94 dakota, 4wd, 5 spd v6

I'm inspecting my driveline to see whats making it buck. Im down to driveline because i only get it when i'm in gear, usually starting out in reverse or 1st. This is my first time doing this so I'm going off what I've read, not what what i know.

Rear Diff, no fluid leaks, Haven't checked fluid.
U Joint to Rear Diff, Shook it, No play
U Joint to Transfer Shook it, Got slight play,

could that only be the u joint or where the drive shaft goes into transfer case?

Transfer Case has fluid leakage on the rear end of it, ideas?

Front driveshaft felt a little play as well, u joints?

Front right drive axle, Where it connects to front diff is leaking, fix? how hard?

also... Just got a balljoint, tie rod, idler arm, pitman arm kit off ebay and a giant ball joint press kit. The ball joints I got have boots that are loose on them, how are these locked in/ seal?

If you can't tell I'm new to all this but I've done other projects so I'm only 70% terrified of diving in.... but hey, atleast i have a haynes manual...

 

U joints are very obvious when they go bad. You can see the caps moving as you rock the driveshaft back and forth but the center of the u joint doesn't move.

My guess is if you took the cover off the rear differential and measured the ring gear backlash, it would be too high, and thats giving you your driveline lash

All the leaks can be fixed with new seals. The transfer case has an output shaft seal that goes over the slip yoke, and is very easy to replace. The differentials have pinion seals, but are harder to replace. For the output shaft seal, pull out the old one, press in the new one and grease the rubber. For the pinion seals, you have to remove the pinion nuts, which is a PITA without an impact wrench. When that is out you have to pull the yoke out and pop the seal out, press the new seal in and grease the rubber part. Then you have to slide the yoke back on and tighten to the pinion nut to a very specific torque. The torque figures are listed in the FSM which you can download (links in faq page).

As for the ball joint seals, the seals are held in my the parts they are between. In other words, the seal goes between the control arm and steering knuckle and the steering knuckle keeps it there. They make them loose so if you over-grease them the grease can bleed out instead of blowing the seal and ruining the joint.

 

Just read up on backlash... How much to have someone adjust it?

 

While I agree totally with 95_318SLT's diagnosis +1, I would triple check those U-Joints. Mine did not move either but on closer inspection I found that it had completely embedded itself in the bearing cap and the only time it would make noise was under heavy acceleration. When I replaced them, I had to use an air-hammer to remove the bearing caps from the yoke. I'm sure this is an extreme case but, worth the look.

 

I'll drop the drive shaft and check the u joints first for sure. Has anyone adjusted their backlash?

Just remembered that when I'm driving through mud or sand and getting bogged down, the truck bucks severely.

 

This is a write up about rebuilding a limited slip differential, but it talks about adjusting backlash...

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen...ml#post1866063

If you've never done axle work, I would suggest you don't try this. It has to be done right.

 

are you getting a buck or is it more like a chatter cuz what it sounds like to me is a warped pressure plate if it were drive line you would most likely feel the sensation to some degree throughout the gears another ppossibility could be a worn pilot bearing.

 

i did a little self research (i inspected the bottom of my truck ans what looks like smooth rod is attached to the tranny and a part on my tranny mount that looks like this /-\ and has been broken off so im going to make a new one and weld oit on in the next week or so

 

Driving around today and noticed that i really feel it when i'm starting off in reverse hardest.

 

Looking at the ball joint project. to change the uppers and lowers i'll have to remove my cv shafts right? no chance of fitting my press in there otherwise from the looks of that. to do this all i have to do is remove the bolts on the inner flange? any fluids or seals there? what size axle nut is it?