Ok, I am getting ready to replace both u-joints on the rear drive shaft and I have part number 5016382aa from dodge and part number 458 for precisions from Oreillys. Does anyone have an opinion on where to get or what kind of u-joints seem to be best?

Thanks

I've really never noticed a difference in what kind of u-joint is used, personally, if it were my truck I'd go for the cheaper setup

I had bad exerinces with cheepy autozones. I suggest napa or deler. They are only $5 more. Its is a critcal part. I had mine fail at 75mphs. Luckly I was able to drive home on the front axle.

summit sells some good ones too, you just have to pay the 10.95 handling charge.....

I think there's nothing wrong with aftermarket u-joints, at least I've never suffered from them. Course I'm not Crazy4x4RT, I just drive a street rod. My only suggestion would be to get the sealed ones instead of the ones with zert fittings you have to grease. They last no longer and make a flying mess under your truck.

Well I am a little pissed. Oreillys had the best price on Precision u-joints around and I took my old u-joints in to have them matched up to the new ones. They sold me the 316 and 317. The small one goes into the splines and the everything seemed to go back together pretty well. Now I have vibration at 65+ mph.

I double checked to make sure the snap rings were all in place and that everything seemed to be set right. Its a solid shaft so its pretty much a no brainer to put together. My relatives advised me to position the snap rings facing the same way and see if that makes any difference. I did this and no difference. There is no slop in the shaft now, I especially feel the rigidness when I take off from a stop.

Can ANYONE please help me? I have run out of Ideas :S

What the heck year is it ! Precision is a good brand. That vibration was probably there before you replaced the joints and just didn't notice it cuz the joints being bad masked another smaller vibration. Depending on what year it is maybe the shaft is out of balance or it is wheel balancing.

Its a '93 and I just had the wheels balanced. I guess its possible that these are the correct u-joints and they are installed correctly. But what else could be causing the vibration?

so yours is not a split driveshaft? if it is i would check the carrier bearing, and if not thensomething could be out of wack, are all the caps sticking out the same?

Correct, Its a solid single shaft.Yes, the caps all seem to be evenly spaced. I am taking the day off tomorrow to take it inland truck in Olathe KS to have them balance it. I am not sure exactly what all that consists of. But I guess it will be a learning experience.

the two joints are the same. i don't understand why you have two different part #'s and one joint smaller. on my 89 4x4 the're interchangible. i'm 99% sure yours should be the same.

I talked to the dealership on this and they said that since I have the extended cab / Heavy duty axle - tow package etc etc. This required a stouter driveshaft. But they agreed that it normally a smaller one would have been used.

I hate it when this type of crap happens, especially when you're trying to be proactive in your maintenance and after the fix the car gets worse.

Just a thought, most driveshaft's are balanced with counter weights and before you take them apart you have to mark their relative position. Though since you'rs is a single piece I suppose this wouldn't apply.

Test

Is there a problem if when you spin the drive shaft sometimes both wheels will spin and other just one?

No problem at all. That meens you have an open diff. That is normal. Its not best for traction, but great for streets.

you have a heavy duty drive shaft and one larger u-joint to handle the load, the other u-joint is smaller and lighter duty, that kinda defeats the purpose of heavy duty. either the engineers at dodge who designed the dakota'sare dumb as a post or the dealership gave you incorrect info.check around at other parts places and see if the numbers are the same, if there not then check your shaft to see if any weights came off oralso check for grease or undercoating on the shaft to through it out of balance.

because it's heavy duty you may have a locker in the rear. raise the rear of the truck, spin one of the rear tires, if they spin opposite directions you have an open diff. if they spin the same direction you have a locker ( if you want to be sure call the dealership and give them the vin #, they can tell you if it has a locker) a bad locker could cause a shake but i'm not sure because i've never had one, i've heard of them exploding or seizing solid but not shaking.

Dealer decoded the Vin and the differential info came up as DRAS - Corporate 8.25 Rear Axle. Does this mean that I have a weak truck?

i have the same rear end and so does crazy4x4rt, and if we have not broke the 8.25 yet then it must be pretty tough, cuz i rag the hell out of mine and from the looks of it so does he, lol. mine is open too, it just means both tires wont spin all of the time, not so good fot traction at all so i have learned, just like crazy said.

Awesome! Thanks everyone for your advise!

if you guys don't have problems then i agree, they are tough enough. i do have a question about them though, i checked the shed and found two joints off a comanchee i had. the joints are the same size but one has shorter caps, the caps are the same diameter though. i also noticedthe clips goon the inside on one and the outside on the other, is this what you mean by a smaller joint? if so there should be no loss in strength just a different design.i did look under thedakota just to be 100% sure and they are the exact same.

No, the smaller u-joint is smaller in diameter and in caps size. Meaning that you couldnt take the rear joint and remove the caps and even begine to put it in the yoke. Trust me there is no way that you could ever begin to interchange the two.

thanks dukesupes,mines an 89 and its always good to know what parts will or won't fit from the later models because i'm always lookin' for them.