Awesome! I'm sure you had fun with the axle disconnect! on the JL and JT, I recommend engaging the 4wd before you start so that the little locking ring in the disconnect doesnt fall off. The first one I did, I had to open the CAD/FAD to fish that ring out and back in place.
I just did ball joints, noticed it's probably time for u joints while I was down there. You did a great job explaining, and I actually don't feel too bad about doing these now. Thanks!
Bang on man! Perfect video! Done it once or twice before on a TJ I had back in the day, but needed a refresher! Other dudes never mentioned anything about taking the bearing out; which is the hard part on all of this! For some reason they were gently and easy pulling the bearing! I was scratching my head seeing them… awesome job! I’m tackling my kid’s TJ tomorrow! Thanks again!!
@@JustFun-tk4dt technically you can leave the bearing attached to the axle shaft and pull the whole thing out as one unit but then it’s really hard to change the U joint
@@FlawedOffroad yeah; I can picture what you mean… I probs missed a few words in my post to elaborate… what I meant was that anytime I’ve dealt with a pressed in bearing or hub like that, they’re always seized in and are fight to get out… lol… On several clips I saw before this one, the dudes would in fact remove the axle nut, but for some reason they just needed a gentle hand tug on the bearing to pull it out… : ) … I remember the first time I did it, I had fought with it for hours with pullers and. Anything else I could find and it wouldn’t budge… I ended up on a clip here of a dude that amongst other tips said… “sometimes you gotta beat the shit out of it…” lol… which I ended up doing and got it out! lol… wish I had kept the clip! The dude was hilarious and good at it… anyhow; today is gonna be a beer and bearing day… or a beering day I guess!! lol! We’ll see how she goes! Cheers!!
Alwright; I have to ask… a squeek at around 20 mph is an indicator of a bad joint right?? I changed one on the rear drive shaft and the left one on the front axle… both had slight play in them…?but she’s still squealing… stops after warm and at higher speed… I’m thing a joint on the front drive shaft??🤷♂️
After watching this video, I have much more confidence in my ability to do this work myself on my 2012 JK, so thank you. Like others who have commented, before seeing your video, I watched others on this subject, but each of them left something out that you covered, so you have a new subscriber. As a backyard mechanic who is growing his tool collection, can you provide the manufacturer of the brass punch, 36mm axle nut socket, and the hammer with the blade and blunt face you were using? That would be helpful, thanks.
The socket is tekton: amzn.to/4gcOr3h the brass punch: amzn.to/4gosf6a And the hammer was acquired from a yard sale so I am not sure but I think its called a duck bill hammer.
Follow every step he says to take. I just did my driver side ball joints and hub assembly so I also bought a Spicer U joint and following this video the entire passenger side is done. I just did what he said now I’m a mechanic but I work on heavy equipment. Driver side left.
Excellent video. For something done all the time can still learn something - never tried rotating the hub in the knuckle. I’ve always done the power steering deal where stick 5/8” socket to jam ujoint and turn wheel. I also have used the press tool for long time but agree that just seems to cause issues as it has so much crushing force, also I’d get one cap push through and if the other side goes too far into middle it always galls up on way out other side
Yeah I’ve exploded many caps trying many methods and I always go back to the caveman method it just works. That rotate trick works, it’s the ticket.(even if it didn’t work the best on my Jeep in the video it did still work)
My JK eats universal joints on an annual basis. Pretty sick of sending it to a shop so THANK YOU for this and for the trail tips. No garage here so I will basically be doing a trail repair period
cheers, yep that knuckle is trigger finger well thats what we call in the UK. onset of osteoperosis / arthritus or nodes. Hopefully nodes, simple opp sorts it out, otherwise every joint on your finger will end up doing it until youve gotta crack them free, worse case senario i had use a vice or a drawer until i had the opp.
Thank you for making this video! I have to do this soon to my 08 JKU Rubicon as well as the hubs and rotors. Will probably do this all at once since I'll be under it taking it apart. Just makes sense, but I do have one question. My Jeep sits on 20" wheels and 35 tires, I've noticed that the steering seems loose and touchy. Ball joints, drag link, tierod/end, and sway bar have all been replaced recently as well (Within the last year). What can I do to tighten up this steering in this Jeep? Picture the old farmer in the cartoons where the steering wheels moves left and right a lot while he is driving but not turning. Lol
I have seen in several JK's especially ones that have been on large tires for alot of miles, where the slop is in the steering box. Its hard to explain how to check it but grab a buddy and have them saw the steering wheel back/forth while you lay underneath and look at the track bar ends, all steering joints, pitman arm etc. also have someone only move the wheel as far as the slop is and see if the pitman arm is even moving. All the slop could be in the steering shaft or box. Hope that helps. P.S. I have seen several brand new tie rods and drag links be sloppy from brand new especially if its parts house junk. Seen Jeeps with 5000 miles have clapped factory steering.
if you dont think you can figure it out, search out your local offroad shop and ask them to check out the front end. That accounts for probably half the jobs I do at work at a Jeep/Truck accessory shop. We do lifts and all kinds of stuff but I do so much suspension and steering work to correct death wobble and loose steering or even terrible tire wear. Good luck
@@FlawedOffroad I'm not sure what the ball joints are, they were done at the dealership just before I took delivery of this Jeep. But I know the drag link and tie rods are from Moog, ordered and install them myself. Will have a friend help with the moving, or just stick my go pro under the Jeep and set it to record and watch the video while doing it myself. If the pitman isn't moving, when doing this, how would I diagnose it down to the steer shaft or the box between the two? I'm in no way afraid to tear into this and wrench on it myself, but if something does seem complicated, I will sit there and read as much documentation and watch as many repair videos as I need to before attempting. :)
@@FlawedOffroad As for a local offroad shop, we don't have any here in Highlands County, Fl. I have to drive a good 60miles north before I hit one and they're all by appointment only. It sucks really, and the only time this Jeep see's off-road use is during hunting season around the WMA's.
@ yeah I just know the off-road shops know how to deal with these specific set of problems. I’m pretty sure there’s one down in Florida called JK land that I’ve heard of
So first off this vid is a life saver. Never changed these inner retainer clip style u joints before. Dumb design imo. Second, during reassembly of the driver side on my 95 xj, I spun the hub by hand, after tightening the spindle nut to spec. Bearings feel fine but i watched the inner shaft wobble as it spun in the new seal. Steering set straight. Might this be the true source of the mysterious vibrations? Better question, how might i determine if its the stub, or the inner shaft? Kinda liking the look of 100 bucks or so for a whole new cv axle assembly. Heard mixed thoughts on cv vs u-joint
@@prochorushanif7307 the cv are great only if you never plan to offroad, idk if I’d trust them it’s awful small (I’ve seen the factory zj ones) If you think about it there’s nothing supporting the shaft from where it goes in the carrier/rides on the seal all the way to where the stub shaft splines through the bearing. It’s normal for a small amount of movement(even super duty Dana 60s do that) The problem is if the stub shaft moves within the wheel bearing, or the u joint itself is so loose it causes movement on the joint itself) Typically the jk moves around much less than old yj/tj/xj style stuff. If it’s a new u joint and your bearing isn’t cooked then it’s probably that normal amount of movement I speak of
@@FlawedOffroad it's a head scratcher. Itd be awesome if you made some kind of short vid or something showcasing a bent axle vs a straight one, and where to look to see it
@@prochorushanif7307 front axle shafts getting bent is pretty uncommon(ive never seen one), other than the ears on the yokes. rear axles especially semi float axles are very common to bend at the flange, very easy to spot cause the whole rear tire will wobble.
Yeah those bolts are like $20 each at Napa lol. I wasn’t concerned with it. As for the disconnect they are a knock off of JKS disconnects, they were like $43 on Amazon haha(my electric sway bar is broken)
Alright so I’m in the process of figuring this out on my JK. I’m a TJ guy, I’ve built multiple and currently have a 03 rubi on tons. But my JK is a 2012 so I ordered the 7166x. They don’t appear to fit. The switch seems to have been made part way through 2012 according to my research.. those of us with a 2012 have headaches figuring it out for the first time. If you have a 2012 order both part numbers and return the ones that don’t work. It’s easier that way trust me. 2013 should be 7166x and from 07 to about half way through 2012 it was 760x Hope this helps others in the future.
@@NotAMartian-1 that’s so odd because I just did a 2010 yesterday at work and it had the big U joints and it was not a Rubicon it was a Dana 30. So it should have been the small. That’s kind of why I didn’t have a definitive answer in the video because I’ve seen it vary so wildly.
@@FlawedOffroad from what I’ve seen online is some dealers will put in new style shafts with the larger ears for the bigger ujoint, if they have ever been replaced in the past that could explain it. My 2012 is completely factory it’s a pavement princess so the ujoints have lasted quite a while. I’m guessing they made the switch because of the added power with the 3.6. The 3.8 was gutless and wouldn’t require a larger ujoint.
@@NotAMartian-1 theres always previous owner upgrades as well. its well known upgrade for the older ones that may be why I run into the older ones with the newer shafts. Either way there is no way for a video to tell anyone what they have, gonna have to be some measuring involved
@@NotAMartian-1 I made the same mistake so I still have a set of the small ones. I kept them cause those fit tjs and older stuff and I like having spares for others
Thanks for the vid- and that finger joint locking? That's called trigger finger and it'll get worse. Steroid injections will free them up for awhile but surgery will eventually be needed. Just had the surgery myself...and it's much better.
@@donr100 maybe that’s it it’s been that way my whole life but only on my ring finger because I think it’s double jointed. It’s the only finger that I can bend just the tip without both knuckles bending if that makes sense. I can do it on command but sometimes it just does it by itself😅
Doing my U Joints has always made my nervous. This video was such a help. Was super easy.
I wasnt even going to make this a video, but im so glad I did because this seems to be the standard response. So glad it helped!
Thanks for the video! Just did them on my gladiator and saved myself $600 and a 2 week wait time.
Awesome! I'm sure you had fun with the axle disconnect! on the JL and JT, I recommend engaging the 4wd before you start so that the little locking ring in the disconnect doesnt fall off. The first one I did, I had to open the CAD/FAD to fish that ring out and back in place.
I just did ball joints, noticed it's probably time for u joints while I was down there. You did a great job explaining, and I actually don't feel too bad about doing these now. Thanks!
Good luck! its not too bad just takes a little patience
Bang on man! Perfect video! Done it once or twice before on a TJ I had back in the day, but needed a refresher! Other dudes never mentioned anything about taking the bearing out; which is the hard part on all of this! For some reason they were gently and easy pulling the bearing! I was scratching my head seeing them… awesome job! I’m tackling my kid’s TJ tomorrow! Thanks again!!
@@JustFun-tk4dt technically you can leave the bearing attached to the axle shaft and pull the whole thing out as one unit but then it’s really hard to change the U joint
@@FlawedOffroad yeah; I can picture what you mean… I probs missed a few words in my post to elaborate… what I meant was that anytime I’ve dealt with a pressed in bearing or hub like that, they’re always seized in and are fight to get out… lol… On several clips I saw before this one, the dudes would in fact remove the axle nut, but for some reason they just needed a gentle hand tug on the bearing to pull it out… : ) … I remember the first time I did it, I had fought with it for hours with pullers and. Anything else I could find and it wouldn’t budge… I ended up on a clip here of a dude that amongst other tips said… “sometimes you gotta beat the shit out of it…” lol… which I ended up doing and got it out! lol… wish I had kept the clip! The dude was hilarious and good at it… anyhow; today is gonna be a beer and bearing day… or a beering day I guess!! lol! We’ll see how she goes! Cheers!!
Alwright; I have to ask… a squeek at around 20 mph is an indicator of a bad joint right?? I changed one on the rear drive shaft and the left one on the front axle… both had slight play in them…?but she’s still squealing… stops after warm and at higher speed… I’m thing a joint on the front drive shaft??🤷♂️
@@JustFun-tk4dt yeah sounds like a Arizona jeep or something 😂
@@JustFun-tk4dt I can’t say I’ve ever actually had one squeak so I’m not sure
Easiest video to follow. This made the removal and install easy.
Best video I have seen yet. And I have watched quite a few. I'll be following this process for sure. Thanks for the video
Thanks, Glad you liked it!
Thanks for this video, others I watched had nice clean parts. Mine are rusty, dented trail beaten. Will look to your channel for future fixes.
After watching this video, I have much more confidence in my ability to do this work myself on my 2012 JK, so thank you. Like others who have commented, before seeing your video, I watched others on this subject, but each of them left something out that you covered, so you have a new subscriber.
As a backyard mechanic who is growing his tool collection, can you provide the manufacturer of the brass punch, 36mm axle nut socket, and the hammer with the blade and blunt face you were using? That would be helpful, thanks.
The socket is tekton: amzn.to/4gcOr3h
the brass punch: amzn.to/4gosf6a
And the hammer was acquired from a yard sale so I am not sure but I think its called a duck bill hammer.
I wish you was close by, gotta change mine
Follow every step he says to take. I just did my driver side ball joints and hub assembly so I also bought a Spicer U joint and following this video the entire passenger side is done. I just did what he said now I’m a mechanic but I work on heavy equipment. Driver side left.
Excellent video. For something done all the time can still learn something - never tried rotating the hub in the knuckle. I’ve always done the power steering deal where stick 5/8” socket to jam ujoint and turn wheel. I also have used the press tool for long time but agree that just seems to cause issues as it has so much crushing force, also I’d get one cap push through and if the other side goes too far into middle it always galls up on way out other side
Yeah I’ve exploded many caps trying many methods and I always go back to the caveman method it just works. That rotate trick works, it’s the ticket.(even if it didn’t work the best on my Jeep in the video it did still work)
My JK eats universal joints on an annual basis. Pretty sick of sending it to a shop so THANK YOU for this and for the trail tips. No garage here so I will basically be doing a trail repair period
Good luck! Often times the worst part is getting the stupid wheel bearing out if it’s a rusty one
cheers, yep that knuckle is trigger finger well thats what we call in the UK. onset of osteoperosis / arthritus or nodes. Hopefully nodes, simple opp sorts it out, otherwise every joint on your finger will end up doing it until youve gotta crack them free, worse case senario i had use a vice or a drawer until i had the opp.
You can tell who loves what they do
Thank you for making this video! I have to do this soon to my 08 JKU Rubicon as well as the hubs and rotors. Will probably do this all at once since I'll be under it taking it apart. Just makes sense, but I do have one question. My Jeep sits on 20" wheels and 35 tires, I've noticed that the steering seems loose and touchy. Ball joints, drag link, tierod/end, and sway bar have all been replaced recently as well (Within the last year). What can I do to tighten up this steering in this Jeep? Picture the old farmer in the cartoons where the steering wheels moves left and right a lot while he is driving but not turning. Lol
I have seen in several JK's especially ones that have been on large tires for alot of miles, where the slop is in the steering box. Its hard to explain how to check it but grab a buddy and have them saw the steering wheel back/forth while you lay underneath and look at the track bar ends, all steering joints, pitman arm etc. also have someone only move the wheel as far as the slop is and see if the pitman arm is even moving. All the slop could be in the steering shaft or box. Hope that helps. P.S. I have seen several brand new tie rods and drag links be sloppy from brand new especially if its parts house junk. Seen Jeeps with 5000 miles have clapped factory steering.
if you dont think you can figure it out, search out your local offroad shop and ask them to check out the front end. That accounts for probably half the jobs I do at work at a Jeep/Truck accessory shop. We do lifts and all kinds of stuff but I do so much suspension and steering work to correct death wobble and loose steering or even terrible tire wear. Good luck
@@FlawedOffroad I'm not sure what the ball joints are, they were done at the dealership just before I took delivery of this Jeep. But I know the drag link and tie rods are from Moog, ordered and install them myself. Will have a friend help with the moving, or just stick my go pro under the Jeep and set it to record and watch the video while doing it myself.
If the pitman isn't moving, when doing this, how would I diagnose it down to the steer shaft or the box between the two?
I'm in no way afraid to tear into this and wrench on it myself, but if something does seem complicated, I will sit there and read as much documentation and watch as many repair videos as I need to before attempting. :)
@@FlawedOffroad As for a local offroad shop, we don't have any here in Highlands County, Fl. I have to drive a good 60miles north before I hit one and they're all by appointment only. It sucks really, and the only time this Jeep see's off-road use is during hunting season around the WMA's.
@ yeah I just know the off-road shops know how to deal with these specific set of problems. I’m pretty sure there’s one down in Florida called JK land that I’ve heard of
Thanks, jou are fantastic and delever a very informative video. Thank you ever so much.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Fantastic and very informative video. Thank you ever so much 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👍🏻😉
Nice video! What impact gun is that running a dewalt battery?
@@danmulkiewicz5515 Mac tools, same company pretty much or under same umbrella
@FlawedOffroad thank you! And thanks for putting the time and effort into making these great videos for the jeep community. Adventure on!
So first off this vid is a life saver. Never changed these inner retainer clip style u joints before. Dumb design imo. Second, during reassembly of the driver side on my 95 xj, I spun the hub by hand, after tightening the spindle nut to spec. Bearings feel fine but i watched the inner shaft wobble as it spun in the new seal. Steering set straight. Might this be the true source of the mysterious vibrations? Better question, how might i determine if its the stub, or the inner shaft? Kinda liking the look of 100 bucks or so for a whole new cv axle assembly. Heard mixed thoughts on cv vs u-joint
@@prochorushanif7307 the cv are great only if you never plan to offroad, idk if I’d trust them it’s awful small (I’ve seen the factory zj ones)
If you think about it there’s nothing supporting the shaft from where it goes in the carrier/rides on the seal all the way to where the stub shaft splines through the bearing. It’s normal for a small amount of movement(even super duty Dana 60s do that)
The problem is if the stub shaft moves within the wheel bearing, or the u joint itself is so loose it causes movement on the joint itself) Typically the jk moves around much less than old yj/tj/xj style stuff. If it’s a new u joint and your bearing isn’t cooked then it’s probably that normal amount of movement I speak of
@@FlawedOffroad it's a head scratcher. Itd be awesome if you made some kind of short vid or something showcasing a bent axle vs a straight one, and where to look to see it
@@prochorushanif7307 front axle shafts getting bent is pretty uncommon(ive never seen one), other than the ears on the yokes. rear axles especially semi float axles are very common to bend at the flange, very easy to spot cause the whole rear tire will wobble.
You can change those 12 points with regular bolts. Also, what sway bar links are on there?
Yeah those bolts are like $20 each at Napa lol. I wasn’t concerned with it.
As for the disconnect they are a knock off of JKS disconnects, they were like $43 on Amazon haha(my electric sway bar is broken)
amzn.to/3w6iUOZ these are what I bought but I guess they are out of stock. They are a dead ringer to the JKS ones
@@FlawedOffroadthank you sir
@@Thexkidd says they are back in stock for $30 now, less than I paid
@@FlawedOffroad 😳 I’m on it
I always, without fail, have at least one cap where a needle falls over into the bottom of the cap, and i have to take it all back apart.
Yeah it happens. That’s why I always check to see how far the cap seated on the cross before I continue.
Been there! And busted a cap once too!! 🤬
I don't know ones I need I got 08 jeep wrangler Sahara which one I need?
More than likely the 5-760x
Thank you I just ordered it on Amazon,crossing my fingers
Alright so I’m in the process of figuring this out on my JK.
I’m a TJ guy, I’ve built multiple and currently have a 03 rubi on tons.
But my JK is a 2012 so I ordered the 7166x. They don’t appear to fit.
The switch seems to have been made part way through 2012 according to my research.. those of us with a 2012 have headaches figuring it out for the first time.
If you have a 2012 order both part numbers and return the ones that don’t work. It’s easier that way trust me.
2013 should be 7166x and from 07 to about half way through 2012 it was 760x
Hope this helps others in the future.
@@NotAMartian-1 that’s so odd because I just did a 2010 yesterday at work and it had the big U joints and it was not a Rubicon it was a Dana 30. So it should have been the small. That’s kind of why I didn’t have a definitive answer in the video because I’ve seen it vary so wildly.
@@FlawedOffroad from what I’ve seen online is some dealers will put in new style shafts with the larger ears for the bigger ujoint, if they have ever been replaced in the past that could explain it.
My 2012 is completely factory it’s a pavement princess so the ujoints have lasted quite a while.
I’m guessing they made the switch because of the added power with the 3.6. The 3.8 was gutless and wouldn’t require a larger ujoint.
@@NotAMartian-1 theres always previous owner upgrades as well. its well known upgrade for the older ones that may be why I run into the older ones with the newer shafts. Either way there is no way for a video to tell anyone what they have, gonna have to be some measuring involved
@@FlawedOffroad ya that’s very true. There is no way to guarantee it so I agree with how you put it in the video. Covers you from any backlash.
@@NotAMartian-1 I made the same mistake so I still have a set of the small ones. I kept them cause those fit tjs and older stuff and I like having spares for others
Vary informative: Thanks......
Dude, you remind me of Daryl in the movie U-Turn.
I'm not sure if that's supposed to be a compliment or an insult lol
Thanks for the vid- and that finger joint locking? That's called trigger finger and it'll get worse. Steroid injections will free them up for awhile but surgery will eventually be needed. Just had the surgery myself...and it's much better.
@@donr100 maybe that’s it it’s been that way my whole life but only on my ring finger because I think it’s double jointed. It’s the only finger that I can bend just the tip without both knuckles bending if that makes sense. I can do it on command but sometimes it just does it by itself😅
If I lived someplace where vehicles rusted so bad I would own a media blaster.
I mean sort of useful but its not like you can just casually sandblast your junk, its a whole ordeal haha
cool video
Thanks!
So glad I don't live in a rust belt.
It’s a bit of a curse. Around here if you like your vehicle you park it in the winter and drive a beater
@@FlawedOffroad Lol, out here in Oregon, rust is only a problem if you live on the coast really.
U need to break the middle nut first. With the wheel on.
@@Joe-b1i4d not really you don’t. Maybe if you’re doing it with hand tools but even then you can hold it from rotating with a pry bar.