so good news and bad news, good news: I figured out why my truck had a the vibration... bad news: I figured out that I have a BROKEN U-joint. The dust cover that Dave pointed out is hanging because that is where the joint is broken. I went out and got new u-joints and I am going to install them this weekend... :/ I hope it doesn't take too long, anyone have any ideas on how long it will take to do all 5?

If you have never done them before, should take an hour or two.....but if you have the help of someone who has.....under an hour from start to finish.


Couple tips:

• Be sure to mark the shafts before you bang the old joint out, this way it stays balanced.
• Grease zerks always point towards the driveline.
• Pay very close attention when installing the caps, one needle bearing that "falls down" will ruin your day.
• Be sure to "burp" the joint if they are tight after installing the clips. This is done by striking the driveline near the joint with a hammer. They should move freely without any tight spots.
• When greasing the newly installed joints, make sure grease comes out of every cap.
• Patience, patience, patience.

Good Luck!

so I got the rear driveshaft and u-joints taken out, and all put back in, and there are no more vibrations! the problem is that the front driveshaft has a weird u-joint that I can't really do anything with... :/ The workers at the shop said to bring it to a driveline specialist to get the 2 joints replaced.
The good news is that my u-joint wasnt "broken" it just wasn't greased for idk how long... :(. Here is a picture :)
http://forum.gopowerhungry.com/membe...ut-u-joint.jpg
It is a good thing i replaced that one, at least I think so, I just want to get the last 2 done without any more trouble... :/.
Well I am going to get my phoenix now that I know my u-joints can handle it. I am also going to grease up everything I can in my truck so I won't have to worry about it again :D.

Good job!

I am surprised that joint went out again, it has been changed at least once already. The factory joints seem to last a long time.

How many miles were on the truck?

Yeah i was wondering about those joints... but i don't think it matters how new they are if they run out of grease... lol :D
and it has 173k miles... so I guess the originals should have been greased more often as well...

I believe the originals didn't have grease fittings, so like Dave said that one was replaced at some point. What does the front drive shaft have a double cardigan joint in it ?
If the fronts are still good remember the old saying "if it ain't broke, don't f with it" or I guess you could use the other saying "if it ain't broke, fix it 'til it is"
personally I like the first saying....lol

Yeah most of the joints haven't had grease fittings, and I agree that it it ain't broke don't fix it, but I already took it out and halfway apart before I realized that I couldn't finish it, so I'm kinda out of luck lol :(

sounds like you have my luck...lol
does it have a double cardigan on the front drive shaft ?
at least you shouldn't have to worry with u-joints for quite some time

I just saw this thread again, lol, yes it has the funny double cardigan joint. I got it replaced at a shop and I have the phoenix installed and it works great! :D, I just need a new battery now :(. any thoughts on replacing the battery? should I do just the bad one, or is it recommended to do both?

Change both, and use Motorcraft battery's.

You'll thank me later.