Dodge Ram 1500 U joint, diagnosis and replacement 

One of the truly good visual teachings of how to do this. If you had the opportunity to do it again, but with a bit more direct line of sight on the shots during each step, it would be perfect.

Definitely one of the easiest to follow mechanics on here. Right on, man. “Like your dad always said...”

Thank you fine Sir! As a fellow Canadian and former Aircraft Machinist I couldn't, for the life of me, pound them out on a vise as others suggest. Having more time than money I made a very deluxe c-frame press just for this occasion, when I bought the truck. I watched several video's and knew I must be able to replace them without pulling the axle. And here it is. And properly done with the utmost care for precision. Well done and thanks again.

Excellent Video! I will tackle my own 98 with the same issue now!

I dont even own a dodge ram and I watched this whole video. Very informative!

If I had a shop this would very useful. But If I had a shop I probably wouldn't need a video. Guy definitely knows what hes doing

Great video sir!! I tried a while back to do this on my 2001 but couldn't get the hub bolt to break loose and got frustrated so I put the brakes and tires back on and walked away. I'm glad I ran across your video! It gave me the motivation to try it again...a different way. Otherwise I'm going to have to pony up the dough to pay someone else to do it. I can't take the ticky-ticky-ticky-ticky noise anymore

Ive watched quite a few videos in preperation for this repair and this video is by far the best one and the one I will be using during the replacement. Thank you for being so thorough.

I just got new aftermarket tires and rims on my 01 1500 and now he’s making clicking/popping noises. Thank you for showing and explaining the sounds! A lot of videos don’t show the noise or problem before they start taking it apart. I like to diagnose my truck before asking for help.

Your videos are always excellent. 've owned the same truck as yours since new in 1998. I've done the wheel bearings twice, the axle joints 3 or 4 times. I forgot the brake dust shield once. But unlike you, I didn't realize it until I was putting the wheel back on. Wont do that again! lol

Thanks for including the goof up. It helps me to remember that point in the re-assembly when watching you.

Great video. It never occurred to me to take the bearing assembly and the shaft out as one. I've always taken that 1 3/4 nut off. Princess Auto? Canadian Eh? I love that place. Been buying stuff from them for years....many years

Great video, thank you for making it! With the thank you out of the way let me tell you my story. I've owned my 2001 Ram since 07, it had 74,000 miles when I got it. The U-joint on the passenger side, I've had to replace 5 or 6 times, every couple years or so. I quit buying the part from Auto Zone and bought it from Napa. Now it's been on for 3 or 4 years and still hasn't gone bad. Lesson learned there lol. I've never had to do the drivers side one, I now have over 300,000 miles on the old girl. That is one hell of a long time and a lot of miles on that U-joint! Even though I know how to do it, I always watch refresher videos. They help to remind me of things and maybe learn a tip or trick here and there. I watched one where the guy used a slide hammer to get the wheel bearing separated, I'm going to be trying that this time. I did like your trick of leaving the bolts in and hammering on them. The part of getting that separated is always a pain in my ass! Again THANK YOU for the video!

And all this time I thought that sound was a loose shock mount ,thx bud !

Very helpful my friend! Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Have a blessed day! Happy motoring 👍😎🇺🇸🙏☮️

I like your videos a lot.My problem is I don't and can't have a cutting Torch where I live ,so l was stopped in my tracks at that point ,but I still watched the whole vid.Great narrative. Thanks.

Very well done - Thank You. I am going to be replacing pretty much everything on my 2005 Dodge Ram 3500 4x4 here shortly. Your video helps give me a bit more confidence to tackle it.

Very well done. Thank you for taking the time to make this video. Very precise and well executed. If you're not a teacher already, you should be. Thank you sir .

Thank you sir! Have to to get’er done on my 2500 soon

Great instructions and explanations. A shot of grease every now and then will flush any water and grime out of the joint plus relube the seals, keeping them clean. I believe the sealed for life joints do have tight fitting seals but the seals wear out from road grime etc. Then water and whatever gets into the joint, the grease turns into the consistency of valve grinding compound and the joint fails. Thanks again and take care.

Thank you for getting straight to the point. Great video. Much appreciated sir

Bro! You solved my mystery. Thanks. NEW SUB.

I like the reference to the Weber Auto U-Joint series. I watched at least a couple episodes more than once . More than you probably want to know about u-joints, "selective fit snap rings ? Indeed." :-)

Im about to do my first u joint on my ram. Im super glad i found this video! Thanks so much!

My Dodge Ram. v-10 2500 has the factory u joints in her still good with over 300,000 miles on no grease zerks on them,when I bought it with 7 miles on I was not impressed,but now I can’t argue with none zerks in the drive line,just swamped my first ball joint,did all of them,even though only 1 was loose, love Dodge factory parts

Good job man. Looks like you have a nice shop and proper tools. One day I will have all this lol.

Great great repair video 👍 thank you so much.

Thanks for the video. Most informative one on youtube.

Very well done Dave and we all forget things. Those caps were in there pretty tight and looked like the worst part of the job. But as always, you made it look simple. 😀👍

A very informational and well done video. I did a wheel bearing and ball joints on my 3/4 ton ram. The brake backing plate that you forgot was so rotten I didn't bother putting it back on lol. And I couldn't find reasonably priced replacement. So, I decided that backing plate was "extra" lol.

Very helpful and easy to understand! Thanx!

Thank you so much for providing the part number for those u joints. I'm currently replacing the wheel bearings and u joints on my 98 ram 1500 4x4 and twice now AutoZone gave the wrong part. Went to reinstall today and the diameters for the new u-joint cups were to small for my knuckles. They are Moog part number 248. If you have this same year and model, don't get those.

great video im going to chain my 2001 1500 ram the same way look ease the way you did it

when people ask what "that noise" is ( my u joints banging around) . i just tell its the all the ponies cloppin under the hood cause my 5.9 magnum has so much horse power hahahaha

Awesome tutorial!

Really like your videos!

Wow this guy's a genius damn

Great video. It proved to me this is not a job for the average DIY mechanic. LOL

Looks great man , Good for many more miles !!

Nice job

Smashing repair :-D I didn't see any mistake, you were teaching us how not to do it :) We all make mistakes :-) Not having to remove the wheel bearing is a big plus, damage is so easy to create. How long did the old needle bearings/cross/caps last? More than a year i hope ha ha :-D

Thank you for the great help! I was wondering if there is a pecial adapter to grease the u joints seeing that they are a low profile fitting. Thanks again

Very nice video. I will post a link to your video on mine. I will also give you a shout-out Dave. Good job!

I subbed. Love the video. Helped me a lot. Thanks from Canada

You make some awesome videos!

Gotta love the music lol

Nice job with the repair!

Great video

Hi, nice video thank you. Will you tell me if the 2500 three-quarter ton is the same process?

Ada boy you da man🖐🏿💯

Finally ,something with a dodge :-),whats your condition of a front driveshaft ,can you hear a clunking noise too??

Why did you have to put it in 4 wheel drive when you started the repairs

Awesome work my friend. How did you secure camera under your truck ? That was great shot of U joint. Well done. Cheers👍👍

Hi ,can you make a episode how to adjust a handbrake ,thanks

Good job! Here i go!

This is gonna sound stupid but where did you place the floor jack at to jack it up and put it on the jack stands

I needed this for my 16 ram 1500 4x4 and the dealership is asking 900 for this repair.

11:45 had me rolling

The axle nut is actually 1-11/16 or 43 mm.

Number one

Do you know if the new front axle shaft assembly with tone ring will fit on a ram 1500 that does not have abs? Or will something get in the way?

Well Done!!!!!

I am subscribed and enjoy watching your channel, specifically the 2nd generation Dodge repairs. Is there a way I can message you for private dialogue as I attempt to chase a cylinder 6 misfire on my 2000 5.9 360? The miss is at idle only, intermittent and not discernible when just listening at idle. Replaced all plugs, ohmed spark plug wire, inspected cap and rotor. Nothing remarkable noted to cyl 6 or the corresponding components relating to ignition for that cylinder. Plan to move the injector to an adjacent cylinder to see if the misfire follows the injector. Will replace the cap, rotor and wires......just because I might as well given its cheap and if I am reaching back there to install it I just assume it be a new cap and rotor! If the aforementioned steps fail to yield resolution, my next step would be a leak down as the cylinder head and valves would become suspect. Thanks for your content and I look forward to hearing some suggestions!

Also I’m wondering can you use a slide hammer to pull out the assembly to

Cool...So there's no way to do this at home without a cutting torch. That is the only way to get it out? Would a cutting wheel angle grinder or something work?

Dumb question here but would that still go out and make noise if I don't use 4wd in my truck?

How long can you drive around like that?

What kind of camera and camera mount did you use for this video?

I have a question about what exactly did you use to punch out the u-joint cap when it was in the hydraulic press?

what model is this crosshead? gasser 1500 4x4 1999

Can these cause vibration?

Mine is hitting the grease fitting

take it back out need to put the dust covers on

Any idea of cost at a dealership?

Can I just replace the whole unit

جيد احسنت

Yeah I ain't got all those damn tools to do this

Fyi he top of cap came off because of the way you used the ball joint press your mistake!!! I've changed out at least 50 pairs over the years so rusted in place ring clips rusted in place and never ever had to use a ball joint press my friend !!!! All I've ever used is wd 40 a 7/8 or 1 inch shallow preferably the larger socket and hit it unsupported with 16 ounce hammer never bent of course dont miss align socket and whack it they come out very easy every time that cast u joint is very very hard almost like ballistic steel very difficult to bend hitting it with a 16 ounce hammer that's all you need no larger Btw if u want to bend that u joint keep using that ball joint press lol

Hafa Adai Sir, would you happen to have an email I can contact you at. I'm hearing a similar noise in my ram and can't figure it out.

Forgot dust cover lol

will you fix my 08 dodge!! ? lol

Never forget the condom

That’s what your dad always said? Dude that was super cringe. Stick to mechanics not creepy sayings.

Great video