[Randy from Utah]

After being told by the dealer that the thunk in the driveshaft is something that all the Rodeos do when starting and stopping, I decided to do something about it. I pulled off the drive shaft and cleaned the old crappy grease out the slip joint. Repacked the slip joint with new moly grease and put it all back together. The inital test drive showed no sign of the clunk, problem solved, took about an hour to do. I used CV joint metal clamps on the boot ends but I think a big nylon tie-wrap would work just fine.
HTH Randy

 

[JTK]

If we only had GREASE FITTINGS :roll: !!! That's as good a job your gonna get Randy! Like you did- use the best quality grease you can possibly get & keep a leak proof seal on the boot. How many miles did you get out of it before you had to grease it?
Joel

 

[Randy from Utah]

JOEL,
39,000 miles, I just bought it about 2 months ago. It was thunking when I drove it away from the car lot. I would imagine it could be replaced with a zerk style slip-joint for about $200. It's not really that bad of a job.
I tried to get my Isuzu dealer interested in the fix but they like to keep their head-in-the-sand.
Later....Randy

 

[Conman]

My 01 trooper has a few grease fitting on the rear drive shaft. Never noticed them until recently.

Thanks,
Con

 

[¡Oracle!]

Those grease fittings are on the u-joints. I hit them every other oil change.

I've never taken off the boot on the slip-yoke but I just might do that soon as my thump gets worse in the winter.

I wonder how much trouble it will be to put on a new boot IF I slip and damage the original :roll:

 

[Randy from Utah]

¡Oracle!,
You won't slip..It's really easy to do. The hardest part is breaking loose the driveshaft bolts, PB blaster would help. It's not necessary to hold the bolt head, it will be held by the yoke. Just get a long 14mm or 9/16 box end wrench and go for it. I found that brake clean removes the old grease really well. Make sure you mark the driveshaft alignment with the yokes and slip joint using a grease pencil. Jack up the rear wheels so you can rotate the driveshaft and your in business. Also use a good quality grease like a moly or synthetic. Use CV joint metal straps or large tie-wraps to secure the boot ends.
HTH.... Randy

 

[¡Oracle!]

The reason I asked is because I happen to have a bunch of spare CV boot straps, 2 cans of synthetic Duralube, and lots of free time.

I happen to have this nasty habit of accidentally splitting/cutting boots when I'm working near them that's all. Never happens to any other fragile parts, just boots... Must be all the grease

 

[Randy from Utah]

Sounds like your good-to-go...Enjoy!!
Randy

 

[2eyefishclaw]

DONT GET TOO EXCITED FOR THE NOISE WILL RETURN NEXT TIME GO DOWN TO THE NAPA STORE AND PURCHASE RED CROWN IT IS A THICK GREASE TRY NOT TO GET THE NASTY STUFF ON YOU FOR IT IS DREADFUL TO WASH OFF THIS SHOULD LAST MUCH LONGER THAN CONVENTIONAL DRIVESHAFT LUBE AOR AXLE GREASE

 

[Amigo-2k]

I had my dealer repack mine a couple months ago. I took it in with 7k and asked about the thump and they said it was normal (yeah right!). So at about 38k I paided to have it repacked. 2wks later the thump was back. I'm use to it now.

-Ryan

 

[Randy from Utah]

Ryan,
The dealer should have packed your slip-joint under warranty at 7K miles. Their isn't a lubrication schedule for the slip-joint, so the failure and drivability problems wasn't your fault. Contact Isuzu customer service and see what can be done. I think there was a TSB on the problem.
HTH :lol: Randy

 

[¡Oracle!]

As far as pulling apart the two-piece driveshaft... Are there any suggestions and how to actually do it?

I assume it isn't going to pull apart by hand considering that it is binding right now. Am I wrong to think that?

 

[Randy from Utah]

Yes, you are wrong to think that.
I pulls apart easily. Don't let that fear keep you from doing the fix. You'll be pleased with the results.
HTH Randy

 

[phid_bombadier]

What needs to be disconnected specifically (unblolted) to free the 2 pieces of the slip joint?

Thanks.

 

[Randy from Utah]

Jeeze Mike, If you've done all that work to your truck, you shouldn't
need to ask how to take off the driveshaft..maybe you need to buy a service repair manual.
Just roll up your sleeves and crawl under the truck and see for yourself. It's pretty self explanatory once you actually see it the for the first time.
HTH...Randy

 

[wrenchmonster]

Howdy, I'm can't remember if this is a one piece or 2 piece set up. Mike, if 2 piece start at the center and work toward the axle, if one piece start at the axle end. Just unbolt the shaft and when it is free the slip joint should pull straight out. Clean it out really well and repack with grease. Choose a high quality grease here. Let us know if you have any difficulty.

Randy, everyones experience is different. No need to blast someone for asking a question.

-Kevin

 

[wrenchmonster]

Howdy. Mike, don't forget to mark the driveshaft. This simply has to do with established wear patterns and balance. Good luck.

-Kevin

 

[Randy from Utah]

Come on Kevin,
Somebody that has to ask how to take off a drive shaft, either hasn't actually looked at the task or really shouldn't be working on the truck.
That would be like asking "how do I take off a tire".
I'm not mad, everybodys different and has varing degrees of abilities. You've just got to know your limitations.
Thats why they have a service dept at the dealeship. HTH....Randy

 

[phid_bombadier]

No offense taken...

I just like doing as much homework as possible before starting on a project, small or big. Hopefully it minimizes on head scratching time and critical parts hunting at the local parts store.

Those Haynes/Chilton manuals usually aren't the best at explaining the actual procedure. I much prefer people's first hand experiences/tips.

Thanks again for all the tips.

 

[wrenchmonster]

Howdy folks. Mike I applaud you for doing your homework before the job.

Randy, I meant no offense. Still, what looks simple not always turns out that way.

Let's take your tire theory. I once bought a truck a few hundred miles from my house. I got it from a friend, so I knew it was good to drive, but the tires were shot. So I went down to Les Schwab and had the kiddies down there put on some new tires. I TOLD them the lugs on the rear axle were left hand thread. Still, needless to say the morons broke off 3 studs before reading the work order. Since they couldn't find any LHT that were correct for my drums, I made them replace all the studs on both sides.

-Kevin