Truck Repair: RV, ford chassis, grease fittings

Question
I have a RV, and the people that are on that page here are allways on vacation. I wish I had thier money, anyway--I have a RV, 1996 Winnebago ,with 46,000 miles, a 30 Ft. Truck Ford Chassis , with a 460. Sometime when I put it in drive, or reverse, it will clink, do I need to start worrying about the U joints, or; when can you tell they are ready to be replaced ? and what is the normal charge for that job ?
Thank you,
Don

Answer
Hi Don,
"U" joints are very easy to check, and there really is no replacement schedule. Some have grease fittings, and if regularly cared for can go hundredS of thousands of miles.

But to check them, set the parking brake, put the transmission in neutral, and slide under the vehicle. Go to each joint, and push, pull, and rotate. Wiggle the shaft and joint in all directions, and see if there is any discernable movement inside the joint and caps.
Then, after doing that, if there are grease fittings, grease them. I like to hold pressure against the first cap to have grease come out, in order to force some to the others.

There is a pretty telltale sound of u joints going bad. It is a "squeek, squeek, squeek" sound as you start out from a stop. I call it grease worms screaming for grease, but by the time that noise appears, it is usually too late for grease to save them.

Now just the fact that it is an RV, some places seem to charge more, but the joints for that should sell for somewhere in the neighborhood of $8.00 to $12.00 each at a parts house. Takes about an hour to do the work, assuming no problems are encountered.

Good luck,
Van