InvisiBill
Active member
Finally decided to get the propshaft fixed up. I've been driving on it like this for at least 20,000 miles, and all the recent propshaft horror stories finally convinced me...
I followed the guide at http://www.techweasel.com/articles/syty/propshaft.htm and it was a piece of cake. I had it done within an hour of getting home from NAPA. Here is the entire collection of tools I used. The hammer and punch were just used to mark the ends of the shaft and the front diff and transfer case. Don't know if it matters, but I figure it's a lot easier to know exactly how it was than to have to try and figure it out later. I had to use two jacks due to lack of lift height and poor planning. =) Jackstands, ratchet, and E12 and E14 sockets finish up the list.
I think I may have found an even easier way to do it too. Instead of wedging the front of the shaft up to get at the bottom bolts in the rear, let the front hang down and go for the bolt on top.
Here's a shot looking straight up from below. The front of the truck would be at the bottom of the pic, and the rear at the top. You can see the extension and black torx socket along the left side of the joint.
Here's a shot of the same thing from the front. If you just let the joint hang down, you've got a clear shot at that top bolt closest to the driver side. The only real downside is that you have to do the bolts one at a time, with a 1/4 rotation in between (instead of two at a time).
Took it down the road for a quick run to make sure I didn't screw anything up, and it seemed smoother. Would front differential problems disappear also, or does this guarantee that it's the propshaft?
I followed the guide at http://www.techweasel.com/articles/syty/propshaft.htm and it was a piece of cake. I had it done within an hour of getting home from NAPA. Here is the entire collection of tools I used. The hammer and punch were just used to mark the ends of the shaft and the front diff and transfer case. Don't know if it matters, but I figure it's a lot easier to know exactly how it was than to have to try and figure it out later. I had to use two jacks due to lack of lift height and poor planning. =) Jackstands, ratchet, and E12 and E14 sockets finish up the list.
I think I may have found an even easier way to do it too. Instead of wedging the front of the shaft up to get at the bottom bolts in the rear, let the front hang down and go for the bolt on top.
Here's a shot looking straight up from below. The front of the truck would be at the bottom of the pic, and the rear at the top. You can see the extension and black torx socket along the left side of the joint.
Here's a shot of the same thing from the front. If you just let the joint hang down, you've got a clear shot at that top bolt closest to the driver side. The only real downside is that you have to do the bolts one at a time, with a 1/4 rotation in between (instead of two at a time).
Took it down the road for a quick run to make sure I didn't screw anything up, and it seemed smoother. Would front differential problems disappear also, or does this guarantee that it's the propshaft?
