bigragu

So there are newbies, then there is me, a clueless newbie. Finally got time off of work and I've always wanted to replace my yokes to the u bolt style and am clueless as to spline count, type, card an this and that. Shop manual no where that I can find refers to spline count. I am going thru a local guy named parts mike.com and before I call him I want to know what I'm chatting about. I would like to swap out the joints at the front diff driveline connection(have a W250), at the transmission to driveline output, and driveline to rear D70 connection. Is this a good start, or should I be doing the transfer case output as well? See told you I was clueless?!! What style, type should I be asking about? Aside from new pinion nuts, seals, etc what else come with replacing these? Am I asking for single/double cardan joints and which are the best to get? Patience with me is all I ask! Thnx

NJTman

Hey Ragu,

I've been wrenching for over 30 years, and this is my experience.

U joints are not difficult to change, unless they've never been replaced before, and they're still held in with the plastic glue that some of them came from the factory. If they're plastic, have fun, because they're very difficult to remove. Some guys heat the plastic out, and they fall out, but then you're relying on a smaller contact patch inside the yoke to hold the new caps. Not a big fan.

So, what did I do for my dodge ?

Rear u-joints were changed in my truck once before, and I changed them again with aftermarket U-joints and a new aftermarket carrier bearing. Even though I'm a habitual greaser where I lube them up ever 2k or so, they still failed. Bad china made U-joints from my local autozone. Carrier assembly, I bought online, and although it looked good from the start, the rubber that surrounds the bearing went bad. Pretty good, I got 2 years, eh? BS, I call .... BS.. Those lasted about 2 years or so, and the vibration I got out of the rear shaft was enough to say..... "let the pro's do it", and that's what I did.

Round 2.

Went to my local driveshaft company, and told them I want the BEST u-joints and since I purchased a new carrier bearing from Dodge, they could install that as well. Please balance the assembly, and let's move on with life.

Well, I must say that for the very first time since I purchased this truck, my buttocks didn't vibrate while driving. All the years I thought my engine was causing the cab to vibrate, and I was completely wrong. They did such a nice job, it completely eliminated the vibrations I felt in the cab. How did they do it, you ask ?

1. Spicer NON greasable joints
2. Dodge carrier bearing
3. Speed balanced both shafts (mine is a two piece shaft), and assembled correctly.

again, I was absolutely amazed that the truck was as vibration free as it was.

So what did I do next ?

Yanked out the front shaft, which had a bad u-joint at the front axle. Weird considering I had only changed it myself a year or so earlier. Another autozone crap chinese joint. Two caps good, two filled with rust. These aftermarket companies produce ujoints that don't allow the grease to flow out all 4 caps. Oh well, Spicer it is from now on.

The front shaft had the plastic injected holders on the cardian joint. They told me they DO NOT heat them, but they press the out cold. New joints, new balancing act, and front shaft is like brandy new.

So.... 30 years of changing Ujoints myself, and now I trust the guys who do them every single day. Worth every penny

bigragu

You the man! As a fellow tradesman, you and I know the pride we carry from doing a job with our bare hands, and doing it well. I hate "subcontracting" work out, and feel I can do most things myself except tape/texture and finishing concrete. These are tasks that end with beauty, and once applied and dried, you get what you get. If you're saying that u joint replacement is equal to that, being that you get what you get when done wrong( the part that ties in u joints to finishing drywall is the $$$ to replace the flub up, along with hassle of down time)then I will take your advice. I'm curious though(remember my intro as a confused newb) what could possibly go wrong with replacing u joints and yokes provided I go with spicer brand or whichever brand that's quality? Remove and replace, right? Like swapping out an electrical outlet? Or are there unforeseen considerations that come about with u joint and yoke swaps? By chance do you have listed part numbers from your job done by that shop?

u2slow

I use cheap ujoints on my trucks and grease them. I'm not hard enough on my stuff to run into breakage, so all I'm really dealing with (arguably) is reduced service life.

IMHO, permanently greased parts are for the consumer/retail market... just like unit bearings. Make it last for xx,000 miles while ignoring it the whole time. Not for people who look after their own stuff.

There are 1480 D80 yokes and 1480/1410 conversion joints now.

The front driveshaft bugs me though. Make the angles any worse than stock and those smallish ujoints' lives go downhill fast. Probably won't be entirely happy till I have at least 1350 stuff up there... clock the t-case down, or run divorced.

j_martin

The pro's I use, Natco transmission in Isanti, said the spicer joints with no grease zerk on them have a superior sealing system, and will outlast a U joint with zerks on it every time. I believe them. The cost is not very much more either, just a few dollars.

The other thing that you can't do at home, at least for most of us, is dynamically balance the assembly. If it needs it, a professional drive shaft shop can do it and do it right.

I had one that was so bad it took the OD unit out of the transmission. I think it cost me about $200 to get it right.

u2slow

I still think that's a case of the customer not greasing.

To each their own....the cheap zerk'ed joints are half the price and last me a surprisingly long time. If I was straight up breaking them, thats different. Then I'd need the strength of the un-drilled cross, or a larger joint.

NJTman

The cheap U joints have poor seals. I don't beat the snot out of my truck either.

J-martin is right, and the spicer non greasables last much longer, as they don't lose their grease. I greased my U-joints constantly, and they still failed. Last thing I want is for them to fail while I'm plowing snow.

NJTman

Tell them what you want, and make them put in spicer. I wouldn't bring my own eggs to the diner, as then they can say .... no warranty, as they didn't supply the parts. You won't save much doing it anyway..

You can buy them from amazon. Here is your truck diagram, and parts list.

The Expert - K350 - Information for driveshafts, u-joints, axles, heavy axles, light axles, Driveline

patdaly

The only thing I know is this.

The last Jeep I yanked out was pancaked on the frame to the bank, and the way I had to pull him meant straight ahead and use the bank as a lever.

The Dodge was dug in, low gear, and she was barking like I had never heard her bark, yet the last thing I was worried about was those Spicer U-joints........ Clutch, driveshaft, input shaft to the trans......yea, but U-joints? Nope.

I have reduced aftermarket brands to shrapnel.......... but not solid Spicers.

YMMV.

NJTman

Negative side of this ?

Snapping Yokes.... No I'm not yoking around either....

u2slow

The seals on zerk'ed ujoints have to be softer, to allow you to purge the old grease.

As I said... to each their own. A ujoint needs to have sufficient clean grease with minimal contaminants to ensure a long service life. However you maintain that in your operating conditions is ultimately up to you. In your case, it sounds like the cost & time of greasing exceeds the $$ of the sealed joint. You may well have to grease daily after a day's plowing to keep the crap out.

PapeCAT

for U BOLT style yokes, like you are looking for, Big Ragu/Augie - Give Jess at High Angle Driveline up in chico and bend his ear. He will set you in the right direction.

I might be wrong but I don't think spicer makes u bolt style 1410 so they are either NEAPCO or other brand or simply custom drilled out spicers.

j_martin

The 2 I lost in a year and a half got greased every time I changed oil. 2 cups were bone dry on each. If you think about it, a fluid (grease) will follow the path of least resistance. It's impossible to evenly grease all 4 cups with one zerk.

I think I know what I'm doing. I've been wrenching for over 50 years.

u2slow

Another option instead of ubolt yokes is to replace the strap with a machined cap/girdle:
GLO Yoke Girdles

Some of the aftermarket machined yokes have a full semi-circle to retain the cups instead of the small tab:
Competition Diesel.Com - Bringing The BEST Together - View Single Post - Dana 80 yoke for 1480 joint with u-bolts?


Greasing a ujoint means grease coming out of all 4 cups. If I don't get that, I mess with it (or take it apart) until it does. After all, it won't last long if its not taking grease. This is why I prefer to look after my own machinery.

patdaly

Negative side of shrapnelizing U-Joints? Carnage you didn't think possible.

LOL, You should see the underside of my old Chebby 1 ton before I learned my lesson.

Ever see a 205 Transfer case centerpunched by a driveshaft? I gotta see if I still have that picture around somewhere, looked like the driveshaft drilled a hole, except for ragged edges around the hole......

For a while, I thought about lining the floorboards with 3/8" steel plate.