Hi all,

I have looked at a couple old posts here but would like some opinions.

NAPA has Spicer U-joints for my rear half shafts.
They are the greaseable kind with the fittings.
Are these okay for an 81 daily driver?
Ive heard that they arent as strong as the solid ones...but are they strong enough?
Also,how do I grease them up? What kind of grease?
Before I put them on?
Grease them up till they leak out the side?

Thanks people...set me straight !

Kevin


[Modified by ksems, 7:29 PM 9/15/2001]

 

greasable Spicers would be my choice. grease the half shafts before you put them in the car, until the grease squirts out of the cups. I use a semi-synthetic from Autozone. it says it is for U-joints and I assumed that would be a better choice than chassis grease!

 

The greasables will be fine... I have them and no problems whatsoever! Also, you will not be able to grease them "before" you put the halfshafts in the car without blowing the caps off of them... once they are in the car... you only need to rotate the halfshafts so the grease fitting is in the proper position to grease...Grease used is your choice.

 

Autozone sells the 'brute force' solid U-joints. They have a synthetic grease in them and teflon seals. I replaced all of my u-joints a few years ago with the brute force and have had no problems.

 

I'm with Zwede, I used Brute Force non-greasable from Auto-Zone for all 6 of my U-joints. Really good units.

 

Ditto on the brute force. For the half shafts I wanted the strongest joint I could put in there.

 

thanks everyone...l'll call AutoZone and see if they have them in stock and go from there. I think I would like the peice of mind of solid units.
I do believe now , however , that the greaseable spicers would be fine for my application...
Thanks for all the help,..Ill let you know what I decide...

Anyone else, feel free to add your 2 cents :D

Kevin

 

Just went to AutoZone and got 4 Brute Force U-Joints

Any helpful tips for my upcoming U-joint removal /replacement??

Thanks
Kevin


[Modified by ksems, 11:08 AM 9/16/2001]


[Modified by ksems, 11:09 AM 9/16/2001]


[Modified by ksems, 11:10 AM 9/16/2001]

 

If you don't have a press, take the U-joints and half-shafts to someone that does a LOT of driveshaft work. I did all of my own U-joints when I had access to a press but I wouldn't advise doing it yourself if you don't have a press and don't have someone around who's done it before. The first time I did U-joints (was on an old Scout), I used a poor man's press (sockets and hammer) but I wouldn't suggest it if you don't have someone around to help you. Worst case scenario, you bend or break an ear on the half shaft (trust me, you'll quit after the first one so breaking one is the worst case).

If you decide to do this yourself, make sure that you don't lose any needle bearings. You also want to make sure you don't break any needle bearings inside the cap while installing new joints. Another thing you need to do is to wrap tape around the ends of the joints that are free so that you keep the caps from falling off. Make sure you take your time and don't rush the job. It's too easy to damage U-joints and shalfts if you aren't paying close attention.

Again, if you've never done this before, either find someone with a press who is willing to help and watch over the project, or take the U-joints and halfshafts to a shop that specializes in driveshafts. I know a lot of people like to do their own work but you have to realize and accept your limitations, and lack of proper tools seriously dictates my limitations.


[Modified by sharklover, 11:51 AM 9/16/2001]

 

shark,

thanks for the advice... I'll take them in to a pro

Kevin

 

I just did the half shafts on my 69 and I went into the parts store and asked for the strongest joint they had and they gave me precision U-joints with a grease fitting in the cap as opposed to on the body of the joint. The fitting is very small as you need a needle on the grease gun to lube it. They said these were very heavy duty. Anybody else use these?

 

They have a grease fitting on all 4 caps?

 

Tom they had one fitting per u-joint. Just on one cap. I had never seen these before either but he showed me the parts in the catalogue. They had 3 part numbers and this one was listed as the most heavy duty. TZhey do seem like a sturdy piece.

 

Okay - here is why I asked-
1) A driveshaft needs to be balanced. With a zerk fitting only on one cap, you have an "imbalance". This may be so small that it is not important, but I thought it was worth mentioning. In the case of a "standard" greasable U-Joint, the zerk fitting is closer to the center of the driveshaft so its "moment of inertia" is much smaller, and it will have less effect on balance.

2) With only one fitting at a cap, this means in order to grease all four caps, the inside of the U-Joint must be drilled to all four caps. This is the issue with standard greasable U-Joints- having the joint cross drilled for grease passage makes it weaker. All of the (structurally) failed U-Joints that I have seen were snapped off at one end where the cap rides. If this area is drilled... then it is weakened.

To confuse the issue even more, I just disassembled a 3" half-shaft with a non-greasable U-Joint. The U-Joint was cross-drilled for grease passage, but there was no grease fitting. I don't see the benefit of going to non-greasable U-Joints unless the trunions are "solid". My experience is with daily drivers, dump trucks and back hoes. I can't speak for the racing crowd. Maybe they can help us out here with some real world experience. I suspect that greasable U-Joints are fine for "wanna be" race car drivers, but if you get serious, a solid U-Joint would be the better choice. Even "solid" non-greasable U-Joints may have the trunions drilled for a grease cavity... as I found on the half-shafts I just took apart.

 

Tom thanks for the reply and raising this very interesting question. I would love to know an answer to this. Actually raised another question I had. When the halfshafts diameter increased to 3 inches from the smaller ones which my 69 has, did they increase the size of the U-joints or not. It would seem if they didn't then it wouldn't help that much. C'mon u-joint experts, Tom454 has raised some great stuff here.

 

I am on my "lunch" break... so I measured the end-to-end of the 3" shaft with the caps off... and then I pulled out the original GM (bagged for reference) U-Joints from my 70 (2.5" shafts) and made the same measurement. The dimensions are identical. So are the diameters of the bearing surfaces. I couldn't find the original caps from the 70, so I can't say right now if they are the same diameter. By the way- some of these non-greaseable joints are only drilled half way into the bearing area. I guess this provides an area for grease retention & expansion, but leaves the innermost half "solid" to help prevent breakage.

danged dislexia


[Modified by Tom454, 1:12 PM 9/18/2001]

 

update

All 4 half shaft u-joints are now in and working nicely.
The noise that was in the right rear is gone. I believe it even smoothed out the car in general:D

I ended up taking the shafts off and in to a shop to have the old u-joints
removed and new ones put in. The guy only charged me $15.00.:cool:
Installation of the half shafts was a peice of cake.
All in all - a great day!
Thanks for the help and advice.

By the way, for those wondering , they were 12 point 1/4 bolts that kept the u-joint straps on.....finally went to Sears and got a socket. Napa, Pep Boys and Lowes all were out of stock :(

Kevin