Front drive shaft grease cap came off

[serpico760]

So after doing a lube job the grease cap on the end of the female spline for the drive shaft that goes into the front axles came off. Apparently it's just peened in place. Has anyone had that happen or no good way to fix it? Do I have to pull the u-joint and take that whole piece out? it kind of looks that way

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[NDT]

I would glue it back in place with JBWeld.

 

[G744]

That is a "watch class" type cap.

Held in place by flattening the dome a bit.

I find an old golf ball makes a good thing to use as it does the job without mangling the cap, just hitting it with a hammer a few times.

DG

 

[coachgeo]

So after doing a lube job the grease cap on the end of the female spline for the drive shaft that goes into the front axles came off. Apparently it's just peened in place. Has anyone had that happen or no good way to fix it? Do I have to pull the u-joint and take that whole piece out? it kind of looks that way

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with out major cleaning IMHO you wont get any glue, epoxy or weld of any kind to stick. So with that in mind, if you have time remove the driveshaft... remove the Ujoint the cap is suppose to be in..... clean it.... soak it.... clean it.... soak again... tons and tons of degreaser then do like NDT says and JB weld or better yet have it tack welded back in..... or replace the Ujoint (yoke?) with new, tack weld it back on the old one and keep it as a spare. Just matters how long you are willing to have the truck down out out of use and pocket depth.

 

[serpico760]

Thank you guys for your suggestions! I believe it's a good idea to have a u-joint puller anyway and to be familiar with the procedure other than just watching it on YouTube, therefore I will purchase a u-joint puller pull out the u-joint and drive shaft and repair it at home by cleaning everything and peening it back in place with some JB weld for good measure. Then I'll be sure to keep the u-joint puller and a spare u-joint in the truck at all times. Anybody have suggestions on the least expensive non Chinese u-joint puller? I like the tiger tool but don't want to spend that kind of money on a tool I won't use that often.

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[coachgeo]

Thank you guys for your suggestions! I believe it's a good idea to have a u-joint puller anyway and to be familiar with the procedure other than just watching it on YouTube, therefore I will purchase a u-joint puller pull out the u-joint and drive shaft and repair it at home by cleaning everything and peening it back in place with some JB weld for good measure. Then I'll be sure to keep the u-joint puller and a spare u-joint in the truck at all times. Anybody have suggestions on the least expensive non Chinese u-joint puller? I like the tiger tool but don't want to spend that kind of money on a tool I won't use that often.

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iffy idea of making your own tool- see the following video also

nothing to make

 

[serpico760]

Thanks, I've watched those before and talked to Dave about that today

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[coachgeo]

Thanks, I've watched those before and talked to Dave about that today

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Many have mentioned success with the jacking up on the end of shaft method as shown in second linked video above.

also ... maybe someone in your state with a FMTV has the Tiger tool they might could lend/rent you?? Granted that may not help in a field repair... but a planned one it could.

 

[ramdough]

Many have mentioned success with the jacking up on the end of shaft method as shown in second linked video above.

also ... maybe someone in your state with a FMTV has the Tiger tool they might could lend/rent you?? Granted that may not help in a field repair... but a planned one it could.

Amazon has a tool for just over $100. It is bright green. At that price it was worth having the tool.


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[serpico760]

Luckily another owner lives only about 45 minutes from me. I'm seeing if he has one.

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[serpico760]

Reviews of the bright green one have mentioned that it breaks quickly. cheap Chinese junk!

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[ramdough]

Reviews of the bright green one have mentioned that it breaks quickly. cheap Chinese junk!

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@fuzzytoaster uses one all of the time and recommended it…. So I bought one. Of all people, I would trust his recommendation. Any tool can be broken under the wrong circumstances.

This is the one I have:

OEMTOOLS 24538 Heavy Duty Automotive U Joint Puller, U Joint Tool Works On Most Class 7 and Class 8 Trucks, Easy-to-Use U Joint Puller, Green https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0787C31T1/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_C048TV2AH5DK49HGXVX9?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

It has 4.6 stars…. Wich is pretty good.

I guess it is up to everyone what they want to spend their money on. All of my joints have been pulled and greased, so my puller should not have to work as hard as others.


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[Awesomeness]

Any tool can be broken under the wrong circumstances.

...

It has 4.6 stars…. Wich is pretty good.

While it's true that you can break any tool if used incorrectly, I like to read more into the reviews than that. If you look at the reviews for the OEMTools (green) puller, there are multiple people who say it just broke.

In comparison, the $300 Tiger Tool puller, which is the gold standard, has over 2x the reviews, and a similar 4.7/5 rating, but READ them. There are none that say it broke. Instead, most of the less-than-5/5 ratings are for it not fitting the user's application.

• 2/5: "Great tool, if it fits your application"
• 4/5: "Works, but be careful" (u-joint cap was stuck, and he bent the yoke instead!)
• 2/5: "May want to double check" (didn't fit his)
• 4/5: "Thought this tool be a perfect fit. WRONG" (didn't fit his)
• 1/5: "Bent Casting Tool" (manufacturing quality error, not from use)
• 4/5: "" (didn't fit his)

Overall, that's a VERY different story. And if idiots were just breaking the green ones by using them wrong, you'd think the same idiots would show up on the Tiger Tool's reviews, but not one to be found.

Everyone will have to decide for themselves, but I'm too poor to buy cheap tools. Yes, this is a single purpose tool, and pulling the joint is possible to do without it (e.g. if the cheap one were to break in the field), but I like knowing that I have a good one I can depend on.

 

[serpico760]

It coold have been another green one that was bad, anyway, thanks for the input everyone!

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