{"id":5240,"date":"2020-05-27T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-27T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmb.net\/blog\/how-often-should-u-joints-be-replaced\/"},"modified":"2025-08-22T07:12:54","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T11:12:54","slug":"how-often-should-u-joints-be-replaced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmb.net\/blog\/how-often-should-u-joints-be-replaced\/","title":{"rendered":"How Often Should U-Joints Be Replaced?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>U-joints should last forever &#8211; or at least the life of the vehicle. &#8220;Should&#8221; is the operative word here. U-joints aren&#8217;t supposed to wear out, but it happens. Also, u-joints can break.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s easy to predict the lifespan of some car parts, such as shocks. But not u-joints. U-joints can last decades, or they can break when the vehicle is still new. That&#8217;s why it&#8217;s a good idea to check the u-joints at every oil change. A typical rear wheel drive vehicle has 2 or 3 u-joints. Some vehicles with a long wheel base, such as buses, have 3 or more u-joints. The more u-joints a vehicle has, the higher the chance a u-joint will fail.<\/p>\n<h2>What Could Cause A U-Joint To Fail?<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4061\" src=\"https:\/\/gmb.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/failed-ujoint.jpg\" alt=\"Failed ujoint\" width=\"640\" height=\"411\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Image Credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/grantsdad.smugmug.com\/Motorcycles\/R1200GS-UJoints\/i-78TJjz3\/1\/L\/DSC_0043-L.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">AdvRider<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Most of the time, you can attribute u-joint failure to one of the following reasons:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Improper lubrication: Some u-joints need regular maintenance. In most cases, you have to grease your u-joints every 5,000 miles or so. When you fail to service your u-joints on a regular basis, they will fail. You don&#8217;t have to worry about this problem with <a href=\"https:\/\/gmb.net\/maintenance-free-u-joints-save-money\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">maintenance free u-joints<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Misalignment: This happens when you change the vehicle&#8217;s ride height. The u-joint operating angles change if you lift the vehicle. The greater the operating angle, the more the u-joint moves with each rotation of the driveshaft. This wears the u-joint out faster.<\/li>\n<li>Loose connections: The bolts holding the u-joints in place can get loose or fall out over time. This happens usually because of corrosion, excessive vibration, or improper torquing.<\/li>\n<li>Wear and tear: Even though u-joints should last the lifetime of the vehicle, they can wear out early. This is common on off-road vehicles or vehicles that tow frequently.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/gmb.net\/causes-u-joint-failure\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">This post<\/a> has more information on the most common causes of u-joint failure.<\/p>\n<h2>What Happens When You Don&#8217;t Replace Your U-Joints?<\/h2>\n<p>A u-joint may seem like a small and insignificant part, but its failure will eventually render the vehicle unusable. The driveshaft will no longer be able to spin anymore. That means you won&#8217;t have anything to turn the wheels anymore. It won&#8217;t happen out of the blue, though. You&#8217;ll notice some symptoms leading up to the event. Some symptoms include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Vibration when accelerating or decelerating<\/li>\n<li>Clunking noises from the underside of the vehicle when changing direction from foward to reverse or reverse to forward<\/li>\n<li>Leaking from the rear pinion seal and\/or transmission seal<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you replace the u-joint(s) when you notice these symptoms, you&#8217;ll avoid the major hassle of complete failure.<\/p>\n<h2>Quality Matters<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3664\" src=\"https:\/\/gmb.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/maint-free-ujoints.png\" alt=\"Maintenance free ujoints\" width=\"640\" height=\"347\" \/><\/p>\n<p>If one of your u-joints has failed, the right replacement parts will make all the difference. It&#8217;s important to replace your u-joints in pairs, even if one of them seem like it is still good. If one has failed, the other doesn&#8217;t have long to live.<\/p>\n<h2>GMB Is The Leading Brand For U-Joints<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How Long Will My Vehicle&#039;s U-Joints Last?\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-cqvgJ3fZOo?feature=oembed&#038;modestbranding=1&#038;rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>At GMB, we are committed to providing high quality parts that perform well for a long time. We&#8217;ve been specializing in u-joints since 1943. Many industry experts consider us the leading brand for u-joints for the following reasons:<\/p>\n<h4>1. GMB U-Joints Are Designed To OE Specs<\/h4>\n<p>In fact, many major auto manufacturers hire GMB to build its OEM parts, including u-joints. That means two things:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>These manufacturers have full confidence in GMB&#8217;s ability to build high quality OEM parts<\/li>\n<li>GMB&#8217;s own line of u-joints meets or exceeds OEM specs<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<div data-block=\"true\" data-editor=\"c59ps\" data-offset-key=\"3okqa-0-0\">\n<div data-offset-key=\"3okqa-0-0\">GMB puts all its u-joints through extensive multi-stage testing as a part of our quality control process.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h4>2. GMB U-Joints Are Built With High Quality Materials<\/h4>\n<p>At GMB, we care about quality. We want your u-joints to last forever. That&#8217;s why we use the following materials:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Special Chrome-Molybdenum Alloy Steel for superior corrosion resistance<\/li>\n<li>Heavy duty needle bearings for greater load capacity<\/li>\n<li>Exact fit snap rings<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>3. GMB U-Joints Are Easy To Install<\/h4>\n<p>All GMB u-joints come with the snap rings needed for installation to ensure easy installation. Strap kits and bolt kits are also included for Heavy Duty u-joints, where applicable. Strap kits and u-bolt kits are also available to be purchased separately.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/gmb.net\/products\/universal-joint\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Learn more about GMB u-joints today<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>U-joints should last forever &#8211; or at least the life of the vehicle. &#8220;Should&#8221; is the operative word here. U-joints aren&#8217;t supposed to wear out, but it happens. Also, u-joints can break.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5241,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,60],"tags":[47,90045,48],"class_list":["post-5240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-maintenance-tips","category-undercar","tag-u-joints","tag-universal-joint","tag-universal-joints"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmb.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmb.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmb.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmb.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmb.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5240"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gmb.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5240\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43642,"href":"https:\/\/gmb.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5240\/revisions\/43642"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmb.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmb.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmb.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmb.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}