[Guest]

OK...I have blown way too many autozone u joints and ruined too many driveshafts...who makes the toughest u joint ou there?


~~TIM~~

I'm not afraid of dying...I'm scared of not living

chevy-Cj-7

 

[Guest]

Re: who makes the tougherst u joints?

There is some interesting info on the Tom Woods site.
http://www.4xshaft.com/ujoint_diff.html

 

[Guest]

Re: who makes the tougherst u joints?

I always use Spicer joints now, I put a set of "autozone u-joints" in and after 6 months they gave in. So go with Spicer U-joints, they are a bit more expensive but will last alot longer and save you the frustration of changing them!

rlm93yj
http://members.xoom.com/RLMYJ/JEEPYJ.htm

 

[CJDave]

/wwwthreads_images/icons/tongue.gif Er....Tim, you could convert your Jeep to the 8-bolt Spicer 1900 Series Diesel truck drivelines. I guarantee you won't blow one of those joints. We reef on them with 450 HP Cats and they do just fine./wwwthreads_images/icons/crazy.gif

CJDave
I never believe any statistics unless my moonguys /wwwthreads_images/icons/crazy.gif/wwwthreads_images/icons/wink.gif made 'em up themselves.

 

[291]

I've got pairs of autozone "brute force" u-joints on my front and rear shafts, lifetime warranty. Had them 2yrs ish, and no problems
behind my V-8, no lockers though (which can defenitely point out weak spots in drive trains).

/wwwthreads_images/icons/cool.gif Big Ed
'88 YJ, 4" susp,3" body,33's,283 Chevy V8,TH350,4.11's,D30,D35c

 

[Guest]

My experience has been that the strongest U-joint I could find is NAPA's Super-Strength U-joint. These were recommended to me by someone on this board about two years ago when I was having alot of problems with blowing the Dana 30 axleshaft U-joints after installing a front locker and T-18 and beadlocks (backed up by a 360).

Anyway, I put a set of these in and they're still in there doing fine - 2 years later! (knock on wood!) I blew the ring and pinion with these in, too. They are about $25 a piece, but well worth it in my opinion, because usually when that axle u-joint goes, it takes the axleshaft with it by chopping off the ears.

They are some kind of special alloy and are black (maybe it's just a coating..) What's noteworthy is that they are also black under the bearing caps...

The strngth could also be due to the fact that I did the full circlip mod to the front axle-shafts at the same time, which keeps those little c-shaped bearing cap clips from springing out and then the bearing cap is thrown out by centrigugal force. I highly recommend this - it's easy and cheap.

Chuck Hadley

 

[Guest]

Actually, Brute Force is not an Autozone brand - you can get them at Pep Boys too. From people I've talked to, it seems that Spicer and Brute Force are about the same and these are the best.

 

[jeepgod]

ok.. i've read, yes i know.. here it comes, on a warn articale that when they were testing those new axles shafts of theres.. they also did some u-joint testing.. and they hit most major brands..ie. brute force, spicer, and so on. and what they came up with... well.. a u-joint is a u-joint is what they said. now i do know the napa ones where NOT in the test. but they did have some from like 5 bucks.. up to 25 bucks.. and they were all the same. its still the same size and you can only make it so strong.. and so on.. and so on. now someone mentioned that the napa where a special alloy? well that would change things... but brute force, spicer and most other u-joints are made pretty much the same. id would go with cj dave.. if you are that worried about them braking.. well first find out why? v-8 with dana 30... dont go together, if you are breaking them in the driveshafts, is it because of axle wrap? binding the joint when getting on the gas will cause that sucker to go in a heart beat, just ask a good friend of mine, the king of u-joint changes, elusive. go big or stay lying on the ground fixing them... meaning get a bigger u-joint is the only real way to get a stronger one.

survival is instinct, but living takes guts

 

[Guest]

Have you checked to make sure your yolk is in good shape? one of my friends bottomed out his front shaft on a RxR track and when he replaced the front shaft, it blew up a joint the first time he put power to it. Turned out one of the yolks was bad. Just a suggestion, you didn't say if you had replaced them. A driveshaft shop should be able to inspect it and tell you if they are ok, it doesn't take much slop with a lot of traction and power to break things.
Good luck

Nick Hagen
1995 Wrangler
33" Mud Tires and a four banger