I'm finshing up the drivetrain and suspension since my body has been taken off. I have two questions for suggestions of type or manufacturer. Which u joint to use in the half shafts and drive shaft and model # of that choice. Also, which shocks do you use or would you suggest for the front an rear of my 71 C3 small block. Any and all suggestions welcome and appreciated

 

mine have grease nipples in them......i would recommend this type of u-joint.....

 

I posted this comment before and I'm not sure if my 'theorie' is correct but....here it is anyway:
The grease nipple on the U-joints is at the center. When injecting the grease you want to supply all four cups with grease... if after some time there is dirt or whatever in one of the four channels or cups then the grease would only get to three of the four cups...
I am using U-joints with the nipples because they were not signifficantly more expensive...I thought 'let's try it, maybe it works..." I believe the $14 U-joints from AutoZone are just fine for a 'normal' driven Vette...

The shock choice is depending on how you want to drive your Vette, for 'normal' driving I'd recommend the KYB shocks for $149 (MidAmerica or VBP for example)... the Bilsteins are a little harsh which I wouldn't mind ... I have the KYBs installed and they are fine...

 

Spicer U-Joints - non-greasable are stronger - but your choice
Bilstein Sport Shocks

 

I like the non grease u-joints. They are stronger and maintence free. Spicer u-joint number for the 1/2 shafts are 5-799. Brute Force makes good joints as well. I also like Neapco joints for the driveshaft. That part number is 5-790.

Bilsteins Sport shocks are good too. KYB's are more affordable and they are a decent shock. Just get the correct ones for your rear spring, fiberglass or steel.

 

you know what you are talking about and i respect your answers........ so heres the questions....


when a u-joint breaks...where does it ususally break...(is at the middle where the grease zerk fitting is)

and if you properly grease the ones with zerk fittings do they last longer?


thks bob

 

 

Had greaseable Spicers on the halfshafts as I wanted to keep them greased considering all the motions they go thru. Broke one at the drags right at the zerk. Plan on replacing all with the non-greasable Spicers when I get time. On shocks, I am running the Koni's. Being adjustable, I can dial in/fine tune the shocks to my liking.

 

Nomally if you are breaking u-joints your in a high Hp car. I've only seen them break just under caps and in the middle.

On a car that does not have a lot of HP it's fine to run greaseable joints. It's hard to say if they will last longer than non-greaseable joints. I would assume they would if you regularly maintain them. But there are a lot of guys that put them in and grease them once and never look back again. Than they break them or they go bad and they are confused on what went wrong. So I would have to say that it varies from person to person.

I think another downside to gresaeable joints is that the grease you pump into them will splatter all over the underside of the body and close parts. I know some might not even care about it b/c it's under the car but I like everthing to be clean. Heck I even throw my truck on the lift to clean the underside of it. but thats just me.

 

Define "lot of HP" please. Say under 400 at the flywheel. Greaseable or non? You are the expert, your opinion would be appreciated.

 

Desi
I'de say anyone w/350-400+ Hp at the rear. Your probably at what, 325 - 330 at the rear wheels.
My question to you now would be, do you race at all? Do you like doing burnouts often? Do you slam gears a lot? If so, go w/the non-greaseable joints. If your just a cruiser, than the greaseables are fine. Your at the point where I would recommend either or. It just depends on how you drive.

 

You are too kind. I wish it was that much. My new set up should be 370 at the flywheel according to DD2000.

But I love to drive hard. I am going to go with non-greaseable ones.

Thanks for the info

 

I have the greasable stock repalcements on mine, haven't broke yet, I am however putting in the DragVette half shaft saftey loops

 

I cracked a greasable 1/2 shaft joint diagonally in half after 18k miles and not many clutch dumps. I was shifting into 3rd gear on the highway @3500 rpm when it let go. Crack followed the drilled grease hole in joint. I have new,never used TRW greasable joints already installed on a set of 1/2 shafts that I'm going to replace with Spicer 5-799x solids.
Gary

 

using brute force,no fittings,350hp/355 gears and lots of burnouts. Secound year on them and no problems but only drive her 1500 to 2000 per year (but not gently).

 

I would never argue with the experts, and certainly trust Van Steel's judgement, but I have had two non-greasable half shaft joints dry up on me in less than 5000 miles. (I believe they were Spicer and I did purchase them from a sponsoring vendor.) This occurred over a 6 year period of time, but it truely was a surprise for me to discover this. In light of this, I certainly wouldn't consider them maintenance free. Neither broke, but they were both noisey when I replaced them.

There is a preferred way to install the greasable U-joints, and that is to ensure that the fitting sees only compression as the joint spins (obviously when the car is going forward). I believe a quality greasable U-joint will give good service for a long time in the majority of Corvettes.

There is a new U-joint on the market, that has the fitting in the end of one of the cross-shafts, in the cap. They have plugs that you can replace the zerk fitting with if you're concerned it might sling grease or if there is a potential clearance issue. This seems to allow the best of both. A greasable U-joint and no weak point in the cross where the fitting screws in. I believe we purchased them from NAPA.

My preference on shocks is the Bilstein. Stock on my 20 year old '85 with nary a leak. I installed the KYB's on my '73 in 1991. They were a good shock, but by 1997 one of them had lost the nitrogen. It still had good dampening, but no gas. I then replaced them with the Bilsteins as well and couldn't be more pleased... 8 years later. I'm sure the KYB is a fine shock, but it's less expensive for a reason...

GUSTO