- 1). Use the floor jack to raise the vehicle. Place four jack stands underneath the solid parts of the frame. For the initial loosening of the U-joint bolts, place the vehicle in park or in first gear with the emergency brake on. Slide under the vehicle and take note of which wrench will fit the U-joint mounting bolts. Spray the bolts with penetrating oil and let them soak.
- 2). Etch a mark with a scribe that aligns the U-joint yoke with the differential housing yoke. You want to replace it exactly in the same position to avoid drive shaft imbalance. Remove the retaining bolts with the appropriate wrench. If equipped with U-straps and nuts, remove the nuts. Gently drop the drive shaft and pull it straight out from the transmission tail shaft. Plug up the rear of the transmission tail shaft with a shop rag so it does not leak transmission fluid.
- 3). Use needle-nose pliers to remove the clips on the outer surface of the U-joint end caps. Squeeze them together and pop them out. There will be four, and you can discard them in favor of the new set that comes in the new U-joint package. Repeatedly soak the U-joint with penetrating oil and let sit it for 15 minutes.
- 4). Place a few pieces of wood on the floor about 2 inches apart. Lay the U-joint over the gap, where the end cap protrudes down through the opening. Use a hammer and a small diameter socket to gently tap the end cap downward. Flip the U-joint over and repeat the same process, allowing the end caps to come only partially out of the yoke. Use channel locks or vise grips to twist each cap out of its yoke mount. Turn the drive shaft so you can tap on the remaining two end caps. Take them out gradually, tapping each one until you can grip the end caps with the channel locks and pull them free. Wipe the yoke clean and lubricate the inside of it with grease.
- 5). Remove the end caps from the new U-joint. Dab extra grease inside to hold the needle bearings in place. Tap in one end cap until you can fit the U-joint X-cross up inside the end cap. Turn the drive shaft over and tap another end cap partially in, making sure to align the X-cross with the inside of the end cap. Install the other two end caps in the same manner, leaving enough room for alignment. Once the end caps have been properly fitted into the U-joint X-cross, and you can feel no binding, hammer the end caps in, rotating each one until they are all seated. They will be seated when all the tops of the end caps have been driven down past the clip grooves.
- 6). Use the needle-nose pliers to compress the end cap retaining clips. Insert them inside the yoke and release the pressure on the pliers' handle. They will snap into the groove. Make sure all four have been seated.
- 7). Remove the rag from the tail shaft and carefully align the drive shaft splines with the transmission tail shaft. Push it in and lift the rear of the drive shaft up to set it in the slot on the differential housing connection. Align it with the scribe marks the same way you removed it. Install the bolts (or nuts) and tighten them snugly. Lower the vehicle from the jack stands with the jack and take it for a test drive.
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