4X4 2 Door Tahoe

[rphill1]

My 95 Tahoe is eating rear u-joints at the rate of about one per month. The factory u-joints lasted up to around 140K and the only reason I replaced them is because they began squeaking in reverse. I never experianced the clucking noise at take off until after about a month of replacing them the first time.

I'm now on my third aftermarket rear u-joint and it has began clunking also. I've tried u-joints with, and without, the grease fitting, and I've bought the heavy duty 4X4 u-joints from O'reillys. Should I try factory u-joints from the dealer? Or do I have a more seroius problem? Additionally, I've greased the driveshaft spline going into the transmission without any improvements.

The truck is 100% stock, with no lifts or oversized tires, and rarey see's heavy off-road use.

[kenny-1907]

The clunk may not be the u-joints and you may be replacing them needlessly. U-joints when they go almost always squeak and by no means should they be shot after only a month unless you are doing something horribly wrong when installing them. The clunk i suspect is something else , possibly the slip yolk clunk that i have seen many times in this forum. I think you may have wasted a fair amount of money replacing the u-joints when there was most likely not a thing wrong with them. I could be wrong but i have NEVER seen a u-joint need replacing in less than a month UNLESS like i said you are doing something real bad when installing them. All i ever used to use to remove/install u-joints was a hammer and i vice (not the best way but it worked) Also from what i have read the place that you should be greasing the slip yolk is on the outside, not on the splines

[rphill1]

Originally Posted by kenny-1907

The clunk may not be the u-joints and you may be replacing them needlessly. U-joints when they go almost always squeak and by no means should they be shot after only a month unless you are doing something horribly wrong when installing them. The clunk i suspect is something else , possibly the slip yolk clunk that i have seen many times in this forum. I think you may have wasted a fair amount of money replacing the u-joints when there was most likely not a thing wrong with them. I could be wrong but i have NEVER seen a u-joint need replacing in less than a month UNLESS like i said you are doing something real bad when installing them. All i ever used to use to remove/install u-joints was a hammer and i vice (not the best way but it worked) Also from what i have read the place that you should be greasing the slip yolk is on the outside, not on the splines

Thanks for the response Kenny. I agree that it's not the u-joint, I'm just not sure what it is. Fortunately I'm doing the work myself, so that's keeping the expense down. I guess what's puzzeling me is that the klunking is non-existent right after completing the u-joint replacement. Taking off from a stop, it accelerates quietly and smoothly. It slowly becomes more and more evident, to the point where it becomes extremely distracting in a matter of weeks. Additionally, there is no vibration in the drivetrain.

Exactly what is the "slip yoke"? Are you referring to the rear-end yoke? Should I be greasing the outside surface area of the u-joint where it connects to the rear-end?

[kenny-1907]

The slip yolk is the front part of the drive shaft that slips into the trans, get a good heave duty sticky grease and grease the outside of the entire part that slips into the trans

[rphill1]

Originally Posted by kenny-1907

The slip yolk is the front part of the drive shaft that slips into the trans, get a good heave duty sticky grease and grease the outside of the entire part that slips into the trans

Yes, I've already tried that and it didn't help. I also checked the nuts on the u-bolts, they're tight. There doesn't seem to be any unsusal play in the driveshaft when I check it by hand, only under a load does it make a noise. I'm puzzeled.