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Universal joints


mjeff87
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Need to replace both u-joints on the KJ rear driveshaft this weekend.  What's the consensus on decent brands nowadays?  Spicer, Moog, ???

 

I need to be able to source them locally, not online.

 

 

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I not sure where u can find spicer in locally store but moog are good brand and u can get from advance auto parts, i have use it never had a problem but for ball joint i would go with spicer only i could find is order online.

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I buy Dana/Spicer.  SPL series.

 

Okay, I "would" always buy them if I had time to order them.  I've used all sorts of other joints from other brands, since nobody locally stocks Spicer SPL, all are junk in comparison to the actual Dana SPLs.  The only problem is I'm stuck ordering them from Rockauto in advance if I want them.

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I might just pony up and order some Spicers.  I wanted to swap them out this weekend, but it's supposed to be (and has been already) over 100 here tomorrow and Sunday, with +75 dewpoints......I really want not to do anything outside or in the garage.

 

Thanks all.

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1 hour ago, mjeff87 said:

I might just pony up and order some Spicers.  I wanted to swap them out this weekend, but it's supposed to be (and has been already) over 100 here tomorrow and Sunday, with +75 dewpoints......I really want not to do anything outside or in the garage.

 

Thanks all.

Yea if u can wait, it will be worth of wait for Spicer to arrive ur door I hsve everything spicer on my XJ.

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I'm in the same boat as Dirty on this. I'd prefer to order OEM parts, but don't live in a large enough population centre (thank god) that it's ever in stock anywhere. Any time I've changed a ujoint it seems I'm on the side of the road, so I end up with whatever was at the parts store I made it into... So far I haven't done the same one twice though. Maybe I'm lucky. 

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Advance Auto can get spicers, they're about $40/ea.  I'm gonna run to my local parts place tomorrow (Indy shop) and see if they can get them any cheaper.  If not, I'll order via AA....I've got some rewards $$$ I need to use up before they expire.

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Well, plans changed a bit.  I ran down to AA early yesterday morning and picked up a couple new UJ's.  Pulled the jeep into the garage, ran inside to change clothes, came back out and there was coolant all over the garage floor.  Water pump crapped the bed.  Back to AA in the wife's car for a new one and a gallon of coolant.  Hottest day of the year, it was already in the 90's at 10:00AM.  It took me 51 minutes start to finish to swap the pump and refill the system, but I was literally soaked in sweat.

 

Ill save the UJ's for later on this week, it's supposed to cool back down starting on Tuesday.  The wife and I are heading to brunch today, and I have to finish installing a shelving system she bought for her closet.

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Yep, they're only like $30 or so, but they set the vehicles with a forklift and invariably muck up the rear shaft 99/100.  I was thinking about picking up one and swapping new UJ's into it like that, but my luck I won't find one not all fubar' up.

 

I'm chasing down a howling sound from the rear end....its constant on accelerate, decal and cruising so I don't think it's a pinion bearing.  I think the rear UJ is going bad causing the sound, so I'm starting with the joints.  If they don't solve it, I'll move toward the r&p somewhere, or axle bearings.  Not a 911 issue (unlike my water pump:sad:) so it's not the end of the world that I didn't get them swapped out this weekend.

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Ever have one of those days when you are a danger to yourself (and others)?  Everything you touch just falls completely apart?  That was my day yesterday.  I took a sick day off work after visiting the emergency optometrist and got 4 foreign objects plucked out of my left eye (dirt and lint, have no idea how it all got in there but I couldn't see them nor flush them out.....).  Figured I'd swap the UJ's out, no big deal, should take about an hour.  Riiiiight.....

 

Started off by bonking my head off the frame.  Got driveshaft out, rigged up the C-press in the bench vise and promptly knocked almost everything off my workbench trying to get the UJ/yoke lined up in the press.  Cleaned all that up, then accidentally kicked over a jug of used motor oil.  Got all THAT cleaned up, then fought with the old UJ that was rust-seized in the yoke for almost 15 minutes until it finally popped free.  Yay.  Grabbed the new joint, popped off 2 caps to get it inside the yoke and ONE single needle bearing flew off into oblivion.  I heard it "tink" off the tool chest and then it was gone.  I half-heartedly looked for it for a couple minutes, said screw it, grabbed the old joint and pulled a needle out of it to replace the AWOL one.  Then for the life of me I couldn't get the caps to press in straight for anything in the world.  I actually ended up screwing up one of the caps, pulled the joint out and tossed it.  Grabbed the second new joint I bought (for the front of the shaft) and very carefully got it pressed in straight.....except I couldn't get the clips back in both sides.  Pressed it back out, found one needle bearing dropped crosswise in the bottom of the cap (we've all done this, at least once I bet), got it lined up again and pressed the joint back in.  Said the h*ll with the front joint, put the driveshaft back in and thought I was done, then realized that I didn't screw the zerk fitting into the new joint:doh:  Luckily I was able to screw it in without having to pull the shaft back out.  At least I installed the joint facing the right way so I could access it.

 

Some days, it's just better to put the tools down, go back inside and have a beer.

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47 minutes ago, mjeff87 said:

Some days, it's just better to put the tools down, go back inside and have a beer.

 

 

indeed. :(  we had a similar day installing a ujoint into a junkyard front driveshaft for my buddy's f250 (his original shaft's CV joint was wasted) only to find out at the end of the day (and I mean the end of the day since our comical rust-fightin' hijinks took alllllll... stinkin'... day) that the shaft he bought was an inch too long.  :furious2: (turns out he grabbed one from a coil sprung 250)

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I don't have those kinds of days very often, but when I do they end up being doozies......

 

Silver lining is that my rear end howling is gone now :beerbang:  The old (most likely original, 17 year old) joint didn't feel bad, still had grease in all the caps and wasn't bound up at all.  I guess it just plain wore out.  It didn't owe me anything, lol.

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