I currently have a 2000 dodge 1500 4x4 club cab truck that is having some steering issues. After doing some research and looking/testing on my truck I believe that its time to replace the u-joints in the axle shafts. I would like to get some opinions to make sure my conclusion is correct.

Here is what the symptoms are. When driving down the interestate the truck tracks straight and the steering feels good, no slack or wandering. When on a small secondary road with a lot of curves it feels like the 4wd system is engaged....stiff when turning around a sharp corner, steering wheel bouncies or jerks alittle.

I have double checked to make sure that the 4wd system is not engaged (starting out on a steep gravel incline just spun up my driveway)
I checked the power steering fluid (it was full).
I looked at all the tie rod ends and drag links (everything moved as one unit and I didn't notice any slope or slack).
I put the front end on jack stands and cycled through the entire steering range of motion (no noticeable jerk or bounce in the steering system).
I disconnected the steering stabalizer and when for a short drive ( the steering issues got worse).
I jacked each side of the front end up and spun the tires by hand in the straight on, far right, and far left positions ( the left side spun freely in all three positions but the right side spun freely in the straight on position only in the far right and left positions there was a very noticeable extra effort to spin the tire by hand it wanted to move the tire to the straight on position).

My conclusion is that the u-joints the the front axle shafts need to be replaced. Does this sound about right to everyone else?

Thanks
JustAbout

 

Sounds right. You can jack the front end up and spin the wheel. Now, turn the wheel while it is jacked up and try to spin it. It will probably be hard to turn. you can also grab the axle shaft near the u-joint and twist back and forth and pull up and down side to side. If there is any play the joint is bad. Not too hard to replace. The ball joint press that can be rented from AutoZone makes the job pretty simple. Check the hubs for excessive movement while you have the front wheels off the ground. I don't know if the Dodges have any problems, but on the jeep with big tires, its a pretty routine replacement item.

 

Mine was doing the same thing when I steered at slower speeds and just had new Spicer joints put in. Steers real nice now and even feels more solid in the suspension over bumps. They must've been pretty loose. Mechanic said they were rusted solid and needles were shot and couldn't believe they weren't making lots of noise. Whatever crappers were in there only lasted 25k miles. Got the Spicer 5-760x for $20 each.

 

Thanks for the input. I'll be replacing the u-joints and wheel bearings next week then.

JustAbout

 

Well it's a fine time to update this post. I actually just replaced both u-joints in the front axle yesterday. I don't drive this truck very often so that somewhat explains the delay. The passenger side u-joint was the problem. One of the caps and needle bearings basically lost all the grease and rusted which caused my problem. It was actually more of a pain than I thought it would be. I tried to replace them once or twice before now, but I couldn't get the axle retaining nut loose. First I broke a 1/2" breaker bar, then I upgraded to a 3/4" breaker bar but the nut still wouldn't budge. So finally I borrowed an air impact gun (a good one unlike the current one I have). So once I finally got the axle shafts out the u-joint caps were the next problem. I used ball joint press, but the caps were rusted to the axle yokes and three or four of the caps broke inside the yoke while trying to remove them. Once I finally got everything out the new spicer joints went in flawlessly. I also replaced the rotors and brake pads while I had everything out. Thanks for the help...sorry it took so long to post an update.

JustAbout

 

Geez, a year and a half later??? Just kidding. Glad they worked well for you. So far, my joints are doing well. The steering has gotten worse though. On 2nd track bar in a year and gear box is worn out. Trying to delay the process until the lift kit so everything goes on at once.

 

haha i thought i was slow to get around to things..

 

Where do you think my screen name comes from?

Everything else seems to pretty good in the front end so far. I was surprised when I got to looking at a lot of the joints that most of them didn't have grease fittings. My new u-joints do but the old ones didn't. If i'm not mistaken I think the only joints that grease fittings were the ball joints. Those will probably be next on the list to replace....espically now that the u-joints have been replaced and everything is reinstalled.

JA

 

well,post up when you get them fixed........ in a year and a half.lol