- Joined
- May 17, 2009
- Posts
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Pulled the driveshaft today and greased the slip yoke. What a difference! Takeoffs are smoother than ever... It's hard to believe how such a small thing can make a difference.
Walk through:
FIRST. Set the parking brake. Once the driveshaft is removed, the truck can roll even when in Park... and it will!
Make sure to mark the driveshaft, U joint, & rear end so that you know everything goes back together exactly
as it came apart for the sake of maintaining balance. A simple china marker works well.
Here is the front with the slip yoke still installed in the trans.
Remove the 4 U joint retaining bolts. Tap the shaft at the U joint with a dead blow hammer to dislodge.
Slip the driveshaft forward until the U joint clears and then slide it rearward out of the transmission.
NOTE:
USE CAUTION to prevent the 2 exposed U joint caps from falling off. Some people like to wrap tape
around the joint to keep the caps on. Mine were not trying to fall off, but there isn't anything (except
the grease in them) keeping them in place when the shaft is removed.
Trans will not leak fluid as long as vehicle is level.
Yoke after removal. Notice how much surface rust is on the exposed part of the yoke after two years.
Take a scotch pad to the exposed portion and remove the surface rust.
After smoothing it, there is an obvious improvement in the yoke. This step is NOT totally necessary, but this is where
the yoke goes through the rubber dust boot on the trans tailshaft, so I like to make it smooth again.
After cleaning out the OEM grease, I lube the inner splines using Marine grade wheel bearing grease. This product has
proven to be an unbeatable lubricant for this purpose over time. I've used it on several trucks.
Nothing beats a good old finger when it comes to smoothing the grease out in the splines.
Installation is the reverse of removal. Just make sure that you align your marks so that everything goes back together as it was.
Headed off on a test drive after about 15 minutes of work!
Walk through:
FIRST. Set the parking brake. Once the driveshaft is removed, the truck can roll even when in Park... and it will!
Make sure to mark the driveshaft, U joint, & rear end so that you know everything goes back together exactly
as it came apart for the sake of maintaining balance. A simple china marker works well.
Here is the front with the slip yoke still installed in the trans.
Remove the 4 U joint retaining bolts. Tap the shaft at the U joint with a dead blow hammer to dislodge.
Slip the driveshaft forward until the U joint clears and then slide it rearward out of the transmission.
NOTE:
USE CAUTION to prevent the 2 exposed U joint caps from falling off. Some people like to wrap tape
around the joint to keep the caps on. Mine were not trying to fall off, but there isn't anything (except
the grease in them) keeping them in place when the shaft is removed.
Trans will not leak fluid as long as vehicle is level.
Yoke after removal. Notice how much surface rust is on the exposed part of the yoke after two years.
Take a scotch pad to the exposed portion and remove the surface rust.
After smoothing it, there is an obvious improvement in the yoke. This step is NOT totally necessary, but this is where
the yoke goes through the rubber dust boot on the trans tailshaft, so I like to make it smooth again.
After cleaning out the OEM grease, I lube the inner splines using Marine grade wheel bearing grease. This product has
proven to be an unbeatable lubricant for this purpose over time. I've used it on several trucks.
Nothing beats a good old finger when it comes to smoothing the grease out in the splines.
Installation is the reverse of removal. Just make sure that you align your marks so that everything goes back together as it was.
Headed off on a test drive after about 15 minutes of work!
I'll be doing this tomorrow! Great write up Jim
much
