excessive rear end back lash be reduced w/ hand tools?

[bigrondownhiller]

I had air shocks back in the 80's -- rough ride but the rake was cool.

Mullet too Jeff?

[pajeff02]

Never had the mullet thing. Definitely had more hair back then though...

[Cutlass]

There is a well known driveshaft slip yoke clunk on the full sized trucks/SUVs from that era. GM issued a bulletin for it and offers a updated nickel plated slip yoke to fix it. I don't remember if includes astrovans and S10 trucks.
A temporary fix for the slip yoke clunk would be to clean and lube the splines on the rear driveshaft.

[qwik219d9]

There is a well known driveshaft slip yoke clunk on the full sized trucks/SUVs from that era. GM issued a bulletin for it .


A temporary fix for the slip yoke clunk would be to clean and lube the splines on the rear driveshaft.

are you referring to the splines on the transmission?

sorry I really don't know what a slip yoke is? the clunk is intermitant however I'm thinking it can only get worsth, the only time I had a U-joint go bad was on my 90 Nissan 300 the car vibrated so bad I could only drive it 20MPH to a shop.will the a bad slip yoke give me warnings before it totalley breaks?

and what happens when the slip yoke does break doe's the driveshaft disconnects?

? about installing a new U-joint can this be done w/ hand tools or must the new U-joint be pressed on w/ a press?

edit will the auto store rent the tools to remove the U-joint I know a man that has a vise and he probablley has the right size socket.


Thanks

[Cutlass]

Slip yoke is the end of the driveshaft that slides in and out of the transmission. They don't break or cause any problems other then the annoying clunk noise. You could drive around forever with that clunk and not cause any problems.
I usually just use a torch and a couple hammers to replace a u joint.

[qwik219d9]

I would prefer to not have this little clunk sometimes it's noticeable other times not so much.

I’m up for the temp fix
Can I just remove the clips that go across the U-jiont that holds the driveshaft to the diff.
Then side off the DS from the trans.
?1.what would you recommend to clean inside the slip yoke maybe a old toothbrush, brake cleaner?
?2.what type of lube would you recommend maybe the grease I use for ball joint and door hinges?
?3.how long doe’s this temp fix usalley last for?

?4.this updated nickel plated slip yoke will the old yoke have to be cut off driveshaft and the new updated nickel plated slip yoke be welded to DS?

also is the updated nickel plated slip yoke more slippery than the OE for this 99 astro van and that's why it doesn't clunk?

edit Cutlass why did you sell you'r TA? I bought mine w/ the intention of never selling it.
Thanks

[qwik219d9]

Van has 100K miles mite be a good idea to swap in a new U-joint while driveshaft is off.

What is the recommended U-joint?
Thanks

[Cutlass]

Yep. Unbolt the Dshaft from the rear diff and it slides out of the transmission or transfer case. Clean it with a brush and break cleaner should work fine. Use grade to lube it up. Wheel bearing grease, marine grease, ball joint grease should all work fine.
To replace the yoke is the same procedure to replace the ujoint on that side.

[Cutlass]

No need to replace the ujoint if it's ok. It's more work than it's worth probably.

[Cutlass]

Sold my car to buy a boat for my family and me to enjoy. I have too many "me" toys and not enough family toys.

[pajeff02]

I replace U-joints as a maintenance item, rather than waiting for them to fail. I did our Suburban U-joints at around 85,000 miles, and have replaced the joints in our older cars even though they have fewer miles. I generally try to go with Moog suspension parts, but have used the higher end stuff from Napa as well.

[qwik219d9]

how to jack up the Astro to get load off rear wheels?

I want to inspect the driveshaft U-joints. Will this job require a taller than 17” jack stand.

I’m trying to jack up the rear of the Astro at the lowest point just under the axel w/ a floor jack from the ground it jacks to 22”.

I then tried to surport the Astro w/ 17” jack stands sitting on top of a 3 ½ “ 4X6 the top of the jack stand was at the rear of the leaf spring mount (the round part). Still when I lower the jack the rear wheels will still touch the ground.

I was thinking of removing the wheels to gain a little more clearance but don’t have the correct wheel lug wrench are the wheel lugs a 21mm socket?

Any tips on jacking up the 99 Astro
Thanks TB

[Cutlass]

Well if it high enough for you to slide under there, you can check the ujoint. But if you want to be able to spin the driveshaft around so you can get to the bolts to take it out, sounds like you need taller jack stands.

[bigrondownhiller]

Put the jack stands under the axle.

[qwik219d9]

w/ the jack under the axel wont there still be load on the driveshaft?

I want to inspect the u-joints unload the wheels trans in neutral twist driveshaft w/ my hand.

I'm thinking to just use my ramps on the back jack stands on the front crawl under there remove drive shaft and take it to a mechanic he wants $40. to press in the 2 U-joints however I would really prefer to inspect them.


edit:OK so all I really need is the wheels off the ground to check the driveshafts u-joints?

then simply put trans in neutral a w/ my hand twist the driveshaft?

Thanks
Thanks

[bigrondownhiller]

w/ the jack under the axel wont there still be load on the driveshaft?

I want to inspect the u-joints unload the wheels trans in neutral twist driveshaft w/ my hand.

I'm thinking to just use my ramps on the back jack stands on the front crawl under there remove drive shaft and take it to a mechanic he wants $40. to press in the 2 U-joints however I would really prefer to inspect them.


edit:OK so all I really need is the wheels off the ground to check the driveshafts u-joints?

then simply put trans in neutral a w/ my hand twist the driveshaft?

Thanks
Thanks

You only need to get the rear in the air and put the car in neutral. You could use the ramps, just chock the wheels.

[pajeff02]

You can check the driveshaft u-joints with the suspension loaded or unloaded. If either one is bad, you'll know it by the amount of side-to-side play.

[RONS98TA]

The most important thing is to make sure the car is somehow locked into place so it wont roll while your under it. You can actually check for bad u-joints while the car is on the ground, assuming you can get under it. I would find nice level ground, set the parking brake, put some bricks in front and behind 1 of the wheels, put the truck in neutral, then just slide up under it, grab the drive shaft and rotate it left to right and check the front and rear joints for play. Safety is the most important thing here. You don't want the vehicle to start rolling while you're under it.

[qwik219d9]

Took the Van to a muffler shop he has a lift that you drive onto so the wheels weren’t off the ground,
Trans was in park ,not neutral,The man grabbed the driveshaft and tried to twist it there was no slack at all in the U-joints, the trans. Mount looked intact and the rear shock bushings looked fine.

So this clunk must be internal to the rear ends diff.?

Will this intermitant clunk eventually leave me stranded or is this clunk just part of having a GM truck or Van?

Maybe I should remove the cover and look for wear inside the diff.?
I have a TA girdle on my WS6 maybe a stronge girdle w/ bearing surport studs will improve this clunk?

What would be a parts list & cost for redoing a 10bolt diff.?

And what should I expect to pay for setting up the rear end diff.?
Thanks

[Cutlass]

You're probably barking up the wrong tree. If the rear diff is bad enough to clunk...the van would be almost undrivable. It wouldn't be intermittent.