When you break a U-joint, is it because of the lack of material in the yoke?

Farmergreg

Farmergreg

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Question since I'm relatively new to this hobby regarding axle strength.

I broke the passenger side u-joint last sunday. Wasn't beating the jeep was climbing a waterfall kind on thing and the wheels were straight, I clutched it and it rolled backwards some, let out on the clutch (no gas applied) and it popped. Joint looked like it had adequate lube in it. Probably original joints on a 203K non-wheeled jeep until now.

So when you break a joint, is it because of the lack of material in the yoke?
(My inner shaft has one egg shaped ear and both shaft yokes are spread)

Are G-2, Ten Factory, Revolution, or RCV the answer?

Would you just chase the break deeper into the driveline? (break the differential)
 
Last edited:
Farmergreg said:
Question since I'm relatively new to this hobby regarding axle strength.

I broke the passenger side u-joint last sunday. Wasn't beating the jeep was climbing a waterfall kind on thing and the wheels were straight, I clutched it and it rolled backwards some, let out on the clutch (no gas applied) and it popped. Joint looked like it had adequate lube in it. Probably original joints on a 203K non-wheeled jeep until now.

So when you break a joint, is it because of the lack of material in the yoke?
(My inner shaft has one egg shaped ear and both shaft yokes are spread)

Are G-2, Ten Factory, Revolution, or RCV the answer?

Would you just chase the break deeper into the driveline? (break the differential)
Click to expand...

Friend who is a serious wheeler says they can change an axle on the trail in 30 min. A stronger axle might exposed a different fail point that is not so easy to fix.
 
Farmergreg said:
Question since I'm relatively new to this hobby regarding axle strength.

I broke the passenger side u-joint last sunday. Wasn't beating the jeep was climbing a waterfall kind on thing and the wheels were straight, I clutched it and it rolled backwards some, let out on the clutch (no gas applied) and it popped. Joint looked like it had adequate lube in it. Probably original joints on a 203K non-wheeled jeep until now.

So when you break a joint, is it because of the lack of material in the yoke?
(My inner shaft has one egg shaped ear and both shaft yokes are spread)

Are G-2, Ten Factory, Revolution, or RCV the answer?

Would you just chase the break deeper into the driveline? (break the differential)
Click to expand...
@Chris could you move this to a new topic? I probably shouldn't have buried it in this thread.
 
No lack of material in this joint

th.gif
 
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Kind of hesitant to chime in because front axle u-joints are new to and I didn't spot it when one of mine failed. Here's my non-expert opinion as someone who has had u-joints fail on 2 different rwd vehicles and a front axle cv joint fail on a fwd vehicle.

Stuff just wears out. If your ears are spread that will make it wear out faster because it's adding bending stress to the cross and extra radial load on the needle bearings. An egg-shaped hole will also cause extra radial load on the bearings and it may even be shock loading which is even worse.

Axle shafts aren't cheap, but it may be time. 200k is pretty good for most moving parts. My other failures in a 1981 C10, a 1992 Rodeo, and a 2005 Scion came at a lot less miles than that. My tj front axle u-joint failed at around 130k.
 
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Age and mileage no doubt come into play on almost any and every part. Rolling back and then going forward is a considerable force multiplier. I am sure there are math geniuses here who could calculate the tons of force applied to the joint if they factored total weight, reverse speed, angle etc. Doesn't really matter. U-Joints are a maintenance item and I replaced all of mine even though passed visual inspection. They were original and I like to twist a wrench and pamper my sled. Reason enough. A couple turned out to be shady after pulling them out. I hope my future wheeling only breaks a u-joint. I consider that lucky and a win. I had my Jeep airborne yesterday and nothing broke. That was not luck, pre-planning and preventive maintenance. Had something broke, I'd just figure it was my fault. Consider your wheeling just like rough sex, lots of fun but occasionally causes a limp for a few days. I've deadlined more than my fair share of chassis.
 
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