i took my truck to the shop today and had it looked at. reason being, on cold start there is like an air leak sound and gets louder when you give it any throttle, however, the sound goes away completly one warmed up. also anytime i put her in reverse there is a clunk like a little knock. my mech told me the u joints are good and tight and doesnt sound like its coming from the transfer case. also the front end u joints are going bad, i guess they house the bearings as well because he said my bearings are bad. and last but certainly not least, said i have a severe power steering leak. he told me to power wash all the gunk off there and watch it to see where exactly its leaking from. looks to me like its leaking from the power steering gear "thing" but im not 100% sure yet. after typing a **** ton ill now ask my question. for someone who isnt a grease monkey but knows how to work on cars, how hard would it be for me to replace these things myself. anybody who can help with any of the issues im having id appreciate it greatly. thanks ahead of time.

 

All of the items you have listed are do-it-yourself repairs. You just need some basic tools and the will/time to do the work needed. You can search this site for several tips, along with YouTube for videos on how to replace the front U-joints, etc. The power steering leak from the box typically is the lower output shaft seal. There is a kit available to replace that seal.

 

i need to get that power steering leak taken care of asap. im gonna google this seal kit you mentioned. thanks

 

so i went to rockauto.com and they have the seal kit, thats taken care of. so i looked at the u joints and there is about 9 front joints to choose from. how do i know which one i need?

 

pause for a moment and go look at your front end. it's 4wd right. with the tires on the ground, grab the inner axle half of the u-joint and rotate it back and forth against the outer half.
is there any play?
does it make any noise??
are the grease seals intact, or cracked, or falling apart?

if you have a problem, you need the front axle u-joints. not front drive shaft. not rear drive shaft. the next decision is standard strength or super strength, next is greaseable or non-greasable. that's why there are 9 different ones. i used the precision 377 superstrength greasable, but if you do, you'll need a grease fitting adapter because there is not clearance enough for zerks. for the front axle - the clips are inner clips not outer clips.

take this one step at a time, as you are tackling some pretty hard projects. getting the gear box off and rebuilding it is a big job. replacing axle u-joints is also not an easy-to-do 5 minute job.
http://www.pavementsucks.com/tech-article-5.html
http://www.pavementsucks.com/tech-article-3.html


on your power steering, determine whether the leak is at the pump, the hose, or the gear box.

 

Not sure which differential you have in the front (Dana 44, etc.) - it should tell you on the sticker under the hood - once you have that info, you should be able to determine which U-joints you need. On occasion, I take the old part to the auto parts store to match it up with the new part to ensure fit..

 

the passenger side has play in it the driver side not so much but there was rust falling out of the uh.....i know there is a bearing in there. i dont know the part name

 

If stuff is falling out of it, time for a new one.

 

bearing cap.

 

once i have some time to really get into it ill be able to give you guys better descriptions of where things are falling out of.