U-joint exploded and left me stranded

Daniel.Lee said:
as far as the pinion angle goes, is this a pretty straightforward job?
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Yes, adjustable length rear control arms are adjusted to change it. To lower the pinion angle you'd slightly shorten the upper arms and lengthen the lowers. I'd try 1/2 turn each.

Edit: The above @Daniel.Lee assumes that the rear axle is properly positioned. If it's too far forward or too far to the rear it can be repositioned by adjusting the upper/lower arms accordingly.
 
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dbbd1 said:
Does the Adams DC take the same 5-1310x as the stock shafts?
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Driveshafts made for the TJ come with 1310 size u-joints unless you tell them you want something different like 1330. Adams (or Tom Wood) will build them with the Spicer 5-1310x if you tell them to. I would.

Edit: It looks like at least your lower rear control arm has a fixed/non-adjustable length. Based on that the upper length is probably fixed too.
 
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Daniel.Lee said:
So there I was, driving down 101N to San Francisco to have dinner with my girlfriend. I started getting alot of vibration but figured it might've just been my bushings somewhere. I got to the city right in the heart of the Tenderloin and was stopped at a red light. Light turns green, I put my vehicle into 1st gear, gave it some throttle, released the clutch, and BOOM, I hear a loud snap. I freak out and IMMEDIATELY let my foot off the gas and let the momentum take me to the curb. I got out and looked under the vehicle and I see my rear driveshaft dangling from the transfer case. The U-Joint between the driveshaft and rear diff had exploded and the yoke straps are toast.

Anyway, I pay $250 and 4 hours of my life for a tow to the nearest mechanic and left it there overnight as it was 1am at this point. The next morning I call the mechanic and long story short he replaces the U-Joint and tells me there is still some play between the U-Joint and the yoke. I inspected the U-Joint at the front diff and there is absolutely no play so I'm thinking something still needs to be addressed.

My question is, how do you guys get rid of this play? It's leading to a ton of vibration and I'm worried that the U-Joint will grenade again... I'm deathly afraid to drive my car as I've heard horror stories of driveshafts popping out of the yoke at highway speeds, ripping through brake lines, and puncturing holes through the floor of the car. I ordered a new yoke and straps and I'm hoping this addresses the play/chatter of the U-Joint/Yoke interface. The yoke looks like it's made from forged steel. How often do they lose tolerance and fall out of spec? Am I even tackling the issue correctly?

Thanks!

Dan

View attachment 82824
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Oof what a place to break down
 
Like fouledplugs mentioned, is there still endplay on your rear yoke?

Sounds like you may have some worn pinion bearings. I'm not sure how long it'll actually take until anything bad happens, but it may be time to get in there and if you've wanted a locker or new gear ratio, it may be a good excuse.
 
Jerry Bransford said:
Driveshafts made for the TJ come with 1310 size u-joints unless you tell them you want something different like 1330. Adams (or Tom Wood) will build them with the Spicer 5-1310x if you tell them to.
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Thanks.
When I go down that road, I want to be informed.
 
What's the consensus on the 1310s vs 1330s, etc? Is there any need to go bigger (I assume they're bigger)? I bet this has already been discussed so please ignore if it's redundant.
 
alittleoff said:
To me , it looks like the lower rear at the axle is a Johnny Joint.
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I doubt it is a JJ but it is adjustable and given the bizarre angle of the bit of an upper you can see and the oddball lower mount, that points to some sort of aftermarket long arm kit of sorts. Also not sure why the parking brake cable is just cut.
 
mrblaine said:
Where, axle end or t-case end?
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Either I guess. To be honest I've not thought about it, because I'm stock in those areas right now, but eventually I will regear and swap out the Tcase so I'll have to research when I'm closer to doing those jobs.

In any case I'm always curious on these subjects for those that may have seen some fail for a variety of reasons (or not fail). I generally assume there's always pluses and minuses and reasons why one setup may be necessary whereas others aren't necessary. I know guys at work with pulling trucks and some will actually use weaker U joints in certain areas so they won't damage other components, or at least make for an easy fix.
 
DieselJeep said:
Either I guess. To be honest I've not thought about it, because I'm stock in those areas right now, but eventually I will regear and swap out the Tcase so I'll have to research when I'm closer to doing those jobs.

In any case I'm always curious on these subjects for those that may have seen some fail for a variety of reasons (or not fail). I generally assume there's always pluses and minuses and reasons why one setup may be necessary whereas others aren't necessary. I know guys at work with pulling trucks and some will actually use weaker U joints in certain areas so they won't damage other components, or at least make for an easy fix.
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Are you implying they may be interchangeable? If so they’re not. The left is the 1310x and is a bit smaller (see later pics, it’s the smaller of the two), right a 1330x.

82950
82951
82952
 
DieselJeep said:
No I was just wondering in what circumstances would it be advisable to go bigger?
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I’m guessing here, but I think only if you’ve upgraded everything else in the drive line and break u-joints on the regular. The reason I think this is I’d rather be breaking a $25 u-joint than an axle shaft, ring & pinion, drive shaft, etc.

I’d be curious what @mrblaine or @Jerry Bransford thinks on that, it’s a good question.
 
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DieselJeep said:
Either I guess. To be honest I've not thought about it, because I'm stock in those areas right now, but eventually I will regear and swap out the Tcase so I'll have to research when I'm closer to doing those jobs.

In any case I'm always curious on these subjects for those that may have seen some fail for a variety of reasons (or not fail). I generally assume there's always pluses and minuses and reasons why one setup may be necessary whereas others aren't necessary. I know guys at work with pulling trucks and some will actually use weaker U joints in certain areas so they won't damage other components, or at least make for an easy fix.
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If you run them in the CV or Double Carden at the t-case, you give up a fair bit of misalignment in the drive shaft. The 1330 has the least amount of running angle of the common DC joints. 1310 and 1350 have the most. 1350 is way overkill for anything less than 37's and spirited driving to justify the expense over a 1310.

On rigs with bigger tires, we'll run a 1350 at the rear 60 and then a 1310 front since the driveshaft is typically smaller and easily overwhelmed by a DC joint that large. I might run a 1330 at the rear pinion yoke if I think it will save blowing up the 1350 DC.
 
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Fouledplugs said:
When you take the rear shaft out, does the rear axle yoke have play?
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Do you mean rotational play? It's got a bit of rotational play. Maybe like .050-.075" of play. I attributed this to slop in the gearing. There isn't any play along the axial direction if that's what you're talking about.
 
yeah axial would be a problem. There's always some rotational play for all the clearance stack ups.
 
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