[Joe K]

I expressed a concern with my 2011 Ford Ranger Truck now nine years old. You engage the automatic transmission and you can hear a distinct "thunk" as the loose motion is taken up and torque is transmitted to the rear end.

I asked the mechanic about this - was it of concern and should I plan on a replacement?

"Yes you should plan on a replacement, but it might occur a week from now or it might go the remaining life of the truck" (it had 75K at the time of the question.")

"Were it my truck, I would leave it for the day when you get the "clunk" but you get no go - meaning the U-joint is failed and the yoke is spinning without any clevis to transmit the force."

A previous Chevrolet C1500 I owned in the 90s had a similar issue, but this being a manual transmission (unusual in that day and age and vehicle) At that time the mechanic had some of the same sort of advice, but with a caveat: "If you feel a change and detect an usual vibration, that means that the universal is hanging up and not 'universalling.' I would have the universal replaced if you detect that and it has not failed completely."

So unless you have either of these I would go with it - unless you for the pleasure and peace of mind feel compelled to replace it.

As I understand it, universals almost universally (heh) are made by Dana-Spicer in the US. Model A universal especially. Production of the Model A universal is spotty - D-S will make a bunch, sell a bunch, and then sit back and wait for demand to re-emerge before raising the price and producing another round of production. So if you seek a universal, you may find difficulty in getting same - particularly now in today's post-Covid world.

Mostly the market has anticipated that. Model A parts houses almost always have sufficient stock to "ride out" the low spots in D-S production - but not always.

And many prefer "new old stock" of the original universals in the later clevis & yoke style. The earlier ring & yokes are still found and many are still working, but it's been out of production since about 1930 and most are now worn out.

Joe K