the front drive shaft while you perform the repair.