95 4.3TBI ujoint

I'm a new member to the forum however I have found many answers on here for a while now. I can't seem to find the answer to this..

I dont know all of the technical terms for everything so bare with me please. Changing my ujoints today (95 4.3 TBI auto) everything going along smooth. I removed the 4 small bolts holding on the little clamps in the rear (connecting the ujoint to the rear end). Pulled the drive shaft from the tranny. got out from under the truck and removed both ujoints and replaced with the new ones. Got back under the truck and slid the front back into the tranny. I went to reconnect the ujoint in the rear and I tightened the bolts up all the way but the ujoint is loose. <-- thats the problem. all of them are tight and the little lock pins are inplace except for the one that has the clamps. When i removed that back one it had no pins or anything it was just clamped. Well being my first ujoint experience i thought maybe it was normal and i drove it. Luckily i didn't lose my drive shaft but on the clamped ones the pin bearings and their covers came off.

Help why is it lose like that what am i missing????

Welcome to AF phil :cheers:

Your answer is simple!

You did everything right, but got the wrong part!

There's a chance that your trucks yoke is from a comaro or something just a little different than stock.

If you have the origional still bring it with you to the parts store. And if not buy a selection of possible u-joints and return those that won't work.

If you want to double check any work that you've done before you drive show us a picture of what it looks like. We'll tell you if it looks right, or what to change.

Good Luck with it

He might have got a spicer joint, two different cap sizes. The caps that went into the driveshaft had to be hammered/pressed in right? they didnt just slide in?

Thanks to you both! It is the stock Yoke and it is Spicer. You were both correct in your replys. When i got my ujoints at autozone their computer showed that the front and back were both the same. When in fact the back one is different. I went to advanced and it showed that the back one was different. The part that connected to the yoke was a little bigger in diameter for a tighter fit. It also had little c clips that cliped to the inside of the yoke. Problem solved. Sorta. The ujoints work fine. But it apears that it wasnt the heart of the problem.

Let me explain and see if you can give me any help on this.

When i put my truck in reverse and gie it gas it doesnt seem like it wants to move. As you give it more gas the truck starts to shimmy for a few seconds then it smooths out as normal. I asked a buddy of mine and he said i need a new tranny. Well thats ok if it's the problem i'll fix it. However i was backing slowly and looking under the truck and i heard a noise coming from the Differential (i think thats what its called? The part in the rear end that the drive shaft is hooked to.) and it was vibrating a little. So is it the tranny or the Differential. That is the question. Is checking the differential as simple as removing the bolts from the back and inspecting it?

Thank you so much for your help. As always the people on this board are a lot of help. Wether directly or indirectly I have gotton a lot of my questions answered here.

Your right, that is the differential.
And yes, that's about all that you can do to inspect the differential. You'd need gasket goop, along with a new gasket. If I remember correctly about 2L of the right oil.
It probably needs an oil change anyways. Just a warning. That stuff stinks! Wear gloves if possible, and don't do it if you have a date that night.

Plus check your rear brakes, and the emergancy brake cables. I linda think that it's more likely what your problem is.

However I want to point out that our differentials are built to be quiet while going forward, and usually make some noise while backing up. (we just don't usually hear it over all the other noises)

Put the truck in neutral, block the front tires in the front and back and don't put the parking brake on. Remove the cover and look around for obvious stuff like broken/chipped teeth. Next start moving stuff around by hand, turn a tire back and forth and look for weird movements, everything should turn over and not wiggle/flop around, it is very mechanical in there. Grab the driveshaft at the front of the pinion and move it up and down, if it moves you probably have a bad pinion bearing. Let us know if you find anything. The best thing to use on any oil-contacting surface is black silicone, I love that stuff.

Ok I will check the Rear Brakes and the e-Brake. And also check the Differential. I don't know when i will be able check it because of work. But I will give you guys an update when I am able to. What kinda oil do I put back in it after I check it? I guess advanced can help with that though..

Thanks, talk to you later
Phil