Removing U joints on M1008

[Csm Davis]

A driveline that is in good shape with no dents or dings and that has already been balanced does not need to be rebalanced when you change out the 'U' joints. The new 'U' joints themselves are already "balanced" when built. The tire "analogy" does not apply here as tires are "not" balanced themselves but are "balanced" as an assembly with the wheel. Myself as having replaced literally hundreds or more 'U' joints on cars and big trucks (not thousands but I can safely say at least 500 ) I can safely attest to this practice. In fact I have never even heard of a mechanic sending out a driveline to get balanced after having replaced the 'U' joints unless there was a problem with the driveline itself. At the transit agency I worked at we would replace the 'U' joints every time the drive line came off just "because" . We never had those drivelines balanced and never had a problem either. Now if you "damage" the driveline by hammering on it to remove the 'U' joint that is a totally different can of worms. Then you should have the driveline balanced. For those who are planning on removing a number of 'U' joints, I would buy a nice 'U' joint remover-installer tool. They are pretty reasonable in price now.

Yes rusty that is very common on large equipment that gets serviced often and by professional mechanics. But we are not talking about 5 tons here but pickup trucks that the vibrations will be more annoying to the driver. Also the length of time of service is generally a lot longer and rougher on the vehicle, I have seen the difference between on road professional use and off road civilian use even on big trucks. I am not saying every 20,000 miles they need to rip them out and balance them but these trucks have had unknown driving experiences for 30+ years by young men that in many cases don't care about the vehicle and will do almost anything to them and don't forget the forklifts at the sales yards. Rusty is right about a vehicle that you know has never been hammered on by 18 year-olds or off road, it is not generally needed but any military truck I have the shafts pulled on will be thoroughly checked by experts and if I plan on running it over the road it is getting put on the machine and checked and my out of round and weight tolerances are tighter than factory because I think the extra time and money is worth it. Also I have at present around 20 CUCV'S and have sold many others and most of the driveshafts I have dealt with were bent, twisted, dented, or just wore out. Oh yeah a bus shaft is like a anvil vs a pickup shaft is more like a exhaust pipe.
P.S. it is not expensive to have one balanced and only takes a few minutes

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[rustystud]

Yes rusty that is very common on large equipment that gets serviced often and by professional mechanics. But we are not talking about 5 tons here but pickup trucks that the vibrations will be more annoying to the driver. Also the length of time of service is generally a lot longer and rougher on the vehicle, I have seen the difference between on road professional use and off road civilian use even on big trucks. I am not saying every 20,000 miles they need to rip them out and balance them but these trucks have had unknown driving experiences for 30+ years by young men that in many cases don't care about the vehicle and will do almost anything to them and don't forget the forklifts at the sales yards. Rusty is right about a vehicle that you know has never been hammered on by 18 year-olds or off road, it is not generally needed but any military truck I have the shafts pulled on will be thoroughly checked by experts and if I plan on running it over the road it is getting put on the machine and checked and my out of round and weight tolerances are tighter than factory because I think the extra time and money is worth it. Also I have at present around 20 CUCV'S and have sold many others and most of the driveshafts I have dealt with were bent, twisted, dented, or just wore out. Oh yeah a bus shaft is like a anvil vs a pickup shaft is more like a exhaust pipe.
P.S. it is not expensive to have one balanced and only takes a few minutes

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Well when you put it that way your probably correct. Yes the CUCV's have usually been hammered and yes the "auction" people are not gentle when moving them around. I was referring to changing out 'U' joints in general. On my CUCV I had a new shaft made with stronger walls since the old shaft had been damaged by the auction people. But once you do that you shouldn't have to have it balanced every time you replace the 'U' joints, unless of course you as the new owner "trash" your truck on a regular basis.