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5 months ago I took our 2005 Yukon xl 1500 in to the garage I always use due to a vibration, they replaced both u joints in rear drive shaft. After getting it back I always thought there was still a vibration but just maybe me. The other day I was under the car looking for a transfer case leak and looked at the driveshaft and noticed on the shaft coming out of the transfer case that the yoke was cracked around the cap of the u joint, then noticed the rear of the shaft that the caps were loose around the straps with the 2 bolts but could not tighten. Went to the garage and talked to the guy at the counter and he tells me that the use a press on the u joints and could not of cracked the yoke part and that on the back the straps must be stretched. I’m looking for your opinion of what I have been told as the want to charge me for the cracked yoke and new straps plus labor.
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if things are cracked or stretched i imagine it can cause balance issues and vibrations, it all depends also on how bad the damage is how bad the vibrations are.
The GM half ton aluminum drive shafts are plagued with problems. Its not uncommon for one of these to twist off the yoke on either end. I’ve seen many with issues.
The previous mechanic may or may not be at fault. What you need to find out is did they balance the assembly after they installed the ujoints? Many independent shops don’t know that with these thin wall aluminum shafts you need to balance them after doing service. I’ve seen many ujoints fail or just come apart because the shaft is out of balance. What generally happens is it will shoot out one side of the retainer clip and then the bearing cap will work its way loose. Next hard acceleration and it will hit the yoke permanently damaging it. I used to keep a blown out yoke end to show people why I charged them to have there shaft assemblies balanced. Also the use of red Loctie #271 on the strap bolt is absolutely crucial. Without the loctite if the shaft is out of balance the bolts will loosen.
These are the down sides to these long one piece aluminum shafts. They are finicky to say the least. You can not treat them like a steel shaft, or even the much thicker 3/4 or 1 ton shafts.
To fix it you need to take the entire shaft to a drive shaft specialty shop. Have them inspect the yokes and replace as required. A good shop will have no problem cutting the unit off and re welding it. Also have them replace the u joints. Then they can balance the shaft as one piece and you’ll be good to go. I would not trust the shop you’ve dealt with to fix it. Cut your losses and go somewhere that specializes in driveshafts. Its not that they are bad, this is just a specialist thing. If they don’t have a rotational welder and a balance machine they cant do the job correctly. Also if they send it to a specialty shop they generally want to get it fixed for the least money. If you take it to the driveshaft shop and tell the guy to make it last forever he will get excited. Driveshaft guys are a bit different…The ones that I know anyways. They get excited about stuff like this.
Removing the shaft is easy. a 11mm wrench is all you need. Block the front tires,Jack up the back, USE JACKSTANDS under the rear axle. Have a buddy sit in the driver seat and place the truck in Neutral. Then rotate the shaft to access the bolts one at a time using the brake pedal to hold it in place. The other end will slip out of the transfer case.
In my opinion if you are a good customer with that shop and they touched those joints then they should warranty the job. Cant say for certain if the technician did or did not crack the yoke but it is definitely possible to do so with a press. Aluminum drive shaft plus 20 ton press = press wins every time. A good shop would help you to retain a good customer.
By the way, make sure you track down that transfer case leak. These trucks have a nasty habit of wearing a little hole through the cast aluminum case. If you have the case out for any reason go ahead and throw one of these in http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00P8EDS0C?colid=KGQO21GXZLZB&coliid=I19OOXBIBZY1FT&ref_=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl its a BRNY4080 plate that will prevent that from happening
There is a great video on Youtube from Briansmobile on how to install it. I would link to it but I don’t know if that would be ok with Eric to link another youtubers video to his site.
That was my thoughts as I have used them for the last 9 years. Cars are 10 and 13 years old so they have been there many times.
I found the leak it was worn through were they are known to. I patched over it with quick steel. I need the Yukon to last about another 6 months and I will be getting something else.
The shafts are aluminum, but the yikes I thought were steel. I’ve worked on a few yukins over last summer and they all had the same issue. I had to replace yokes on them
Yokes are aluminum. I’ve watched them get welded to the shaft.
Without that part I linked to, the quicksteel wont last. You can only cover it once you eliminate the internal rubbing.
[quote=”Bsosborne1″ post=155243]By the way, make sure you track down that transfer case leak. These trucks have a nasty habit of wearing a little hole through the cast aluminum case. If you have the case out for any reason go ahead and throw one of these in http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00P8EDS0C?colid=KGQO21GXZLZB&coliid=I19OOXBIBZY1FT&ref_=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl its a BRNY4080 plate that will prevent that from happening
There is a great video on Youtube from Briansmobile on how to install it. I would link to it but I don’t know if that would be ok with Eric to link another youtubers video to his site.[/quote]
Last I checked Eric was cool with other videos especially if it’s something he hasn’t covered. Not to mention that Eric and Brian are on good terms (they’ve mentioned each other in videos IIRC).
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