What are signs of the driveshafts u-joints going ?

Is there any way to check ?

Thanks

you will hear a clunking noise when the driveshaft is moving or sometimes it is a lound ping. If the joints are really bad, you can grab the driveshaft and rotate it a little by hand. The shaft will be really loose.

A while back I was hearing clunk noise from the rear of the car. I thought it was either the differential going out or the u-joints. Both looked good and after I changed the diff. fluid, the noise went away.

Even earlyier you may hear some creaking when you load up the drive train for instance when you power brake the car to a point less than spining the tires. There is a misconception that you can just grab a hold of the drive shaft and pull side to side and see any u-joint play. However, you actually have to rotate the driveshaft back and forth in the direction of rotation with your hands. While you are doing that, look into the u-joint if you see any play at all replace it as soon as possible. Sometimes another tell tale sign of a u-joint going bad is leaking out put shaft of the transmission or the yoke of the differential. The play in a u-joint for a prolonged time will effect those bearings, bushings, and seals of the tranny and dif.

Good Luck!