This is the fourth driveline failure I’ve had in the nine years I’ve been driving (twice on my Jeep, and twice now on the Ford). Actually, they’ve all occurred within the last 2½ years. Maybe I should stick with a front-wheel drive car from now on–I’ve had fairly good luck with those.
I replaced the u-joint on my truck, and when I tried to drive it into Springville, as soon as I got up past 20 mph it started vibrating very badly again. I didn’t want to risk having it break again, so I just pulled off to the shoulder again and had my sister-in-law take me back to her place. I called my wife, and she and my mom came up from Price to pick me up. Before we left for home, my mom took me back out to my truck, then she followed me (very slowly) back to Jaysen’s apartment. I just left my truck there, and I’m going to call my wife’s uncle tomorrow to see if he will tow it to Price for me. He owns a used car dealership and several tow trucks, so he usually has somebody in that area at least once a week anyway. Last time I had a break-down far away from home, he only charged me $60 for a 50-mile tow, including the installation of a new fan belt. Hopefully it won’t cost me more than $100 this time.
I suspect that either the driveline or the output shaft got bent when the u-joint failed, so this is gonna cost me some big money to get fixed. A new driveline is over $200, and though I can install it myself, I think I’ll leave it to a professional, but only for the warranty that comes with it. A new output shaft will probably cost around $200 as well, and I’m sure it’s pretty labor intensive, since the transfer case will have to be taken apart, and that I definitely can’t do. I think it’s time to scrap my truck and buy a car.