U-joint replacement as maintenance item?

[rouxbicon]

Any thoughts on replacing u-joints as a preventive maintenance kind of thing, without any obvious issues? The thought occurred to me recently that my rear driveshaft is the factory original with the original u-joints, now 18+ years old with 120k miles. No clunks, clicks, squeaks, vibrations, or other signs of any issues with them. I was considering replacing them soon, but was then second-guessing myself..."if it ain't broke, don't fix it..."

 

[Gollywomper]

I would not replace them just for the sake of it. If you are concerned with them I would suggest removing the rear DL and inspect rotate them by hand checking for any play or tightness.

 

[SoCalTJ]

Any thoughts on replacing u-joints as a preventive maintenance kind of thing, without any obvious issues? The thought occurred to me recently that my rear driveshaft is the factory original with the original u-joints, now 18+ years old with 120k miles. No clunks, clicks, squeaks, vibrations, or other signs of any issues with them. I was considering replacing them soon, but was then second-guessing myself..."if it ain't broke, don't fix it..."

I was thinking about doing this too...except my Jeep has 198k miles on it. I'm still on the fence.

 

[CodaMan]

I replaced all mine at 110,000 miles, including the axle u-joints, as preventive maintenance. I do it myself so it didn't cost much, only took a day, and now I have peace of mind on my long overlanding trips.

 

[06lj]

I also replaced all of mine. I would always rather replace something on my timeline than having to do a rushed job because it broke at a bad time. I wasn't sure if mine were the originals but most likely they were. It's an easy job if you have basic tools.