Any way to tell which U Joint I need from my VIN or RPOs?

[gordinho80]

OK... So the caps fell out of the U joint and the bearings all went flying. I went to Advance to get another U joint and the new straps. I put the new U joint in the driveshaft, then went to install it back on the truck. There is play in the yoke before even putting the straps on. The U joints fit the driveshaft snugly, I had to press them in. But clearly, the bearing caps are too small for the yoke. Do I have some sort of hybrid system with a special U joint??? I'm at a loss!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHEIl-90HSU

 

[gordinho80]

Well... It would appear as though I have some sort of Hybrid setup! Yoke at the rear axle would not take the 1 3/16" U joint (#331) and the 1 1/16" U joint (#354) was too small. The driveshaft would not take the 1 3/16" U joint nor the 1 1/8" U joint (#534G).

I had to merge the 354 and the 534G joints. The needles and the joints are the same size... the only difference is the cap OD. I took 2 caps off of the 534G, these sit in the axle yoke. The 354 caps sit in the driveshaft. Everything is nice and snug! New strap kit, all secure!

I guess that someone replaced the driveshaft at some point and got one that took the smaller joint.

 

[IOWNJUNK]

Well... It would appear as though I have some sort of Hybrid setup! Yoke at the rear axle would not take the 1 3/16" U joint (#331) and the 1 1/16" U joint (#354) was too small. The driveshaft would not take the 1 3/16" U joint nor the 1 1/8" U joint (#534G).

I had to merge the 354 and the 534G joints. The needles and the joints are the same size... the only difference is the cap OD. I took 2 caps off of the 534G, these sit in the axle yoke. The 354 caps sit in the driveshaft. Everything is nice and snug! New strap kit, all secure!

I guess that someone replaced the driveshaft at some point and got one that took the smaller joint.

Moog 290 is the part # for the correct u-joint. Each axis has different size caps. PITA the first time till you figure this out.

 

[gordinho80]

Basically, the 290 is what I put together from the 331 and the 534G, just comes all together in 1 unit. Thanks!

 

[IOWNJUNK]

When I changed mine it drove me bat crazy. I knew there was no way it used 2 different size caps. 4 trips to the parts counter and some google searching later and I figured it out. I read your post and looked in the top of my toolbox to find the empty u-joint box for the part #. It's been maybe 6 weeks since I changed mine.