Switching to sealed driveshaft U-joints

[JDS123]

Hi all,
So I'm sick of greasing my u-joints only to have them fail very soon after installation (only have 2000 miles on my front driveshaft and already the sparrows are angry). I've never been able to figure out why the joints keep failing (pinion angle is perfect and there are no vibrations at any speed). My only guess is that water and dirt are getting into the joints and ruining them. I'm going to try sealed u-joints all around this time.

For two 1310 Adams driveshafts (CV rear), what joints should I get? From looking around, I believe I just need 7 of the spicer 1310 sealed u-joints but would like to confirm that those are the correct u-joints for my driveshafts.

Thanks!

 

[Jerry Bransford]

Are you seating the bearing caps too deeply/hard? The u-joint body must be able to move freely in the bearing caps after they are completely seated. If it binds you have to use a BFH to smack the yoke several times to use inertia to cause the u-joint body to push the bearing caps outward a bit until the binding stops.

Personally I would stop running private/store brand u-joints and switch to the superb triple-sealed Spicer 5-1310x. It is sealed, trouble-free, stronger, and more durable than a greasable u-joint.

 

[Chris]

Jerry is right. Switch to the Spicer 5-1310X u-joints. I switched to them over a year ago and I'm very happy I did. I can't tell you how fed up I was with constantly greasing all those damn fittings, it just annoyed the crap out of me. I'm much happier with the sealed u-joints.

 

[JDS123]

Are you seating the bearing caps too deeply/hard? The u-joint body must be able to move freely in the bearing caps after they are completely seated. If it binds you have to use a BFH to smack the yoke several times to use inertia to cause the u-joint body to push the bearing caps outward a bit until the binding stops.

View attachment 29396

Personally I would stop running private/store brand u-joints and switch to the superb triple-sealed Spicer 5-1310x. It is sealed, trouble-free, stronger, and more durable than a greasable u-joint.

I’ve actually got shops that work with Adams to install the shafts just so I can check if it’s my fault. I never saw the front driveshaft I got 2000 miles ago until it was in the jeep. One thing that I was wondering about are the Johnny joints I have in the control arms. I think they may be worn out and causing weird angles for the driveshaft.

Would ordering 7 of those spicer u-joints give me all the parts to get both driveshafts rebuilt?

 

[Jerry Bransford]

Currie's Johnny Joints (no one but Currie makes Johnny Joints) will far more likely outlast you owning your Jeep, they're not causing driveshaft angle problems.

You would also need a CV centering joint if you wanted to completely rebuild your driveshafts. But you wouldn't need 7 u-joints. There are only 3 u-joints on a driveshaft with a CV so that'd only be 6 if your rear is also a CV type.

 

[Rob5589]

U joints should last 10's of thousands of miles. You either have some vibration, bad installs, or a combo of symptoms. You also do not need to constantly grease them and when you do they take a very small amount.

 

[JDS123]

Currie's Johnny Joints (no one but Currie makes Johnny Joints) will far more likely outlast you owning your Jeep, they're not causing driveshaft angle problems.

You would also need a CV centering joint if you wanted to completely rebuild your driveshafts. But you wouldn't need 7 u-joints. There are only 3 u-joints on a driveshaft with a CV so that'd only be 6 if your rear is also a CV type.

My mechanic pointed out that my Johnny Joints were actually cracked over a year ago to me. They were only 8 months old at the time so I'm assuming they were never greased by any of the shops I brought the jeep to (even though I specifically asked for them to do that). I've had a lot of issues with stuff that requires maintenance.

I'm going to look into getting my driveshafts rebuilt with better u-joints and see what happens from there. I've had 3 or 4 mechanics who specialize in Jeeps look at the driveline situation and none of them have been able to see an apparent issue.

Would you recommend a greasable or non-greasable CV centering joint? I'm having trouble seeing if I can interchange greasble and non-greasable with the same driveshaft.

U joints should last 10's of thousands of miles. You either have some vibration, bad installs, or a combo of symptoms. You also do not need to constantly grease them and when you do they take a very small amount.

I greased them once myself and got them greased yesterday again but unfortunately that wasn't enough to keep these from going for some reason. I have no vibration at any speed.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

Specifically, do you know that your "Johnny Joints" were actually manufactured by Currie? That problem you describe is not something I've ever heard of with a true Currie Johnny Joint. Some erroneously call other brands of flex joints "Johnny Joints" but they're not a Johnny Joint unless Currie manufactured them. The joint design was named after Currie's son John Currie.

Mine are 11-12 years old and I think I have greased them once or twice and they're still in excellent condition.

 

[JDS123]

Specifically, do you know that your "Johnny Joints" were actually manufactured by Currie? That problem you describe is not something I've ever heard of with a true Currie Johnny Joint. Some erroneously call other brands of flex joints "Johnny Joints" but they're not a Johnny Joint unless Currie manufactured them. The joint design was named after Currie's son John Currie.

Mine are 11-12 years old and I think I have greased them once or twice and they're still in excellent condition.

I have a genuine Currie lift kit with Savvy springs substituted. I'm 100% sure they are Johnny joints. The whole suspension was set up professionally. I'm going to have the mechanic look at it when I take it in for my driveshaft rebuilds. I've never heard of Johnny Joints failing like that either, but at this point I've exhausted every other possibility.

I put a hell of a lot of highway miles on my Jeep because I'm constantly moving around the country. I've driven the Jeep on the highway at 70-75 mph for hours on end (did 880 miles in one day once). I'm pretty sure that should cause 0 issues for u-joints, but besides my control arms wearing out, I can't think of anything else that would be causing premature U-joint wear.

Right now I'm going to order:
6x http://www.jegs.com/i/Spicer/094/5-1310X/10002/-1
2x http://www.dennysdriveshaft.com/p23...jeep_cv_non_greaseable_centering_yoke_13.html

Only issue I see is on the CV centering joint where it says:
"DOES NOT fit OEM or aftermarket 1310 CV Driveshafts originally built with a Greaseable CV Centering yoke"