My front axle u-joint gave up 12 miles from pavement

Was out on Old Stage Road near Boulder last weekend, just a mellow trail nothing crazy, and I heard this CLUNK coming from the front end. At first I thought I just smacked a rock but it kept happening every time I turned. Pulled over and the u-joint on the passenger side was completely toast, caps were gone and the cross was just flopping around. Had to limp it back to the highway in front wheel drive only, which was sketchy on those loose switchbacks. Got it home and pulled the axle shaft and the needle bearings were just dust basically. Must have been going bad for a while and I never noticed because on-road it was fine. Replaced both sides with Spicer u-joints this time and greased the hell out of them. Anyone else ever had a u-joint fail without any warning signs at all?

2 comments

2 Comments

nina_hall1mo ago

Wait, do you really think running without a front axle is actually safer than having a busted joint?

rileyjones1mo ago

Man, that sucks. But just a quick thing - you said you limped it home in front wheel drive only. On a 4x4, if you broke a front u-joint, you basically have no front drive at all on that side. The axle shaft is just flopping around, not engaging the hub. So it wasn't really front wheel drive. More like rear wheel drive with a dead front end making noise. Still sketchy on switchbacks though. I had to do that once on a trail near Moab, losing all steering assist when the front diff locked up on a off-camber section, which was way worse.