Thanx 4 responding....
R there inner and outer half shaft U joints? Or is it just the ones nearest the back side of the hubs?
I figure eventually it will be found. The sound that is! LOL!C.
In most solid front axles, working outward from the differential, on each side, there is a halfshaft, a U-joint, and a stub shaft. The inner end of the halfshaft slides into the splines on the differential, the U-joint connects the halfshaft to the stub shaft, and the stub shaft is what does through the spindle at the outer end. The driver and passenger side stub shafts are almost always the same, whereas the driver and passenger side halfshafts are almost always different lengths, becasue the differential is rarely in the exact center of the axle housing.
Replacing the half-shaft U-joints is relatively simple -- more or less like replacing the U-joints on a driveshaft. But, you have to remove the halfshafts from the axle, and to do that, you have to remove the spindles (which involves removing the brakes, etc.). If the spindles have never been off, they can sometimes be a bear to get off after all the bolts are out, because they tend to rust in place "Gentle persuasion" with a dead-blow hammer usually does the trick.
If you do go through all that work to change the halfshaft U-hoints, you should also replace the spindle bearings while the spindles are off. The spindle bearings go INSIDE the spindle (the hub bearings go on the outside) and are what the stub shaft rides in.
Good luck!
