Rear driveshaft u joints, any suggestions?

[SwaintaN]

im looking to take off rear drive shaft, get rust off of it, rust proof it, paint it.. figured while i have it off should do U-Joints on it, what type does every suggest

 

[IZwack]

I cant find it now but I did a review on two U-joints from two different parts store. While the packaging looks different, I found out that they are manufactured by the same company. So I think you're good to go one from any local parts store.

I would suggest that you get the one with the grease zerk fitting so you can regrease it (lack of grease is often what leads to U-joint failure). Off roaders will often suggest the one w/o the zerk fitting because they are generally stronger but for 33" tires or smaller, I dont think it matters.

 

[SwaintaN]

see i heard not to get grease fittings, that is why i was asking, im not going over 33s, i know the non grease type is a lil more expensive.. i know price doesnt always mean better.. how often do you have to grease them if you get ones that have to be greased..... im not to good on remembering crap that I gotta do, lol.

 

[HahnsB2]

I believe they're 1330 joints, the ones from my parts explorer driveshaft were slightly bigger than the 1310s in my B2 driveshaft. I like spicer greasable joints.

 

[Willard]

Most parts places sell Precision brand joints. I've got them and they work fine, plenty of people on here run them too.

And I'm pretty sure all the u-joints are 1310s.

 

[SwaintaN]

what kinda time frame am i looking at it if i get grease able.... like every 1000 to 2000 miles or 10-20k or even longer?

 

[Willard]

10 or 20k sounds good. It's not going to be too often.

 

[fordnut71]

i grease them every other oil change.

 

[mounty71]

I'm having a bit of trouble finding all the info i need and this is one of the most informative threads i've found, so... Can anyone confirm if the u-joints needed are 1310 or 1330 (specifically for a 2wd 2nd gen)? I have seen references to both. And is it the same joint used at both ends of the driveshaft?

 

[ericautopart]

2nd gen uses 1330 and yes, they are all the same.
Reasons for the grease fitting: Greaseable (obviously) and when you shove the grease in, it shoves the dirt out.
No grease fitting - sealed and won't allow anything in anyway.

I recommend Neapco performance dynamic joints but any spicer, neapco joint will be fine. I've got some cheap chinese joints for budget builds too and even those I don't have any issues with.

 

[mounty71]

Thank you eric.

 

[BlakeOfDoom]

I just replaced my front U joint on the driveshaft; The old one had busted through the cap and was grinding away at the saddle!! Anyway, I just bought a duralast gold u joint, lifetime warranty, $13.99 no zerk fitting though

 

[mounty71]

I just replaced my front U joint on the driveshaft; The old one had busted through the cap and was grinding away at the saddle!! Anyway, I just bought a duralast gold u joint, lifetime warranty, $13.99 no zerk fitting though

I haven't heard the greatest things about the duralast u-joints, and although they do have a lifetime warranty, i don't want to be changing them again in a couple of months. Hopefully they last you a long time though...please report back on how they work out for you.

I just got home from picking up two Neapco Brute Force non-greasable u-joints for 16.99, i've heard some good things about these and they're decently priced. I figure that if the stock u-joints are non-greasable and have lasted me 100k miles, and there are non-greasable ones made to replace the stockers, then there should not be an issue not having a way to grease these either. Hopefully my shimmy at 55+mph will go away after getting these installed.

 

[mounty71]

One more question. This may be obvious but, it seems like a lot of write-ups focus on the axle end of the driveshaft only, so should the trans end of the driveshaft get a new u-joint too? I guess after so many miles a new one wouldn't hurt.

 

[geoph1986]

You only have to replace the u-joint that has play in it. It's one of those things where, I've got the shaft out I could replace the other one now for $17.00 and then both are new and I shouldn't have to pull the shaft any time soon. or I can wait until the other one is bad to change it 'cause it only takes a couple of minutes to pull a drive shaft. It's really up to you.

FYI: to check a u-joint, block your wheels, put the vehicle in neutral, grab the shaft near the u-joint and see if it has any movement side to side, up and down. If it does it needs to be replaced. You probably already knew this but, maybe not. Also, I usually purchase the non-greasable, lifetime warranty u-joints for my cars, if they are available. I find they are better than the greasable ones.