2001 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4
I have a bad u-joint on my front passenger side. I can hear the clicking and i can jiggle the u-joint and shaft. My question is do i want to replace it myself or have a repair shop do it? Is it a hard project to do myself? Cost?

 

its not really hard. just time consumming ( if everything wants to come off easy) read this...

http://www.pavementsucks.com/tech/hub.php

 

and price wise for two new knuckles being under 90 bucks....labor at a shop would probably be around 300 bucks

http://quad4x4.com/common%20front%20axle%20parts.htm

 

Why are you replacing the knuckles?

 

I assumedthats what is loose and making the clicking noise....could it be something else? any suggestions???

 

The u-joint is whats clicking, not the knuckle. You just have to buy a new u-joint(s).

 

I saw torn rubber ring hanging on the knuckle.....its going into the shop tomorrow...i'll have them find the problem for me..since i dont know too much about this...thanks for the input

 

if it is a clicking when you around corners and you move the yoke then it is your u joint.

 

No clicking when i turn......its a constant clicking after i seem to hit 20mph........will this f it up if i dont fix it right away???

 

it depends on how bad it is, that is, how loose it is. if the clicking/play is in the u-joint, then it's looseness between the cap and the shaft, where there is supposed to be a nice little ring of clean, greasy needle bearings, and absolutely no looseness at all. the rubber ring you see hanging is the seal, which is supposed to keep the dirt and water out and the needles bearings and grease in.

don't ignore it, because its not going to get any better. i recommend you get it fixed as soon as possible. if you can't, then jack it up and pull the tire off and look at it, and see/feel how loose it is. If the needle bearings completely fall out, so that you have a lot of looseness, then something very very bad will happen.

if its not loose and the clicking doesn't change AND you keep checking on it every day AND you don't plan on driving a long distance AND you can tolerate being stuck on the side of the road, then you might can keep driving it for awhile. Just understand that if/when the bearings fall out of the cap, then you may be stuck right there and not be able to limp home without risk of breaking the joint, or doing some other kind of major damage.

Replacing these can be a pretty hard job for the average guy due to the possible difficulty of getting the axle/hub out of the steering knuckle. read and understand the instructions on the pavementsucks site before attempting this. its not for the faint of heart.