What happens if universal joint fails? Catastrophic or no?

[philodog]

UPDATE: I took everyone's advice and limited the driving and it's a good thing because I had to drive 60 miles to the nearest city with decent auto parts stores and the issue got much worse in that short drive. All internet searches only turned up the MOPAR part but the first store said they had an aftermarket replacement. I didn't trust it so went to a second store, they said they had a replacement and it was completely different from the first. I took the two to a local mechanic, one of them fit and $40 and an hour later I was on the road. The U joint that worked was a GMB brand. Hopefully it gets me home.

2020 Ram 1500,40k miles. I have a drivetrain vibration that is getting worse. Looked under it today and the front u joint on the rear driveshaft is cracked on one of the four posts. I am deep in Mexico with no dealer available and it appears there are no afterma rket ones yet. What happens if it fails completely while driving . It appears a frame member will catch the driveshaft so it won't hit the ground but will the shaft forward of the u joint fall out of the differential and leak all the oil? If not I can disconnect the driveshaft and drive in 4wd.

 

[Kiwiaudio]

If you had been standing next to me at autotech class 45 years ago you would have your answer.
Admittedly in the extreme, a cars driveshaft ujoint let go completely at speed on a dynamometer.
The driveshaft eventually came through the floor of the car destroying everything in its path.
We all crapped our pants
In your case, drive very slowly to wherever you need to go to get it fixed asap. Let it go too far and youll trash the driveshaft, not just the joint !

 

[CHeYeNNe71]

There is a possibility it can drop and cause vehicle to possibly flip? catapult. It might catch it, it might flip around enough to pop out. I would get fixed ASAP.

 

[Nascar Tommy]

Yes, you pretty much have no choice but to try and order one from Ram online.
I seriously doubt driving in 4X4 will work or it may do more damage.
Post your full truck information including bed length and I'm sure someone here will give you a part number.

 

[mikeru82]

Not sure why you say there are no aftermarket parts available. Where did you look? I can't look up your specific part without more information about your truck, but it looks like there are lots of aftermarket u-joints available.

2020 RAM 1500 5.7L V8 Universal Joint | RockAuto

RockAuto ships auto parts and body parts from over 300 manufacturers to customers' doors worldwide, all at warehouse prices. Easy to use parts catalog.

www.rockauto.com

As others have said already, I would avoid driving very far on that. Lots of bad can happen.

 

[Rick3478]

2020 Ram 1500,40k miles. I have a drivetrain vibration that is getting worse. Looked under it today and the front u joint on the rear driveshaft is cracked on one of the four posts. I am deep in Mexico with no dealer available and it appears there are no afterma View attachment 178464 rket ones yet. What happens if it fails completely while driving . It appears a frame member will catch the driveshaft so it won't hit the ground but will the shaft forward of the u joint fall out of the differential and leak all the oil? If not I can disconnect the driveshaft and drive in 4wd.Broken u joint

Chewed up needle bearings broke out the side of a cap as they forced their way out. I've seen worse, but don't drive it like that. It won't take it long to wear through the cap and start chewing on the yoke.

No the front won't fall out of the differential, but the shaft can do a lot of damage if it comes apart while moving. Yes you can take off the driveshaft and pull yourself around with the front axle. I've done that before, not in any of my current vehicles.

 

[Richard320]

NAPA auto parts shows U-joints are available. And since the joint is secured with clips, not staking, it is serviceable.

 

[philodog]

NAPA auto parts shows U-joints are available. And since the joint is secured with clips, not staking, it is serviceable.

Thanks, you are correct. I didn't search NAPA since there isn't one locally. I wonder why it didn't come up in other searches since it seems to be a common part. Anyway, see my update.

 

[philodog]

Chewed up needle bearings broke out the side of a cap as they forced their way out. I've seen worse, but don't drive it like that. It won't take it long to wear through the cap and start chewing on the yoke.

No the front won't fall out of the differential, but the shaft can do a lot of damage if it comes apart while moving. Yes you can take off the driveshaft and pull yourself around with the front axle. I've done that before, not in any of my current vehicles.

Do you know if transfer case fluid will leak out if the driveshaft is removed?