What ate my front u joints? Dana 44

[Bennyt]

I personally use cheap store brand u-joints on the front and wouldn't put any money into hd shafts. I rather the joint fail then an expensive shaft. I treat them like fuses as they usually don't do much damage, if any when they break. I save the expensive stuff for driveshafts or competition where a broken joint makes a difference safety or money wise. When an expensive shaft goes, in my experience, usually you lose a center section, housing, or other expensive parts.

 

[AuroraGirl]

Amen to the short advice.
Old U joints fail, hardly anyone greases them.
I checked all the original U joints for tightness on a K20 I bought, greased them, hit the road and had one fail. I replaced them ALL at the same time soon after, better to be safe than sorry.
A heads up on snow plowing, grease before use and grease after use. Snow, water, moisture can get in a crack, freeze then damage a U joint, grease is cheep!

I did bury my front end more than once... there might be some genius to this.

 

[AuroraGirl]

There’s no explanation. You have unknown age parts on a 40+ year old truck.
you replaced an axle shaft with what? A whole used shaft including an old u joint? What was “wrong” with the other shaft?
Put some new u joints in it and call it a day. They wear out. Not much more to it.
Spicer is the best off the shelf quality.

So if I google Dana 44 ujoints spicer, I should get what im looking for?
My hubs are spicer, and they are in good condition yet so I cant argue that theyve been bad haha.

 

[Grit dog]

^ I suppose.
Just look up or go to the parts store and get some u joints.
Anything you put in there will last another good long while.
And they are well sealed. Driving through snow is not going to cause them to ingest moisture unless the seals are bad. they do not need greased often, before, after, etc.
especially since you’re not putting on a bunch of miles. Think about it.
Sealed u joints or any u joints last 100k miles or more under continuous service. These only spin when in 4wd.
By comparison, one original front axle u joint went at about 150k miles on my Dodge and a lot of 4wd miles. Maybe 10-20k miles in 4wd a lot at highway speeds It was about 10 years old and no front axle disconnect so they spun all the time.
Whatever you put in there will last a longtime just putting
No analysis by paralysis needed. Old truck, old parts, replace.

 

[highdesertrange]

Spicer is nicer. Lube often with the correct grease. highdesertranger

 

[AuroraGirl]

Bringing it back, on the subject of grease, I found I have most of the ujoints needed to be replaced but most have zerks. thats fine. since i will be pumping grease, do you guys think a water-orieented one would be good? like amsoil water resistant NLGI #2. i say that because im going through a lot of snow, i imagine that probably Pressured itself into my current u joints

 

[AuroraGirl]

Also, i am not going high speeds and would be willing to use a non-speed grease if it can handle the loads and low temperature. i would change it before going on roads someday maybe. but the one i mentioned is good for wheel bearings so idk if that is a concern then

 

[Grit dog]

Overthinking it. Unless you are submerging your front axle in water, nothing is going to “pressure itself” into the u joint.
And again, as you said, low speed, occasional use etc etc. Even less need to think about it. Anything that’s in your grease gun unless they started putting Crisco lard in grease gun tubes will be just fine.
And based on just plowing your drive and running around the property you might need to re grease them about once every 20 years.
Put new u joints in. Fill the caps good with grease prior to install and then worry about it again in 2030.....

 

[AuroraGirl]

Amen to the short advice.
Old U joints fail, hardly anyone greases them.
I checked all the original U joints for tightness on a K20 I bought, greased them, hit the road and had one fail. I replaced them ALL at the same time soon after, better to be safe than sorry.
A heads up on snow plowing, grease before use and grease after use. Snow, water, moisture can get in a crack, freeze then damage a U joint, grease is cheep!

IDK how much they were used,what quality they were, how they were maintained, if condensation got in them and rusted all the rollers etc.etc. At 10 yrs 8+ hrs my first reaction is they were old.

@Grit dog im going off these two recommendations. i dont use the truck much, so the joints arent warming up often. condensation and freezing are gonna be my enemy, and if the u joints have zerks, and like was said somewhere about sealed u joints are gonna not need touching but a zerk u joint is gonna go dry unless you pump it, yes? that means if grease can get out or dirt can get in, water gets in. I would LIKE to not touch these u joints for years, so i want to put in a grease that would compliment my use. SUCH AS A WATER RESISTANT GREASE THAT WOULD PREVENT OR HELP PREVENT THE FREEZING SITUATION THAT BROKE PART OF MY U JOINT ON MY AXLE SHAFT.

All my other grease is just regular, which isnt gonna shooo away water much. And wash out potential.
Beings the u joints are mostly going to have zerks, i figured i should pump them often esp if i know where they are

there are ways to give advice and opinions without condescension
i use to have a bad issue with it

I have a uniquely mud and snow, no high speeds or sustained speeds truck that i would like to purchase a grease that will give me hte most protection to ensure im not in these fuckers anytime soon and pumping grease periodically is cheap/easy way to do that and my reason for inquiring was I noticed a wheel bearing grease with PTFE for a trailer and i thought about how having water not get in and dry lubricating properties might not be a bad idea for my water-subjected truck

SO IF YOU HAVE A FRIENDLY ANSWER, I HAVE A FORCED SMILE AND WAVE AND EXPRESSION OF GRATITUDE WITH EXPANDED KNOWLEDGE.

if i type larger does that mean im louder??? :O

 

[bucket]

I tend to agree, pretty much any grease should meet you needs.

But personally, my go-to grease for general use is this stuff from O'reilly's:

You must be registered for see images attach

It works well in high speed and pressure applications and it also does not change consistency in hot or cold weather.

 

[77 K20]

Do you know if your old axle U joints were 297s? The old original part was 5-297x part number. Spicer then made a newer upgraded version of this and it is the 5-760x

On rock auto the 760x costs $17.73 instead of $11.73.

What is the difference?
https://www.fourwheeler.com/product... this doesn't mean,it's 10 times more durable.

 

[AuroraGirl]

I can check to see if the ones on the shelf are that. I thought I saw a 537 number but that when I googled was for driveshaft from t case but I can look. I also have NAPA AND car quest ujoijnts I need to make a Pile lol

 

[jake wells]

Personally i don't use moly grease in bearings that use a roller or needle bearing. Moly does not belong in roller bearings where it will potentially cause the rollers to flat spot from not spinning.

Moly is well suited for plain non roller bearings including sliding surfaces. But it does work fine for general chassis lube... ball joints, tie rods etc...

 

[Octane]

I tend to agree, pretty much any grease should meet you needs.

But personally, my go-to grease for general use is this stuff from O'reilly's:

You must be registered for see images attach

It works well in high speed and pressure applications and it also does not change consistency in hot or cold weather.

I used moly grease on a chevy once and put 330k on it and never a balljoint or tierod replacement

 

[Grit dog]

Amen to the short advice.
Old U joints fail, hardly anyone greases them.
I checked all the original U joints for tightness on a K20 I bought, greased them, hit the road and had one fail. I replaced them ALL at the same time soon after, better to be safe than sorry.
A heads up on snow plowing, grease before use and grease after use. Snow, water, moisture can get in a crack, freeze then damage a U joint, grease is cheep!

@AuroraGirl, I'm sure memaloose lived a previous life somewhere, where it snows, but, um, grease before and after plowing?? Like once a season or before and after every snow storm?
Think about it, this makes zero sense. Is snow more susceptible than liquid water? Do you grease your u joints twice a day when driving in the rain? Before and after?
Have you EVER seen someone doe this, or even heard of it? In the land of snow where you live?
Just thinking about it, I would have to have, on average, greased my u joints about 40x per season when I plowed snow, by this logic. Oh, and make sure the vehicle is warmed up, and the grease before just giving er the bean with the grease gun. Even low temp grease is much greater viscosity and difficult to pump at -20F.

So, no, don't worry about that. Give them a shot of grease like every couple oil changes (real oil changes, not 50 miles of winter plowing or even 500 and an annual oil change).