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They should come pre-greased, so no grease needed. I would go to autozone and rent (it's free but, you pay a refundable deposit ) their ball joint press (It's just a big c-clamp that works almost perfectly for u-joints). I used it because I dont have a shop vise and even if I did, I dont know that I would have wanted to put that much pressure on it. They aren't designed to be presses. If you do have one, it's would be best used just to hold the drive shaft while pressing the u joints out with the ball joint press. All that means nothing if you have a hydraulic press though (but not many people do).
I'd also pick up some type of torch (propane is probably the cheapest). The torch really isn't needed and I didn't use one but, it probably would have made things easier (see below for more info on why it's easier).
A u joint strap kit might also be worthwhile if you think you might strip the bolts on the straps trying to get them out. They are cheap enough insurance against a future headache. I rounded one of mine and probably will have a heck of time removing it in the future if I have to.
There are a bunch of u-joint tutorials already out there on the net. The only difference between most of them and on our trucks is that GM used an injection molded plastic to keep the caps in place instead of clips. That's where the torch comes in handy. Just apply heat to those caps instead of removing any clips before pressing them out.
Do you have any pictures of what that plastic looks like? And just to be clear, you dropped the driveshaft completely out of the truck and then used the press to remove the caps and get the U joint out?
I actually picked up a 6 inch C clamp from Advance on Sunday when I was changing my rear brakes. I was planning on either using that or going with the "hammer and socket" method like this goober:
Final question: is there any difference between the front and rear U joint? It doesn't look like it, but I ask because all of the U joints on amazon say
This product fits this position on your 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe:
if you heat it up a white plastic will "pop" out of both sides then u can press it out. i like to use a vice but a c clamp or ball joint press would work
Do you have any pictures of what that plastic looks like? And just to be clear, you dropped the driveshaft completely out of the truck and then used the press to remove the caps and get the U joint out?
I actually picked up a 6 inch C clamp from Advance on Sunday when I was changing my rear brakes. I was planning on either using that or going with the "hammer and socket" method.
If you look at the picture below, the light ring going around the cap is the plastic. The little spot on the drive shaft is the sprue from the injection. If you decide to use a torch, just apply heat to the drive shaft at that point and around the "ring" and it should loosen up. It should melt the plastic in addition to expanding the metal, which should make it quite a bit easier to remove.
Depending on the stubbornness of your particular u-joint a normal c-clamp may not going to be stout enough, especially if you aren't using a torch. I haven't tried removing one with a torch, so I can't say how much force is required. However, if you scroll up a few posts you will see where I used two wrenches to get the leverage needed when not using a torch. Together they were about 4' and at 6'2" and 230lbs they almost weren't enough. Also note how heavy duty the ball-joint clamp is compared to a normal c-clamp.
A 6" c-clamp also might not have enough throat to accommodate a socket and the u-joint.
I'm also not a big fan of the BFH (big friggen hammer) method for most any type of work. It often times leads to bad things happening.
oh and definitely don't forget to install the clips that came with the new u-joint. You will probably be fine for a while but, eventually it will sling one or both of the caps off of the u-joint. Don't ask me how I know.
One more question. I was totally ignoring the fact that it's 4WD and forgot that the thing has two driveshafts, one on either side of the transfer case. Does the rear drive shaft rotate at all when I'm driving in auto/2WD or is this sound more likely limited to the front drive shaft?
Got under the truck and saw what looks like it could be the problem:
I'm guessing the left is how it should look, and the right is how it looks after rusting out. However, that's the rear driveshaft.
One more question. I was totally ignoring the fact that it's 4WD and forgot that the thing has two driveshafts, one on either side of the transfer case. Does the rear drive shaft rotate at all when I'm driving in auto/2WD or is this sound more likely limited to the front drive shaft?
The rear shaft always turns. As with all rwd vehicles. The front shaft depends on the transfer case operation.
Really not sure how the auto system works on tjese vehicles. It's possible that the front shaft turns all the time and only engages/disengages the front diff when needed. It's also possible that the engagement happens in the transfer case.
In 2wd the front shaft shouldn't turn at all.
The easy way to isolate it to one shaft or the other is to listen for the squeek in 2wd. If present in 2wd, its the rear shaft. If only present in AWD of 4WD it's the front shat.
That joint doesn't look particularly bad, but the right side does look a little suspect.
The rear shaft always turns. As with all rwd vehicles. The front shaft depends on the transfer case operation.
Really not sure how the auto system works on tjese vehicles. It's possible that the front shaft turns all the time and only engages/disengages the front diff when needed. It's also possible that the engagement happens in the transfer case.
In 2wd the front shaft shouldn't turn at all.
The easy way to isolate it to one shaft or the other is to listen for the squeek in 2wd. If present in 2wd, its the rear shaft. If only present in AWD of 4WD it's the front shat.
That joint doesn't look particularly bad, but the right side does look a little suspect.
Thanks. For some reason I was assuming these trucks are front wheel drive when in 2WD. Glad I was mistaken since the rear driveshaft looks a lot easier to deal with.
Update: the driveshaft was a pain in the ass to get off, finally came loose after using penetrating oil. Took a torch to the rear u joint and the plastic popped out, but now I can't get the U joint to come out. Using the hammer method and it just won't budge at all.
Just sprayed some penetrating oil on the caps and gonna let it sit for awhile and see if that helps.
Edit: It didn't. Shop near me wants 80 bucks just to pop the old U joint out if I bring the disconnected drive shaft in. Seems overly expensive.
Update: the driveshaft was a pain in the ass to get off, finally came loose after using penetrating oil. Took a torch to the rear u joint and the plastic popped out, but now I can't get the U joint to come out. Using the hammer method and it just won't budge at all.
Just sprayed some penetrating oil on the caps and gonna let it sit for awhile and see if that helps.
Edit: It didn't. Shop near me wants 80 bucks just to pop the old U joint out if I bring the disconnected drive shaft in. Seems overly expensive.
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