2004 ram 2500 4x quad short bed hemi, 140 k i just went to install a new rear u-joint on the drive shaft, when i installed it, one side of the retianing clips kinda bows outward, because the joint or caps are slightly too large? or not sqeezed together?

problem is the u joiunt does not want to turn freely now.

can i just graind off .005 to get it to work or return the joint..or will this problem fix it self when i start driving and the part wears?

 

It sounds like it is too tight on one axis. It will not get better with wear, it will just self destruct. You need to get the binding straightened out so the joint is free in both swivel directions.

 

If the u-joint is not quite centered in the yoke by a hair or two, you can tap the yoke lightly a few times with a heavy hammer and the u-joint will correct itself in the yoke (drive shaft removed from vehicle and suspended freely). If the binding is more severe, remove and carefully reinstall the u-joint but it may indicate that the yoke is distorted a bit too much and needs to be replaced.

 

Yep, I just changed mine and they did the same thing. Just gently tap on the yoke until the joint swivels freely in each direction... its kinda hard to hit a happy medium. If you don't, the joint will wear out very quickly.

 

Sounds like maybe too much smacking has alread occurred. You might have dropped a bearing pin inside the cup. I would pull it apart and make everything right and carefully press it back together. Pounding on the joint is not the best idea. A little judicial tapping however is usually necessary.

 

Yep, seen that happen more than once.

 

Sure, needle bearings can fall into the cup while installing the joint (especially if it was beat in with a hammer), but what he is describing happens while simply pressing the caps on too. And, if he got the caps on along with both of the outer "springs" (sorry, cant think of the proper name of that part), then I doubt he would have dropped a needle bearing in the cup.

I have never installed a joint without having to tap on the sides of the yoke to get the joint to swing freely in each direction.