Today i picked up my 1998 Ram 4x4 Sport from inspection station with a list of items that need changed, ( I was expecting it) . Already ordered all the parts but the U joints, I cannot get the info anywhere so turned to you Ram genuises that helped out so well before.

I will be replacing the front U joint and drive shaft..doesnt a certified used front driveshaft from a junk yard usually come with the u joint already in it? How would i check if that one needs replaced?

I also will be needing to replace the front right 4x4 u joint, are all the U joints throughout the truck same? I tried to look it up on Autozone what they offered fro U joints for my truck and they offered one so I assumed all are same..is that correct?

I will also be replacing all 4 ball joints, front rotors and pads and rear brake shoes..if anyone has any tips they would like to throw in.

thanks ahead!

 

For staters I just replaced my driverside u joint it was a major PITA I went to several auto parts stores and ended up finding one that looked perfect for $25 it took me and 2 guys and some what my wife a total of 8 hrs to disassemble and reassemble. Point is plz don't be dumb like I was take your u joint and shaft with u to find the right one and please spray all the bolts down very very well with pb for a few days before. Not promising urs will be like mine was but just in case lol

 

There are several threads on ball joint replacement as well as U Joints. U Joints are much easier than ball joints. You can go to the FAQ/DIY section and sownload a service manual for better instructions. Also a parts manual is in the same section. Use Dodge parts manual as parts stores acn cross reference Dodge part number.

 

+1!!!! and then some

 

I'm not asking on how to change them, I'm asking a simple Yes or no answer from someone who dealt with the issue beforehand on whether all u joints are same or not, that's all

 

No not all U-Joints are the same i found that out recently they have different size bearing caps for different applications like front or rear shaft internal and external clips on them. The dumb PO of my truck decided hey why not weld the U-Joint in so now have to buy a new rear differential yoke and drive-shaft (Had scrapes on it so i suppose it fell off while going down the road at one point) and replace U-Joint because it failed inspection for lack of clips.

 

Mine are the same. The way I found out was checking part numbers and qty required in parts manual.........