The T/A replaced the number 1 u-joint on my driveline and now...

If it was installed improperly it would had come apart way before five months sounds to me you have something moving motor mount tranny mount carrier bearing going bad or another u-joint going bad making the shaft jump at the carrier bearing....but I don't think it's TAs fault!

 

If the yoke is warped, the vibration will not go away. In fact it would wallow out the yoke and break. Is anything bent on the leveling valve assembly? A sharper angle on the driveshaft will cause the u joint to fail prematurely.

 

If you have your torque settings set high in ecm for fuel mileage it could simply be driver error. If not high torque settings, it being the one of tranny I would check motor mounts then check to see if the yoke is loose on splines on tranny. shine a light most times when you wiggle it the washer will show the movement behing the nut. Could have wore out yoke, or a bad carrier bearing. I don't see air ride being an issue with number one cause it runs straight to carrier bearing there is no up and down angle like the others it is a somewhat fixed mount with limited movement. It lasting 5 months I doubt it was installed wrong.

 

"I doubt it was installed wrong."

Not necessarily. I had a u-joint replaced at Bosselmans in Grand Island. Several months (and many 10's of thousands of miles) later, developed a vibration that was traced to the same joint and also the corresponding yoke. Come to find out the joint had been installed 90 degrees out of phase and still lasted that long. Bosselmans made good on my costs for repair @ the International dealer in Reno.

 

The first U-joint was wore. It wasn't loose. After the fact they were coming loose. He could of damaged the threads with an impact. Inspect what's left if you can closely. You'll see the threads shiny and stretched. The second go around I would of used thread loc just in case. I always repair the drive line as a unit. If one U-joint is bad the others aren't far behind.


It's kind of like putting new tires on a wore out front end. It'll ride nice for a little while until the tires start wearing incorrectly. You need to fix the whole thing instead of part of it.

 

thats what i was thinking

if it happened as he said, something else was wrong, and TA is typically NOT the place to get detailed work done, because you are generally getting kids to work on your truck

sometimes they hit a homerun, sometimes not

 

you said speedco checked and all was good. for 2 days anyways.

anytime a drive line comes apart. there's ALWAYS going to be damage. air lines, wires, etc. not cheap, and not quick.

make sure EVERYTHING is looked at. trans and rear end yokes. carrier bearings. the whole 9 yards. so you can be sure the problem won't happen any time soon.

when i was a auto mechanic. warranty used to be 90 days parts. towards the end of my career. manufactures cut it down to 30. don't know what semi warranty is. labor is all on you.