Land Rover U-joints

[Antichrist]

how do you break a needle bearing in the field w/o deforming it to the point of uselessness?

Either way you'd need to replace the u-joint again at the earliest, so I'd sooner just use one from the old u-joint. A lot less fuss.

 

[max adams]

Needle bearings are hard and brittle, they don't bend not Spicer anyways. I said if you dropped and lost one or two of the needles.

 

[Geo14cux]

Becareful when you pull the caps & slap some greese in the cap.

 

[Roverhound]

NAPA carry two lines for Landrovers. One is made in the USA the other Japan. They had two each in stock so I took all four. The Japanese parts were $8 cheaper and way better @ around $22 ea.
I carry a pair in the truck.

I tried the Japanese u-joints, they lasted less then 3k miles.

 

[jeepfreak]

I tried the Japanese u-joints, they lasted less then 3k miles.

I got close to 5k out of mine. Good stuff.

 

[EricG]

With 3-5 thousand out of a joint aren't you changing about 3-4 times a year? I'd think a greasable would and should last alot longer no matter the brand.

 

[Roverhound]

With 3-5 thousand out of a joint aren't you changing about 3-4 times a year? I'd think a greasable would and should last alot longer no matter the brand.

Nope, you just don't get that crap anymore and get the Neapco.

 

[RonL]

I am currently running a test of both the USA and the Japan style joints. I have 26,000 miles on them and they are doing well.

If u-joints are only lasting 3-5000 miles, you might want to check the rest of your drivetrain for a bent shaft or driveline angles. Even a cheap u-joint shold get more than that life-span.

General notes.
-Japan looks like a copy of the stock u-jount(GKN brand).
-USA has longer needle bearings and the beefer cross.

 

[Antichrist]

Thanks for the confirmation that NAPA still sells GMB. It's been a while since I checked. That "1100" is the GMB PN too.
But are you saying that NAPA had the PDQ u-joints too? That's news to me.
The zerks on the end cap I always replace with flush style fittings.

With 3-5 thousand out of a joint aren't you changing about 3-4 times a year? I'd think a greasable would and should last alot longer no matter the brand.

Only if they are lubed properly. Not saying Roverhound didn't, but on various forums I see photos posted with people complaining about broken u-joints, then looking closely there's rust on the journals.
I've lost count of the times I've seen "give it a couple squirts of grease once or twice a year and you're fine"
Nothing could be further from the truth. The service interval for u-joints under normal driving condidtions is every 5,000 miles. So I lube mine every oil change (3k miles) just so it's easier to remember. Then when I get home (or before a long drive home) after wading and being in mud.
The other myth I see a lot is "Not too much grease, you don't want to blow the seals". You can not pump in too much grease. It's not lubed correctly unless you see new grease coming out from around all for seals on a u-joint.
Sometimes the u-joints shift in the end caps and you you can't get grease coming out one or more seals, so you have to tap the opposite yoke with a hammer to get the u-joint to shift and allow the grease to flow.
I'm sure most people here know all the above, but I feel it bears repeating.

To recap:

• When installing new, put new grease in each cap before assembly
• For normal service, lube every 5k miles or 3 months, whichever comes first
• At every lube, purge the u-joint with new grease, the point at which you see new grease coming from all 4 seals
• If you can't get new grease from one or more seals, move the propshaft side to side to shift the u-joint in the caps

 

[muskyman]

I am right there with you Tom, I will grab the seal where the grease first comes out and hold pressure on it so I can get the other seals to pop and allow the old dirty grease to get pumped out of them as well.

Often if you just pump the grease in until it comes out of one seal there can still be another cap that is dry or contains black burned up grease.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

So... there are no 1300 Spicer's available anymore? What is Rovahfarm selling?

http://www.rovahfarm.com/DiscoIAxles.htm

What's the next best then? Is it the Neapco, GKN? I've also found Precision available locally. And another shop said they carry PDH, but I'm wondering if they're confused with PDQ.

 

[Roverhound]

I'm with you guys. Except I don't wait for oil changes to grease them.
The GKN's I used had a much smaller end cap then the u-joint they replaced.
I don't even think they made it to the first greasing before they went out. PT was saying he had the same issues with them on Dweb.
When I switched to the Neapco's amd ran them 30k so I don't believe driveline angles are the issue here. I just thing they are under engineered.
Glad they're doing well in your test but I won't be testing them on my truck again.

 

[Antichrist]

So... there are no 1300 Spicer's available anymore? What is Rovahfarm selling?

In the US they are Dana-Spicer. Rovahfarm lists them as Hardy-Spicer, which is the UK division. I suppose it's possible the 5-4x is still being made in the UK.

What's the next best then? Is it the Neapco, GKN? I've also found Precision available locally.

Dan says Precision are made in China, but the last ones I got, albeit series 1310 380's, were US made. I've never bought a Precision 344 so don't know about them.

And another shop said they carry PDH, but I'm wondering if they're confused with PDQ.

Probably PDQ (never heard of PDH) which are Neapco made in US for the 1-0005. I've got better than 50k on my front propshaft with them.

 

[Antichrist]

FWIW I stopped by the autoparts store last night and the Precision 344 (1300 series) u-joint said "Made in USA" on the box.

 

[RonL]

FWIW, the PDQ 1-0005 in the pictures were from AutoZone.