95 4x4 drivetrain tune-up, bunch of questions

[Shotokan1509]

So my truck is due for some regular maintanence.. might as well do it in one big shot but have some questions.

95 ranger 4x4 4.0 auto trans D35front(jeep locking hubs)/8.8 3.73 LS rear

Doing front and rear shocks, leveling coils and alignment, but have drivetrain questions below:

1.) there is no play in them, but the outer u-joints on the front axle have a powdered rust look to them, winters coming so I want to replace, looking at parts online they list different bearing cup sizes, which do I need?
bearing cups: 1.063 or 1.188?

2.) Axle Shaft Bearing where the shaft passes through the front spindle, a lot of part numbers floating around, anyone know whats correct for my truck, and is there a bearing seal on that?

3.) Rear differential, bottom of the cover looks damp.. almost looks like it is weaping through the lower most bolt head, is there an actual gasket for that or just RTV?

4.) I have a clunk on accel/decel and a vibration under hard acceleration, looks like the center carrier bearing on my two piece rear shaft is toast (rubber is cracked and I can wiggle with my hands). Is that bearing pressed onto the driveshaft or can I do this in my home garage?

5.) What is the proper way of checking ball joint condition? I've given them a good shake and don't have any play, did the same with the wheel off the ground and wiggling the wheel, is that considered checked or is there something else I should be doing?


Lots of little parts, decent amount of time but my truck has a lot of life left (only 95,000 miles on a 1995! but its a New England truck so rust is taking its toll on the undercarriage).

 

[zapper2003]

I just went through the front ujoint jazz on my 95 ranger. Yours will use the 1.188 bearing cap size. The other joint is small enough I think that you could use it on your steering shaft. Its miniscule in comparison to the other one. So yes, the 1.188 ujoint is the one you want. I only use RTV on my Differential covers. I've heard its entirely personal preference as to what you use to seal up the housing, be it a gasket or RTV. Personally I like RTV because even an idiot can't screw that up. Pull your front wheels and get a prybar in there to check for movement, and go in all directions. Good Luck.

 

[Ranger5.0]

are you sure that the axle ujoints are the bigger ones?

 

[zapper2003]

I'm positive of it, however, if you're nervous, do as I did, buy both, and return the ones you don't use. Once you get them at the parts store, however, pull them out of their packages, you'll understand why its NOT the smaller one, lol.

 

[Ranger5.0]

ok, so the U joints for the d28 are different then the d35, so when they say "small" joint, are they meaning the d28 joints? When i did my front end, the "small" joints were for the axles, the "large" was for the drive shaft

 

[zapper2003]

Well, i have the 28/35 hybrid, and 4x4junkie was talkin me through it all and he said the larger joint, the 1.188 bearing cap unit, was the correct one, and it indeed was. I'm going by my own personal experience. I do not know what ujoint my trucks driveshaft uses, but I'm going to guess its probably the same thing, or darn near close to it.

 

[Jspafford]

If you have a 95 with the 4.0L you have the true Dana 35 and will need the bigger joints.

 

[Shotokan1509]

What other small parts might I be missing?

U-joints front axles
spindle bearing
spindle bearing seal?
wheel bearings
wheel bearing seals