Jeep Driver Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 I've posted on this before- 3rd set of Precision axle joints in three years. The last set lasted my two weeks. Left me stranded 50 miles from home yesterday, lost a day of work, cost a tow, and the pair of CV axles. I was considering the CVs anyway, turns are much smoother, ain't looking back now. Sucked though, could have been worse I guess......oh yeah.....took a chuck out of each of the unit bearing bolts too. Image Not Found Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvusse Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 I have always had better luck with Spicer joints, but I run cv shafts in my daughter's Cherokee. Never a problem yet with either the 32x10.50 street tires, or the 33x13.50 Boggers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrawombat Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Both have their downsides. Just wait until the CVs tear a boot and you get dirt/crud inside - you'll put on a pretty good show in the parking lot hopping the front end into place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minuit Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Spicer, Spicer, Spicer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvzj Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Were they the standard precisions or the super duty? I have had good luck with the super dutys in my diesel. My Jeeps on the other hand only get Spicers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeepman Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Two weeks says to me they were not installed correctly and were too tight to one cap or the other or the yoke ears have been damaged and I have replaced many for customers because of this, u-joints suck and always need replacing far sooner then we would like regardless of brand and I have installed hundreds of Precision U-joints although I only use the Super u-joint... I switched to CV shafts years ago and have never looked back but my truck see's mostly street with minimal offroad use at this time and when it see's more offroad time I will go RCV's... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted March 29, 2015 Author Share Posted March 29, 2015 Two weeks says to me they were not installed correctly and were too tight to one cap or the other or the yoke ears have been damaged and I have replaced many for customers because of this, u-joints suck and always need replacing far sooner then we would like regardless of brand and I have installed hundreds of Precision U-joints although I only use the Super u-joint... I switched to CV shafts years ago and have never looked back but my truck see's mostly street with minimal offroad use at this time and when it see's more offroad time I will go RCV's... I suspect the passenger side was damaged somehow, out of balance or out of true, this side failed first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incommando Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Spicer. They are $20-$25 apiece. How cheap do they need to be before people stop buying off-brand? I don't know why anyone buys anything else unless they are going the high-dollar CTM type route...more on that in a minute. I know the three sets may have been warrantied but after the second set it would be pretty clear that they are not up to snuff or their is another issue. New Spicer shafts set up for 5-760x u-joints using full-circle retention clips are very strong and can be done for under $300 with the u-joints installed. I have a pair in my garage I got from Amazon for $275 shipped last Tuesday. You can also tack weld the caps or buy support bridges from places like IRO to up the ante. That set-up is a bargain for the strength increase. RCV's are the shizzle...for $1,100! I would rather have a u-joint pop and act like a fuse when I can slip a spare shaft in in 15 minutes ( or change the u-joint in 20) and be on the trail again. Try that with the RCV's after they survive but pass the force onto your differential and it explodes. Just like CTM's. If you are hitting it that hard that you need them then you probably just need to bite the bullet and swap in a better front axle. Don't forget that the RCV's are only guaranteed for up to a 35" tire. Tens of thousands of folks are running stock big-joint shafts on 35's successfully. http://www.rcvperformance.com/product-details-axles.aspx?sku=CVJ30-XJ You see far more stock CV guys looking for conventional u-joint shafts to swap then the other way around. For a street jeep they may be fine but the stockers are not an upgrade anywhere else. Anyone looking for a "ride quality increase" by switching to CV's maybe isn't in the right vehicle anyway... lol :banana: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvzj Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 Spicer will be off brand before long since they are no longer made in the US. That is one reason why I chose the Precision super duty, still made in America Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue XJ Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 My last set of Spicer 760's lasted about 9 years, and most of that is driving on the highway to an offroad park to get beat on, then driving home. I replaced them a few months ago with another set of Spicer 760's and am planning on getting the same time out of those as well. If they only lasted a few weeks, I would say it was installer error, or the shafts are damaged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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