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Has anyone had problems with Tom's Diff's before?

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Old Jan 5, 2005 | 11:00 PM
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Default Has anyone had problems with Tom's Diff's before?

I ordered some halfshaft u-joints from Tom's monday afternoon, shipped overnight. I had a friend fix them on his lift (i've been going back and forth to the Hospital since i left LSU on break and couldnt do it) and he called me tonight saying the spicer joints I ordered dont fit and that he put TRW brand on the car.

I looked at my invoice and I see 2 UJ13 joints ordered, which seems to be the correct ones to me.

Is there a marking on the joint that will tell me whether I have the correct joint, or on the box somewhere? I have trouble believing that they dont fit but dont have time to fix it again before I leave town.

I'm especially pissed because I had to overnight these things, which racked up about $40 in shipping.
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Old Jan 5, 2005 | 11:36 PM
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I wonder if they sent you driveshaft u-joints by mistake...I got my 4'11 gears from them and they were very helpful. Best thing to do is call them..
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Old Jan 5, 2005 | 11:48 PM
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St. Jude Donor '04-'05-'06-'07
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That number doesn't ring a bell. They was an alternative number and I believe it was for the halfshafts, but I don't believe that's it. The commonly used one is 5-800X. That is the Enduron coated, non-grease fitting joint. Good luck.
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Old Jan 5, 2005 | 11:51 PM
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I asked them the same question, they said that they use there own numbers for keeping track of the spicers in their wharehouse. I never figured out why though.
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Old Jan 5, 2005 | 11:52 PM
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I haven't ordered yet, but I did make a call to Tom's a couple months ago. I was told the half shaft joints were EJ13, and the drive shaft joints were UJ27. This is for cold forged, no grease zerks. This conflicts with your UJ13.
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Old Jan 5, 2005 | 11:56 PM
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I was told the half shaft joints were EJ13
All of Tom's u-joint part numbers start with a "U". here is the link to the list on their website...

http://www.tomsdifferentials.com/cat119.htm
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Old Jan 6, 2005 | 12:01 AM
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From: Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die
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Okay, the other number I had for halfshafts is SPL-302X. This, supposedly, was an even heavier duty version of the 5-800X. It was a good number when I ordered mine but not immediately available. It was recommended by some for (at least) the outer side of the shafts which catch the most s**t. I did verify and order from a local Spicer drivetrain store when I got mine a few months back.
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Old Jan 6, 2005 | 12:06 AM
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I dont know about the SPL-302X. I went to a local supplier and they tried to sell me the wrong part. Because they had it in stock. When we looked up the part numbers while I was standing there, they were Half shafts 5-800X and driveshaft 5-791X. The haft shaft came from their 1350 line and the drive shaft came from the 1330 line, both for alumnium shafts...
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Old Jan 6, 2005 | 12:26 AM
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Originally Posted by chriswtx
I dont know about the SPL-302X. I went to a local supplier and they tried to sell me the wrong part. Because they had it in stock. When we looked up the part numbers while I was standing there, they were Half shafts 5-800X and driveshaft 5-791X. The haft shaft came from their 1350 line and the drive shaft came from the 1330 line, both for alumnium shafts...
Hmmm, I obsessed with this issue for a while on the forum when I was preparing to do mine in conjunction with a rear end swap, poly bushings, etc. Anyhow, other than my previously mentioned numbers, the the only other numbers I could verify with Spicer were the main driveshaft ones, 5-786X. As I noted back then, this sure seems to be a hazy issue. Even Spicer's helpline (a misnomer in my case) gave different info at different times. When I finally discovered that we had a local Spicer driveline specialty shop, those guys worked with me to sort some of this stuff out. At least the three numbers I had gotten off of the forum all eventually turned out to be useful.
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Old Jan 6, 2005 | 12:42 AM
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I just got mine from Tom's today, 4 UJ13 and 2 UJ27, but haven't done anything yet. I can check against the stockers in the morning and see if they match and what the numbers are.
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Old Jan 6, 2005 | 01:25 AM
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Corvette kid your right, 5-786x. I dont know where I got 5-791x from
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Old Jan 6, 2005 | 08:44 AM
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Originally Posted by chriswtx
All of Tom's u-joint part numbers start with a "U". here is the link to the list on their website...

http://www.tomsdifferentials.com/cat119.htm
Well, it looks then that Vader has the right parts and they told me the wrong number. Glad I didn't try looking for it somewhere else.
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Old Jan 6, 2005 | 09:32 AM
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Originally Posted by Vince Ivanc
I just got mine from Tom's today, 4 UJ13 and 2 UJ27, but haven't done anything yet. I can check against the stockers in the morning and see if they match and what the numbers are.
Mine are not working out either. The UJ13 shows SPL30-2X on the box, if that means anything. They are a bit longer end-to-end than the originals, barely fit the yokes when the caps are pushed on as far as they can go, but there's no way to get them in the shaft ends. If I remove one cap and try to maneuver it in, there's no way it will go. I didn't spend too much time, I'll check again this evening.
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Old Jan 6, 2005 | 09:52 AM
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When I ordered from them I got the following:

driveshaft u-joints - 5-626x
halfshaft u-joints - 5-800x

My mechanic had a hell of a time putting them on but they fit (I think he had to use a rubber mallet to get them on).

Mike
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Old Jan 6, 2005 | 04:16 PM
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UJ13 and SPL30-2X is what I have here, and they wouldnt go on the shafts.
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Old Jan 6, 2005 | 06:54 PM
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Is it the diameter of the caps that doesn't fit or the length between the caps? You have to push the caps together pretty hard. They push together to a point and then you have to push extra hard to get them to the right spot. You will actually hear a click when they seat. I think I had to use a c-clamp to get some of them to click. I used Tom's and had no problems whatsoever.

Last edited by Sawbone; Jan 6, 2005 at 06:57 PM.
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Old Jan 6, 2005 | 08:17 PM
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Well I finally got mine on, the trick was to remove both caps and press them both in from the outside, rather than press the whole joint in one direction. There is absolutely no way to get the joint into the shaft with just one cap removed. (I had the cap on as far as it would go, past the 'click').
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Old Jan 9, 2005 | 10:34 AM
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Originally Posted by vader86
UJ13 and SPL30-2X is what I have here, and they wouldnt go on the shafts.
Any updates?
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Old Jan 9, 2005 | 04:57 PM
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I believe i'm just going to keep the spicer joints and try to replace them when the need arises.
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