whilst travelling on the motorway yesterday the joint between the propshaft and rear diff failed.

the shaft is now on the ground at the back and a lot of transmission fluid has leaked out.

is it likely the gearbox has gone aswell please.

is it possible just to change the joint oneself with the car on the driveway, if only so that I can get it going to take it to the chap that usually services it for a proper check up

 

The fluid leak is probably due to the drive shaft wobbling around when the joint broke, check the seal at the transmission tail stock and if it is in good shape then you are probably okay, if its torn it will need to be replaced of replace the tail stock if it is damaged.
The drive shaft yoke that holds the joint is probably damaged from dragging on the ground, you may or may not be able to put a new joint in... depending on how badly the rear yoke is damaged the shaft may need to be balanced....

If it were me... I'd put in new u joints both front and rear and go from there...
you will need to top off the trans fluid for what was lost out the tail stock...

 

excellent will do that.

having compared a pic of a new uj to what's left of my one it appears that the caps that make the joint a snug fit into the holes on the diff and shaft have come off the 4 hubs of the joint, looks to be a bit of minor wear on one of the two clamps on the diff so I shall replace those two.

The shaft had come a good six or seven inches out of the gear box but pushed easily back in, is it simply held in place by being attached to the diff and the gearbox clamps it when it engages or does the fact that I can pull and push the shaft mean something is broken in the box.

Gear box end uj looks fine and the seal rubber looks good, keeping my fingers crossed on the box.

 

The drive shaft is supposed to be able to move in and out of the rear of the transmission so the in and out movement you see is normal...

 

phew, thanks for your assistance

should be able to order some joints tomorrow, its been bank holiday this side of the pond

 

If you plan to do this yourself you'll want to look up some youtube vids. I've done it with nothing more than a hammer and socket, but using a vice or press is more ideal.

best of luck.

 

thx, I did find this link on ehow and it looks quite straightforward - I hope it is as easy as it sounds - don't have to worry about getting the existing joint out, it did that for itself

How to Repair a U-Joint on a Chevrolet Suburban | eHow

even if I can just get it so that the car is moveable and can go the few miles to the garage that usually works on it I will be happy, saves paying for a tow, its due for an annual service and mot in the next couple of months.

joints and clamps are on the way so hopefully will arrive before the end of the week

 

joint and clamps arrived this morning, not too hard to fit, getting the caps far enough in on the prop to be able to fit the retaining clips wasn't easy but fingers crossed its done.

gave it a short road test transmission seems fine changes smoothly no clunking and hopefully there will not be a pool of fluid under the truck tomorrow.

I shall only be driving short distances for the next few weeks so that should be long enough to see if any of the caps come out.