This is about the 2001 Dodge Dakota Extended Cab Pickup Truck in my signature. It is a basic two wheel drive truck, it has a 3.9 V6, and a manual 5-speed transmission, with 152,200 miles on it.
I have another thread here about a vibration that started recently. I feel it in the steering wheel and seat, it starts at about 65 and persists through 70 mph. If I go any faster than 70 I do not feel the vibration. I thought maybe the vibration was because the rotors were warped or had rust build-up. I checked it today and the rotors look OK but I will likely replace them anyway to eliminate a slight shimmy my truck has when I am slowing down to a stop. I had the tires balanced and rotated at a good local independent garage yesterday but the vibration persists.
I believe I have found the source of the vibration. I have 3 u-joints on my drive shaft. I believe the front one at the tail piece of the transmission is bad. Here are some pics:
This one shows grease leaking out one of the caps. There is also a line of grease that slung up on to the bottom of the truck bed above the u-joint:
Another pic of the grease line on the bottom of the bed:
Another pic of the cap leaking grease:
In this pic you can see a crack in the plastic seal around the cap. I guess that is reason enough to replace the u-joint too. All 3 u-joints have these cracks in their seals:
Another pic of leaking grease:
The truck does have just a very slight click type noise when I put it in gear, usually heard when I put it in reverse. Every now and then I can hear a similar noise as I shift gears while driving, usually at slow speeds as in from second to third. I always thought the noise was normal, it has done it for a long time. Now that I think about it the noise when shifting to reverse has become more pronounced here lately. I bet the leaky u-joint at the tail piece is exactly the reason why.
Do you guys here agree or think I may be right? If so, what brand of u-joints is best? I have never replaced one before but I am confident I can get it done with the help of BITOG, You Tube, the internet forums and my service manuals. The other two u-joints are not leaking any grease but I will replace all 3 u-joints because it makes more sense to be proactive and I sure don't want any u-joint failures on the road. I will also replace the transmission tail piece seal while I am at it.
Thanks for your help on this.
I have another thread here about a vibration that started recently. I feel it in the steering wheel and seat, it starts at about 65 and persists through 70 mph. If I go any faster than 70 I do not feel the vibration. I thought maybe the vibration was because the rotors were warped or had rust build-up. I checked it today and the rotors look OK but I will likely replace them anyway to eliminate a slight shimmy my truck has when I am slowing down to a stop. I had the tires balanced and rotated at a good local independent garage yesterday but the vibration persists.
I believe I have found the source of the vibration. I have 3 u-joints on my drive shaft. I believe the front one at the tail piece of the transmission is bad. Here are some pics:
This one shows grease leaking out one of the caps. There is also a line of grease that slung up on to the bottom of the truck bed above the u-joint:
Another pic of the grease line on the bottom of the bed:
Another pic of the cap leaking grease:
In this pic you can see a crack in the plastic seal around the cap. I guess that is reason enough to replace the u-joint too. All 3 u-joints have these cracks in their seals:
Another pic of leaking grease:
The truck does have just a very slight click type noise when I put it in gear, usually heard when I put it in reverse. Every now and then I can hear a similar noise as I shift gears while driving, usually at slow speeds as in from second to third. I always thought the noise was normal, it has done it for a long time. Now that I think about it the noise when shifting to reverse has become more pronounced here lately. I bet the leaky u-joint at the tail piece is exactly the reason why.
Do you guys here agree or think I may be right? If so, what brand of u-joints is best? I have never replaced one before but I am confident I can get it done with the help of BITOG, You Tube, the internet forums and my service manuals. The other two u-joints are not leaking any grease but I will replace all 3 u-joints because it makes more sense to be proactive and I sure don't want any u-joint failures on the road. I will also replace the transmission tail piece seal while I am at it.
Thanks for your help on this.
