C/V Half Shaft Replacement

[Mobilehomie]

'06 Yukon XL Denali AWD is in need of front half shafts. 108K miles and there is a slight vibration above 75 mph. I will most likely go to O'Riley's for replacements. Is there a good write up on here for replacement? A hundred years ago I replaced half shafts on an s-10 and remember having to break ball joints loose, is that the case with these full size rigs? Any help is appreciated, thanks in advance.

[hugger6933]

Not near as hard as it used to be the older T-trucks[most called the S-10 4x4's] your right you had to take the whole knuckle loose to change an axle. Not anymore At most you need to pull the shock and sway end link. Also both axles are the same so that makes things better.If you have a way of getting under it you really don't even have to take off the wheels. Just the center cap and spindle nut cover, then the axle nut[36 mm] then the six axle bolts[15 mm]then it will slide out to the inside and front. Once you get started you will see that the end link and shock are all there is to it. much better. Jim

[Boog]

Homie. I strongly urge you to buy new and not remand shafts. Some years ago i bought several remand shafts from them and had to replace all but one of them soon after. One lasted 1 mile then stripped the splines out. One can only hope they have gotten better suppliers.

[68c10airstream]

I would double check the diagnosis. C/v joints are not balanced because they are machined to close tolerances and remember that they spin at wheel speed, say 600-700 rpms. If the boots were torn and click in turns then yes, but otherwise i would look other places. These attach at the differential so look for stub shaft play allowing the half shaft to move up and down. Crawl underneath it and grab the shafts and see if you can move them up and down. Could you have a tire imbalance??? rotate and see if it moves to the new location.

[68c10airstream]

I should add that i would rather source clean used half shafts from a salvage yard then take a chance on rebuilt/ aftermarket replacements. I dealt with honda c/v's and poor replacements and the only way i got a smooth replacement was to source a new c/v joint from say napa from precision brand or gkn?? I would pay more going this way than any other repair but only did it once. Welcome aboard

[LEEVON]

Before you go and get the CV axles, just keep in mind this is the least likely culprit. In my shop we would probably start with tire balance/wear/quality, then move on to other drive train issues like worn u-joints, transmission, transfer case, etc. The axle can and will cause a high speed vibration, the tell is usually that it gets worse on decelleration without braking but it's fairly rare on the GM vehicles.

You would not need to remove the ball joints. Simply remove the axle nut, move a couple of heres and theres, unbolt the half-shaft and slide it out. There will be some wrestling, beating and cussing if you're in the garage on the floor but its not that bad.

FYI, if you decide to do the shafts, O'Reilly's Cardone Selects are the best value for aftermarket NEW CV axles. They are made to high standards and are really inexpensive. I think I pay around $65-75 each depending on the vehicle. Reman axles are not worth it at this price, and the cores can be crazy, like $150/each.

My friend and neighbor is the factory rep for the Cardone Select driveshafts and he knows every detail. I had him sell me like he did to O'Reillys before we started using them on customer cars so yes the are cheap and good for once something Cardone doesn't always do together.

[Mobilehomie]

Thanks for all the reply's there guys! The ol gal is due for an oil change, I will crawl under and check the driveshafts and have the wheels balanced. As far as that goes the vibration is prolly not wheel balance, just doesn't feel that way. I only buy new parts for all my rigs anyhow, no remans on anything.

[68c10airstream]

Excellent service directions but i will add one item. When you remove the axle nut your wheel bearings will no longer have prevailing torque on the bearings to keep them together. If you don't move it i believe you will be ok. In the 90's a mechanic next to me took a trans out of a dodge front wheel drive (same wheel bearing design as your truck) and didn't listen to me to use my spare outer c/v joints as dummy shafts and tighten the axle nut before pushing the car outside while waiting for a replacement trans to come in. Both wheel bearings came apart before he got it out of the garage, and that is with even less weight on the front end because the trans was out. c/v shafts can and will be a little out of balance but because it is so close to the center of the hub it has basically no effect. A gm vibration class i went to explained it this way (if remembered correctly); if a 1 once weight on the rim of say a 15" wheel is needed to balance it, how little would be needed at the outer edge of a c/v joint with a diameter of say 4"? The teacher said "very very little". I've worked on new subaru's since 1973, and front drive gm and dodge since 1981, all with c/v's and none had factory attempts for balancing. Only c/v issues were dodge minivans with a sloppy half shaft where it went into the trans allowed movement up and down causing a shake but that was a trans issue not a c/v

[Mobilehomie]

OK, I got under it this past weekend and checked it out. I got the smallest about of play by rolling the wheel and feeling inner and outer CVs. I did find some play on the inside axle output, about as much as you would find on any axle shaft. U-joints for both driveshafts felt good, but at 100K and not greaseable they could be seized?