Lately I noticed the roar in Janice’s Cherokee was getting louder. The rear wheel bearings have need a change for a while but I keep putting it off.
On the lift I noticed that the right front axle U joint was loose. That was making more noise than the rear wheel bearings so I decided to tackle it first. Also I am very familiar with this job.
I began by removing the wheel and brake caliper. Then I removed the center nut and washer. I then pulled the three hub mounting bolts.
I was very pleasantly surprised at how easily the hub came out. Most of the time I have to hammer these out but this one can out in my hand.
I used a support to hold the axle up while I pulled the axle shaft out. This reduced the amount of gear oil lost from the differential.
I then move took the axle shaft to the vise to swap out the joint. This is a job I have also done many times as evidenced by all the roller bearings on the floor behind my vise.
This joint proved very stubborn to extract. I pressed and hammered and finally got one cap off. I then went to press the cross back through and the other cap must have gotten crooked because it jammed and the cap broke rather than come out.
I used a combination of hammering, pressing and using a punch on the anvil to finally extract the broken cap. The other two caps from the stub axle came out relatively easy after that.
I put the new caps on the anvil and tapped them in to the axle. Then I put in the other two caps. I used the press to move caps in enough to put the C clips on.
I slipped the axle back in and reinstalled the hub. Then I put the rotor back on and the brake caliper. With the wheel back on and the lugs torqued, Janice took it for a test drive and noticed that is was much quieter.
Now I still have to do the rear wheel bearings. I have everything on the shelf, I just have to schedule some time.
[phpbay]Universal joint, 10[/phpbay]