U joint lubrication secrets???

[sailor2000]

Just put new U joints on the deuce... and observed while taking the old ones apart that the greasing I had been doing was not getting to all the bearings... so while I had the new ones assembled in the driveshafts but still on the bench I gave them each a generous greasing... and saw that I only had grease coming out past the seal on one or two of the four bearings per u joint... so the others were not getting any grease....

How do you get grease to all 4 bearings on a U joint?????

 

[acetomatoco]

The others were getting grease, but fortunately it was not coming out the seals.. Grease coming out the seals is not a good indicator of lubrication.. Joints are prelubed when made. You top off the grease from time to time when you do your PM..a little goes a long way...not to worry about it...more important is the use of a grease which is compatible with what was originally used so it does not turn to liquid..and run out.

 

[1956_4x4]

Re: RE: U joint lubrication secrets???

The others were getting grease, but fortunately it was not coming out the seals.. Grease coming out the seals is not a good indicator of lubrication.. Joints are prelubed when made. You top off the grease from time to time when you do your PM..a little goes a long way...not to worry about it...more important is the use of a grease which is compatible with what was originally used so it does not turn to liquid..and run out.

Spicer recommends greasing their u-joints until you have fresh grease coming out each seal on the caps. Sometimes you need to drop the vehicle out of gear and tap the cap that is not getting grease flow with a mallet. Unless the u-joint is a non-greaseable type, the factory grease in the u-joint is mainly for shipping/storage purposes.

Smitty

 

[CGarbee]

RE: Re: RE: U joint lubrication secrets???

Smitty is correct...
To quote from the Spicer manual:
"Spicer replacement universal joint kits contain only enough grease to provide needle bearing protection during storage. It is therefore necessary to completely lubricate each journal cross and bearing assembly prior to assembly into the driveshaft yokes. Each journal cross lube reservoir should be fully packed with a grease. Each bearing assembly should also be wiped with the same grease, filling all the cavities between the rollers and applying a liberal grease coating on the bottom of each bearing cap. After the kits are installed into the driveshaft yokes and prior to placing into service, relube as follows:
1. Using the proper lubricant, purge all four bearing seals of each U-joint. This flushes abrasive contaminants from each bearing and assures all four bearings are filled properly. Pop the seals. Spicer seals are made to be popped."

The manual then goes on to explain how to grease them if the seals don't pop (which would help sailor2000 out, but is too long to post here--follow the link below)...

For more info on the care of u-joints, see:
http://www2.dana.com/pdf/3306-6.PDF

Spicer (Dana) has a lot of good tech info online, you just have to go to thier website and poke around in the "literature" section or do a search...

In the same bulletin, they remind you to lube the slip joint at the same time that you lube the u-joints:
"Relube slip assemblies at the same intervals as universal joint kits. Apply grease gun pressure until grease appears at the pressure relief hole in the slip yoke plug. Cover the hole in the plug with your finger and continue pressure until grease appears at the slip yoke seal."

How many of you cover the relief hole and keep pumping in grease until it comes out at the slip seal???

Good luck.

 

[sailor2000]

RE: Re: RE: U joint lubrication secrets???

GREAT data!!!!! Thanks

 

[CGarbee]

RE: Re: RE: U joint lubrication secrets???

You might also find the "10 series" manual helpful (it has better photographs...) as it is a little better organized... and has a lube chart including intervals and grease recomendations.
See:
http://www2.dana.com/pdf/DSSM-3264.PDF

 

[gringeltaube]

Re: RE: Re: RE: U joint lubrication secrets???

How many of you cover the relief hole and keep pumping in grease until it comes out at the slip seal???

Sometimes it works, sometimes not...

 

[sailor2000]

Re: RE: Re: RE: U joint lubrication secrets???

How many of you cover the relief hole and keep pumping in grease until it comes out at the slip seal???

Sometimes it works, sometimes not...

I would need smaller fingers...

 

[Cdub]

This is what the -12 LO says to follow...........

 

[Recovry4x4]

In a perfect world that would be good but some of the grrease seals on ujoints seal better than the others. In that case the grease is going to take the path of least resistance and come out of them. May be able to give them a little squeeze to direct the grease elsewhere.

 

[CGarbee]

In a perfect world that would be good but some of the grrease seals on ujoints seal better than the others. In that case the grease is going to take the path of least resistance and come out of them. May be able to give them a little squeeze to direct the grease elsewhere.

The Spicer manual suggests several approaches from pushing/pulling on the joint to removing the u-joint and popping the cap off... I tend to grease them, and if I notice that one didn't pass grease, then I do some driving and hit it again very soon...

With the exception of the five ton, my fat finger doesn't fit up into the gap to cover the slip joint relief hole either...

 

[Cdub]

Hey Ken,

Yea, you are right in many respects. I wouldn't say that I could follow the LO like is suggested. It's really the first I've ever read of something like that and thought it was a very interesting approch.

Do I follow that rule.....No, it's not a perfect world......

Keeping up with the Drive Line lub is a very good way to keep it from wearing.

and I still use my Linclon hand pump which is difficult at times but I get throught it.

Cheers,

C'dub