Land Rover U-joints

[Antichrist]

Rather than continuing to clutter Scott's thread, I tought I'd create one more specific.

I'm telling you, old timer, the 5-4x joint has been discontinued. I can't help what your good-buddy down at your local Pep-Boys tells you or what the out-dated Spicer web site says. The 5-4x is no where to be found. If you find them, get me a case of 24. I'll pay you a $50.00 finders fee.

Here are your "Made in the USA" Neapco joints.


http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=33885&stc=1&d=1256260024

You can buy these joints all day long at your local Auto Zone for 12.99. Auto Zone stocks two at a time. So if you're rebuilding your D2 front drive-shaft, plan ahead.

I'm sure you have found some of the older Made In the USA Neapco joints at your local auto parts store. It's left over stock. Once they reorder they will receive the Made In China joints. This includes the PDQ and Duralast part. I've seen and used your Made In the USA joints from Neapco:


http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=33886&stc=1&d=1256260416

In either case, the 1310 joint is more common. It just is. If your local-yokle parts store carries it, cool. But we do not always stay local and sometimes finding a parts store with less-common parts is a chore. Toyota, Ford, Chevy, Mazda, Chrystler, etc.. all use a 1310 u-joint. Besides Rover, I'm not sure what else uses the 1300 joints.



A pic is worth a 1000 words:


http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=33887&stc=1&d=1256260658

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=33888&stc=1&d=1256260658

As for JSQ's comments, I'm not sure how a drive-shaft with 1310 u-joints can be dubbed the eXtreme-big-brother-trucker-breaker-breaker-one-nine-give-me-a-hell-yeah option. The Rover drive-train is junk; carrier, front axles, CV's, rear axles.... In every creditable "build", the "builder" replaces these items before calling their truck "built". "HD" axles, "HD" gears, "HD" carriers, "HD" CV's. But no "HD" drive-shaft? Why?

I do not have a Tom Woods drive-shaft here to compare, but here is a stock Rover drive flange:


http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=33889&stc=1&d=1256261322

It's a cast piece. It's pretty thin, too. If you've never seen one split open, don't worry, you will. If you've never attempted to change the u-joints and had a cap just fall out, don't worry about that, either. It's coming.

Can anyone post a picture of the Tom Woods shaft? It's night and day at the flanges.

As for the tube, sure, the Tom Woods tube is thicker. But I don't care who's shaft you have; if you dent the tube you're going to twist your shaft into a candy cane.

Beside, how much is Will Tillery going to sell you a drive-shaft for? $100.00? Add some new u-joints and you've got $140 in your shaft. How much is a brand new Tom Woods shaft? $100 more? Kind of a no-brainer if you ask me.
First, I do stand corrected on the 5-4x. Since the last time I talked to Dana/Spicer, a couple of years ago, they have in fact discontinued it. February 2008 to be exact. But for some time before that they weren't made by Spicer anyway. So I'm not sure what the big deal is about them.

I'm not sure why you are posting a photo of an Autozone Duralast u-joint. They aren't marketed or made by Neapco and never have been. I expect you're just confused because Autozone used to carry PDQ and kept using the PN when they outsourced to China when they switched to the Duralast line. The Duralast is from Neotac, but actually manufactured by various plants around China.
Anyone who has said that Duralast is/was made by Neapco is simply wrong.

The Neapco line (like you'd get a driveline shop), and the PDQ 1-0005, are in fact still made in the US. The PDQ 1-0154 is made in the US as well in case anyone reading this wants a 1310 series with the zerk in the end cap. Both are $12.99 at Advance Autoparts and other stores around the US.
Other PDQ, the high mover PN's, are outsourced because that's what the parts stores require. Cheap! The don't sell many 1-0005's or 1-0154's so they don't require the lower price on them, even though they sell them for the same price.
Those two specific PDQ u-joints are exactly the same u-joint you'd get at a driveline shop that carries Neapco.

I'm not sure what you think the broken u-joint photo proves. I can show you photos of broken 1310's, 1330's, 1350's, 1810's and so on. Any u-joint will fail if it is over stressed or improperly lubed.

I think JSQ's comment was saying that for 95% of Land Rover owners the stock propshafts (with 1300 series u-joints) are fine. Which I agree with.
I've never said or implied that the 1300's are as strong as 1310's. Though good quality 1300's may in fact be stronger that poor quality 1310's.

There are also rumors on the internet that Dana/Spicer has out-sourced their u-joints to China. According to the Spicer rep I spoke to today, that is not the case. They are still made in the US.

All of the above information came from Spicer or Neapco via two phone calls today to their respective technical folks.

I hope that clears it up for you Dan. Oops, I mean jeepfreak.

[jeepfreak]

I'm not even going to argue with you one this. I'm just going to point you back to my very first statement that there are more, more commonly available, quality 1310 u-joints than there are 1300's. Sure, "95%" of the folks will be just fine with 1300 u-joints made in China. 95% of the same folks will be just fine with stock carriers and stock axles, too.

The 1310's available are just better. Just like I said in my first post. End of story. And that does not even get into the quality in the aftermarkets shafts available.

[Geo14cux]

Rockford makes 1300's :wings:

[gjackson]

I'm not even going to argue with you one this. I'm just going to point you back to my very first statement that there are more, more commonly available, quality 1310 u-joints than there are 1300's. Sure, "95%" of the folks will be just fine with 1300 u-joints made in China. 95% of the same folks will be just fine with stock carriers and stock axles, too.

The 1310's available are just better. Just like I said in my first post. End of story. And that does not even get into the quality in the aftermarkets shafts available.

Kinda doesn't forgive the fact that the duralast u-joints you posted as neapco aren't. Doh!

I'll guess that wasn't the 'end of story'.

cheers

[Roverhound]

Kinda doesn't forgive the fact that the duralast u-joints you posted as neapco aren't. Doh!

I'll guess that wasn't the 'end of story'.

cheers

Go to Advance Auto and request Neapco u-joints. They will give you Neapco u-joints.
If you just tell them you want 1-0005 joints the parts monkey will give you whatever he has on hand. Of course he won't have 1-0005's on hand, he has to order them from the warehouse and he will have them tommorrow.

[sven]

Another option is to buy the OEM ones for around the same price as Neapco. GKN brand. He also stock hardy spicer for $40.

http://rovahfarm.com/DiscoIAxles.htm

[Antichrist]

I'm not even going to argue with you one this. I'm just going to point you back to my very first statement that there are more, more commonly available, quality 1310 u-joints than there are 1300's.According to you, from other posts other places, Precision u-joints are junk. According to you, Neapco u-joints are junk. So really that only leaves Spicer as anything you can get locally, and not every parts store carries Spicer, so that really narrows how "commonly available" they are. NAPA might carry Spicer, I don't know. Last time I went to NAPA to get a u-joint, because I knew they used to carry Spicer, they were using GMB part numbers, and the u-joint said Made in Japan (or China, I can't remember which because I didn't buy it).


Sure, "95%" of the folks will be just fine with 1300 u-joints made in China.You can keep repeating, or implying, that Neapco are made in China, that doesn't make it true. But, I think everyone else realizes that.


The 1310's available are just better.Comparing same design from the same mfg 1300's and 1310's no one has ever said otherwise.


Go to Advance Auto and request Neapco u-joints. They will give you Neapco u-joints.
If you just tell them you want 1-0005 joints the parts monkey will give you whatever he has on hand. Of course he won't have 1-0005's on hand, he has to order them from the warehouse and he will have them tommorrow.When I ask for 1-0005 u-joints they are always PDQ/Neapco that are given to me.
As for having them the next day, I can see that as possibly an issue. Though I'd be willing to bet most people who off-road hard enough to worry about breaking a u-joint carry spares, so that makes it not an issue.
Personally I carry a spare 1310 even though the odds of me breaking one are pretty slim.

[traveltoad]

Though I'd be willing to bet most people who off-road hard enough to worry about breaking a u-joint carry spares, so that makes it not an issue.


Exactly.

[Geo14cux]

ok in a nut shell
Who gives a *
you buy crap you get crap :costumed-smiley-007
http://www.rockforddriveline.com/neapcoto.htm

[max adams]

I work in a driveline shop and have built LR driveshafts. If you want the best bang for your buck, I would build a Spicer shaft with 1310 joints and a conversion flange to fit the LR bolt pattern and pilot. The flanges last quite along time unless the u-joints have a catastrophic failure and and the spinning shaft smashes the yoke etc. Spicer is well made and available everywhere, and the next time you need u-joints any supplier will have them on the shelf.
www.drivetec.ca

[jeepfreak]

According to you, from other posts other places, Precision u-joints are junk. According to you, Neapco u-joints are junk. So really that only leaves Spicer as anything you can get locally, and not every parts store carries Spicer, so that really narrows how "commonly available" they are. NAPA might carry Spicer, I don't know. Last time I went to NAPA to get a u-joint, because I knew they used to carry Spicer, they were using GMB part numbers, and the u-joint said Made in Japan (or China, I can't remember which because I didn't buy it).

Precision joints are made in Japan now. At one time they are USA made. That changed years ago. It's a fact that the "new" Precision joints are not lasting nearly as long as they once did. Besides that, it's simply not as good of a joint, by design, as the Spicers were. The grease zirk in the end cap it just a better, stronger, design.

NAPA carries Precicion joints. At least here they do. It has already been established that no one, not even NAPA, carries the Spicer 1300 joints.


You can keep repeating, or implying, that Neapco are made in China, that doesn't make it true. But, I think everyone else realizes that.

Is Neapco's are still made in the USA, I stand corrected. That has not been my experience, though. Two different companies using the same part numbers for the same item is a bit odd to me. I think it's too odd and almost coincidental. I think there is more to this story that someone is not telling. But lets go with your story that the Neapeco's are USA made and are still made to the standard they once were.


Comparing same design from the same mfg 1300's and 1310's no one has ever said otherwise.

No one is saying this. You are. I said that the 1310 u-joints are more commonly available and more options of better quality are available. Look at my first post in the other thread.


When I ask for 1-0005 u-joints they are always PDQ/Neapco that are given to me.

Well you must live in some parts source oddity. I've been out of town and needed a 1300 joint and could not find one. I was, in fact, in your neck of the woods. I called every parts store in Lawerencville, Dacula, Hamilton Mill, and Winder. Guess who had one? The Dealer in Buckhead. Everyone else would need to order one. I ended up just removing the drive-shaft and locking the t-case to drive my 550-mile trip home. This was documented on Dweb if you think I'm pulling this out of my a**.


As for having them the next day, I can see that as possibly an issue. Though I'd be willing to bet most people who off-road hard enough to worry about breaking a u-joint carry spares, so that makes it not an issue.

Yes, getting them the next day IS an issue. This is the very point I made in post #1 on the other thread. I'm glad you're starting to understand.

As for carrying one with you anyway, sure, most of us do if we're traveling off-road. When I go out of town I'm not also going off-road so there is no sense in carrying a Pelican full of extra parts. I keep a brake switch in the glove compartment and that's really about it.

But let's say you're fixing you truck in the "field" and you loose a needle bearing out of one of your caps. I've done this when replacing u-joints in the garage before, so it could easily happen in the field, especially is you're replacing a joint on a double-cardon shaft. What's your fix for this? Carry two joints?

The point is, Tom, you can walk into ANY parts store in about any Country and find a 1310 u-joint. This is not always the case with the 1300 u-joints. There are more quality manufactures of the 1310 u-joints, too, so finding that quality made joint is a heck of a lot easier to do. You can only name one quality u-joint made to fit the stock drive-shaft. Everything else is Chinese pot metal. It's just a fact that the 1310 joints are easier to get, better made, stronger, and in the end more desirable to own. Scott is building his truck to be reliable when out off-road. Why in the world would anyone compromise their truck with inferior parts? Everything from the yoke to the tube to the slip joint to the u-joints....Tom Woods makes a better shaft with 1310's.

If you go off-road as much as you do, the 1300's are just fine and this thread means nothing to you. I know that Atlanta traffic can be rough on your vehicles, and pulling into your parking lot off Peachtree Street is a task. I'm surprised you haven't cut a sidewall or broken a CV yet.

[max adams]

But let's say you're fixing you truck in the "field" and you loose a needle bearing out of one of your caps. I've done this when replacing u-joints in the garage before, so it could easily happen in the field, especially is you're replacing a joint on a double-cardon shaft. What's your fix for this? Carry two joints?

If you are in the field and lost a needle bearing, your best bet would be to break or cut another needle in half. Having a short needle or 2 is much better than a gap, but this is only a short term trail fix. A gap will wear quickly and missing a couple needles won't center in the cap properly. Definately correct the problem when possible.

[Antichrist]

I've presented facts (the one misstatement corrected) as opposed to rumor and inuendo so I'm going to do what you didn't.
I'm not even going to argue with you one this. (sic.)

[zimm]

If you are in the field and lost a needle bearing, your best bet would be to break or cut another needle in half. Having a short needle or 2 is much better than a gap, but this is only a short term trail fix. A gap will wear quickly and missing a couple needles won't center in the cap properly. Definately correct the problem when possible.


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

im not sying it cant be done, i just wanna know how to do it.

[Maryland 110]

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.

[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.
34002

34003

34004

[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.

http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/ss215/rover_driver/RoverParts/Drivetrain/1-0005uj.jpg


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.

[Geo14cux]

Crazy George has some merican made uj's for 12$ :coffee:

[Antichrist]

FWIW, the PDQ 1-0005 in the pictures were from AutoZone.Ah, ok. Guess you happened across an AZ that hadn't restocked with Duralast yet. All the ones around here are Duralast now.

[timmy!!!!!!!]

I have a pdq joint sitting in the garag as a spare. I like the joints because of the grease zerk on the cap.

[R_Lefebvre]

I get that the grease zirk on the end is a plus because you haven't drilled a big hole in the "root" of the casting, but isn't it also a risk to have the zirk knocked off by a well-place rock?

I've read that the old Spicer 5-4x was farmed out to another manufacturer and just branded as a Spicer. Any chance that it was NSK that was making it?

http://www.nskf-bearings.com/Product_number/Automotive_bearings/Cross_joint.htm

[I Leak Oil]

It's a minor inconvenience to loose a zerk compared to the entire joint grenading on you. You can buy a plug to put in the hole so you don't have the zerk fitting sticking out too.

[Antichrist]

If you replace them with the flush style fitting as shown in the photo I posted, they barely stick out beyond the face of the yoke. Highly unlikely to knock one off.

I've read that the old Spicer 5-4x was farmed out to another manufacturer and just branded as a Spicer. Any chance that it was NSK that was making it?When I was told that by Spicer the guy said he couldn't really say who any given batch was made by without more research, which I didn't ask him to do.

I'm guessing that some were made by Neapco because they make the only 1300 series I've seen with the zerk in the end cap and people were saying they were getting 5-4x u-joints configured like that.

[R_Lefebvre]

Who was it you spoke to at Dana? I'm surprised he'd suggest they flip flop on suppliers batch by batch, because normally it doesn't work that way. So I wonder if he really just didn't know what he was talking about. It's also possible their "supplier" wasn't a name you'd recognize anyway. Maybe he was referring to a casting company as being their supplier?

Anyway, maybe I'll phone up some old coworkers and see if they can find out more. No promises, because chances are none of them work there anymore.

[Roverhound]

If you loose a zerk on your u-joint because you hit an obstacle you've already ****ed something up. The whole loosing a zerk argument is as stupid as the "I'll keep my rotoflex because it's easy to change in the field" argument.

[R_Lefebvre]

Is your point that "you just shouldn't be hitting rocks in the first place"? Or something else. Because, I've heard the "shouldn't hit rocks" statement before when talking about diff protection.

But, unless you have ground penetrating radar, I'd love to know how people see rocks through deep mud or water.

[Roverhound]

No, what I'm saying is if you are close enough to something that it has reached all the way up to where your drive shaft is, you have more problems then just a broken zerk fitting, you've more then likely boned your driveshaft already.

[Antichrist]

Who was it you spoke to at Dana? I'm surprised he'd suggest they flip flop on suppliers batch by batch, because normally it doesn't work that way. So I wonder if he really just didn't know what he was talking about. It's also possible their "supplier" wasn't a name you'd recognize anyway. Maybe he was referring to a casting company as being their supplier?I don't know, it's been 2 or 3 years. He didn't give a name of a supplier.
From what he said I assumed they would get bids for x number of units and sign a contract for them. When that contract ran out they'd repeat the process and potentially get them from someone else. That's all conjecture on my part, and probably moot anyway since DANA-Spicer has dropped the 5-4x from their parts list as of Feb. '08.


If you loose a zerk on your u-joint because you hit an obstacle you've already ****ed something up. The whole loosing a zerk argument is as stupid as the "I'll keep my rotoflex because it's easy to change in the field" argument.Surely true for the FWD unit end, but I could see a slight risk of breaking one on the diff end without doing other damage. But I agree the risk is slight.

[R_Lefebvre]

No, what I'm saying is if you are close enough to something that it has reached all the way up to where your drive shaft is, you have more problems then just a broken zerk fitting, you've more then likely boned your driveshaft already.

Ok, now I know what you're saying. Still, weird things happen to me. Last month I had a stick lying on the ground get kicked up by my front tire, spear the chain guide on my dirtbike, which is a 1/2" square target, and the other end of the stick dug in the ground, resulting in the bike doing a front flip throwing me over the bars at 30mph. :Wow1:

The odds of that chain of events was pretty incredible. Anyway, point taken.

[Antichrist]

Years ago I was chatting with a friend in VT when I happened to look in the passenger window of his Series Rover and saw a rather large hole in the front passenger floor. When I asked what happened he said he'd recently been out off-roading in some areas that had been recently logged and his front wheel tipped up some branches and one punched the hole.
He said the alarming part, at least for his wife, was that she was sitting in the passenger seat and the branch stopped mere inches from her.

[R_Lefebvre]

So, I dicided to rebuild my rear driveshaft since I have it out. I got the rotoflex joint and the spline bellows from the UK, and ordered a Neapco 1-0005 from NAPA. This is what I got:

http://i418.photobucket.com/albums/pp267/R_Lefebvre/Land%20Rover/IMG_6154.jpg

So which is this? Is this the Neapco? PDQ? China? I can't tell. It does say USA on it, but so does the picture Dan posted that is supposed to be made in China? The "imported by" on the box, I don't think that means it's necessarily China, I'm assuming they mean imported into Canada from (hopefully) USA?

Is this thing any good?

It's a good thing I decided to rebuild it, one of the journals on the old ones was looing really bad. I couldn't feel anything, though I was was able to feel my front shaft going before it did.

[Antichrist]

Surprising. NAPA in the US carries Precision now.
Is the zerk in an end cap?

As for Dan's post I originally quoted, he posted a photo of a non-Neapco u-joint box and a photo of a broken US made u-joint (I suppose it could have been a counterfiet u-joint made in China, but there's nothing we can do about that).
I have no way to know if the broken u-joint came from the box pictured. If it did, then it was definitely a counterfiet and can't be blamed on Neapco.

In any case, I'd take what he said with a grain of salt since he reports on other forums buying Neapco/PDQ u-joints from Advance Auto as recently as a few weeks ago.

[R_Lefebvre]

Yes, zerk in the end cap. And I like the clips they came with. Workable with pliers so I don't have to worry about potentially futzing around with C-clips in the field.

So that is a Neapco? How does the Precision compare? Better/worse?

First time I've done a U-joint, but wasn't too hard.

[timmy!!!!!!!]

I really like the U-joints that have the zerk in the cap. Makes life really easy when greasing them up. Although if I were you already tearing into that area I would change it out to a U-joint driveshaft.

[Antichrist]

So that is a Neapco?Yes. At least Neapco is the only 1300 I've seen with the zerk in the end cap.

How does the Precision compare?I've used/use both and haven't seen any real difference other than price and the different location for the zerk.
All other things being equal a u-joint with the zerk in the end cap is going to be stronger though.

[bobtail4x4]

I cant see a grease point in that UJ?

[R_Lefebvre]

Although if I were you already tearing into that area I would change it out to a U-joint driveshaft.

I don't want to get rid of the rotoflex. I want to keep it for the reason it was spec'd in the first place. It's not just $50 for a Ujoint, you need a new driveshaft, and the drive flange for the axle. Then you need to rotate the pinion down to get the U-joint angles right, as they are not right for a Ujoint in the rear at the moment. I'll just carry the old one around for emergencies.


I cant see a grease point in that UJ? It's in one of the end caps you can't see.

[sven]

I have a Neapco in my stash, and it has the same markings on it as yours.

Oh, and the Neapco box also says PDQ Made in the USA.

[muskyman]

Yes, zerk in the end cap. And I like the clips they came with. Workable with pliers so I don't have to worry about potentially futzing around with C-clips in the field.

So that is a Neapco? How does the Precision compare? Better/worse?

First time I've done a U-joint, but wasn't too hard.

first time for a u-joint but you are doing a complete trans swap?

Rob I give you credit for attacking this swap with very little experience

[revor]

To the missing zerk thing. I run 1310 joints in all my trucks. That's given me the opportunity to try an experiment using sealed joints. One truck has sealed the other greasable. I hate to say it but it's 1 to 0 in favor of the sealed. I'll be honest the sealed are in Karen's Disco but she drives better that twice as many miles as I do and wheels more than I do (and she's not mechanically compasionate). I'm pretty religious about maintaining my trucks which is why I probably don't get to wheel much. I snapped a 1310 clean in half early this summer one of the caps had no grease in it.. Neapco brand.

Both trucks spent a good time in the water last fall and early this spring.

[Antichrist]

I snapped a 1310 clean in half early this summer one of the caps had no grease in it..Yeah, you sorta need to grease them if you're not running sealed u-joints. :sombrero:

[R_Lefebvre]

first time for a u-joint but you are doing a complete trans swap?

Rob I give you credit for attacking this swap with very little experience

I've changed the diff in a FWD transaxle before, but other than that, nope.

[timmy!!!!!!!]

I don't want to get rid of the rotoflex. I want to keep it for the reason it was spec'd in the first place. It's not just $50 for a Ujoint, you need a new driveshaft, and the drive flange for the axle. Then you need to rotate the pinion down to get the U-joint angles right, as they are not right for a Ujoint in the rear at the moment. I'll just carry the old one around for emergencies.

It's in one of the end caps you can't see.

I have done the swap before on my 97 disco so I know the parts involved but the U-joint driveshaft is a lot more forgiving and later 97 to 99 discos all had u-joint rear driveshafts and most RRC trucks. The rubber donut is just not worth keeping around...

[R_Lefebvre]

For me, it's so easy to change, and I never had a problem with my old donut, now that I'm replacing it I'm just not too concerned. Of course, now with the 5speed, it'll be harder to be so smooth in the technical stuff so... I'll just carry a spare, if it becomes a problem I'll do something.