I have horrid noises coming out from under my truck. Got under it today and there is some play in the driveshaft, at the yokes.

couple stupid questions:

Should there be 0 play, or some?

Are yokes the same as U-joints?

what is the risk in driving the car with WORN bearings/joints?

 

The yokes hold the ujoint. any play there is probably from worn bearings in the ujoint caps. Mine has a little play in the slip joint and clunks every so often..

 

If I grab the shaft and try to move it back and forth quickly, I can hear a sound in the 3rd - almost like gear teeth having a slight amount of space between them before they actually touch. I am hoping this is normal.

 

shouldn't be any play between the u-joints. most of the time the play is in the rear end and tranny/t-case(normal).

 

There will be just a little slack if you try and rotate the drive shaft, but it should not move around any other way. If it does, you've got problems. Fix it or it will get worse.

 

Put it in neutral and grab the driveshaft with one hand and grab the piece where it bolts next to the transfer case and rotate. see if there is play right at the ujoint. do the same for the ujoint next to the 3rd member.