So I have a 2001 ram 1500 the truck was originally a auto and it was converted to a manual, my front driveshafts CV joints are bad and it seems impossible to find out what shaft I have to order parts for it, anyone know what shaft a extended cab short box dodge with a manual should have? Or any tricks to find out what shaft I have? Thanks a lot!

 

For the front shaft, what cab/bed you have simply shouldn't matter, just the trans itself. Rock Auto shows two different shafts. The manual trans is about 1/2 inch shorter than the auto trans shaft. They use the same u-joints.

It cost me almost 300 bucks to have my front driveshaft rebuilt. You can buy a new one for about 50 bucks more.

 

1330-series U-joints for double cardan joint, and center support is 617 for greasable and 612 for non-greasable.
I got Dana Spicer 5-1330X non-greasable joints last time I rebuild mine.

 

do you have to cut off the CV joint and weld on the new one? Them CV joints don't look like they come apart too easy and I have hard you gotta get them cut off the shaft and reweld the new one on? Also the truck has a 2 and a half inch lift is that too much for the stock CV joint? It seems like the joint is almost hitting the stoppers on the joint?

 

The stock shaft should be fine to 4 inches of lift. Changing the joints isn't that hard. Mark the shaft so the pieces don't get flipped 1/2 a turn. You'll need to replace the ball stud in the CV joint. It's not hard. I'd use SKF or Spicer ujoints. I like the ones with a needle grease fitting in the end of a cap. They are easy to grease once the shaft is installed

 

Yeah, like 2bit said no welding required, unless your CV joint is fubar then it's wiser to get new shaft altogether.
Taking it apart is not too bad of a job, after that clean the parts really good so you don't get dirt to the caps. First you replace the center ball.
After that, first you mount the U-joint to the shaft end, then H-yoke to the shaft U-joint. Then you mount the second U-joint to the flange. Last part is slightly tricky, because you need to mount both, the U-joint to the H-yoke and the ball to the stud at the end of shaft.

And don't buy those Precision joints, they are junk.

 

Couple of pics more from rebuild three weeks ago. Didn't replace the ball because it was still in good condition.

 

thanks for the pictures it doesn't look very hard but I have no idea how to take it apart! Also is it possible the front bearing in the t case is gone because when i turn the shaft by hand i can hear a squeak noise and it don't sound like it's the shaft sounds like its from the bearing in the t case, the cv joints seem to be all tight, I tried greasing up the joints but no better, when I drive in 4x4 i hear a vibration and like something is shaking apart, what are the symptoms of a bad bearing in the front of the t case? No oil leaking out of the front but the rear seal is leaking a bit, is it possible the t case is low on oil and the front bearing is getting dry?

 

Ujoints can be the cause of lots of noises. Simple test: remove the shaft and drive it. Noise or vibe gone you know it's the shaft.

 

Does any one know any part numbers for all the parts to rebuild the shaft? Also where do you order the ball and what do you call it? I find it impossible to find online when it comes to ordering parts it's so confusing