What ate my front u joints? Dana 44

[Grit dog]

@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

Not condescending, just think about what you're saying. The 2 "recommendations" you quoted above this, 1 I replied to above. The other was a response to your old unknown u joints, not new ones.
Pumping grease in them frequently is also a cheap/easy way to blow the seals out for good. Actually you don't even want to see grease come out and once you do, stop. Old u joints, the grease passages can get plugged where not all the cups are getting grease when you add it. Sure if you're in that situation, try to ram some grease through them and hope it gets to all 4 cups. Otherwise, give it a pump or 2 every 10k miles, maybe, if you're actually putting on some real driving? And 2wd miles don't count with your lockouts.

"Greasable options typically have recommended grease intervals for on-highway applications of 40,000-50,000 miles or corresponding to normal maintenance schedules." - From a machinery publication...

So my friendly answer is I use either A. Whatever is in the grease gun. Or B. my preference is Lucas Red n tacky. Idk why. Maybe because it works. Probably like most grease.

 

[AuroraGirl]

Not condescending, just think about what you're saying. The 2 "recommendations" you quoted above this, 1 I replied to above. The other was a response to your old unknown u joints, not new ones.
Pumping grease in them frequently is also a cheap/easy way to blow the seals out for good. Actually you don't even want to see grease come out and once you do, stop. Old u joints, the grease passages can get plugged where not all the cups are getting grease when you add it. Sure if you're in that situation, try to ram some grease through them and hope it gets to all 4 cups. Otherwise, give it a pump or 2 every 10k miles, maybe, if you're actually putting on some real driving? And 2wd miles don't count with your lockouts.

"Greasable options typically have recommended grease intervals for on-highway applications of 40,000-50,000 miles or corresponding to normal maintenance schedules." - From a machinery publication...

So my friendly answer is I use either A. Whatever is in the grease gun. Or B. my preference is Lucas Red n tacky. Idk why. Maybe because it works. Probably like most grease.

i think the every time use grease recommendation was for severe duty use like if i plowed as a profession or frequently mudded. i was thinking like before winter after winter maybe even just before winter, im also getting pins for my plow that take grease(but those arent sealed so they need it more often) so i was gonna have a grease gun with both functions kept with the truck and the theory on the passageway is another possibility, my one u joint is missing a cap and when i pull them out ill have to posth them up and see what it was age water rust etc
in meantime im gonna make a d44 spindle cover because i took half assed sealed my extra axle when i stole the driveshaft last year and i want to take the hub locker and driveshaft out of driver side so i can do that one off-truck and just boom swap it in. the passenger ill have to take it off, do it, then put it back on

Well i do have the half ton.. nah, I shouldnt.

But on the subject does anyone know the name of the circular piece that has 2 prongs that i think push the gear away when you unlock the hub so they dont mesh and send power? if i can source one, i have 2 spare hub lock not counting my warns on half ton.

 

[bucket]

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...

There's different types of moly grease. The stuff I posted has done extremely well helping roller bearings live in industrial/farm equipment that tends to be extremely hard on bearings. Equipment like tub grinders, disc mowers and large square balers. Since I've got most everybody in the company using it, roller bearing failures do not happen as often now.

 

[Octane]

There's different types of moly grease. The stuff I posted has done extremely well helping roller bearings live in industrial/farm equipment that tends to be extremely hard on bearings. Equipment like tub grinders, disc mowers and large square balers. Since I've got most everybody in the company using it, roller bearing failures do not happen as often now.

I used valvoline synthetic with moly on wheels bearings and suspension components.But not living in sub zero weather I dont remember how it was rated for that But for hundreds of thousands of miles on multiple vehicles I never had any issues with it.I've never used it on other types of machinery either

 

[Snoots]

Good replacement brand recommendations? I guess its time to learn how to replace u joints! Yay learning

Moog or Spicer

Mobile 100 grease

 

[Snoots]

https://www.mobil.com/en/lubricants...lubricants/product-series/mobilith-shc-series

It works very well on satellite positioners in the Antarctic. -80 degrees.

 

[AuroraGirl]

i feel like the type of moly is the kicker for wehter it would work in roll or needle bearings, if its too viscous i could see the concern, but viscosity could be overrun by load? Lik,e a heavy enough thing carrying it would probably push it past i would think because of forces pulling vs twisting. but in a low load or not load-bearing scenario i could see the concern esp if small?
@bucket what does your company do again? make tire chalk?

 

[bucket]

i feel like the type of moly is the kicker for wehter it would work in roll or needle bearings, if its too viscous i could see the concern, but viscosity could be overrun by load? Lik,e a heavy enough thing carrying it would probably push it past i would think because of forces pulling vs twisting. but in a low load or not load-bearing scenario i could see the concern esp if small?
@bucket what does your company do again? make tire chalk?

Tire chalk?

Planting, baling, spraying, biomass grinding and other stuff associated with that like minor/major repairs, fabrication and hauling.

 

[AuroraGirl]

Tire chalk?

Planting, baling, spraying, biomass grinding and other stuff associated with that like minor/major repairs, fabrication and hauling.

So im basically right!

 

[MrMarty51]

Reading all these posts about grease.
Something else that might be amiss.
When You installed the new u-joints and got them all pressed into the shaft and retainers installed.
did You center them in the shafts ?
More U-Joints gets destroyed because people dont know about centering them.

 

[Octane]

Reading all these posts about grease.
Something else that might be amiss.
When You installed the new u-joints and got them all pressed into the shaft and retainers installed.
did You center them in the shafts ?
More U-Joints gets destroyed because people dont know about centering them.

And the joints are too tight and can hardly move is a common amateur install also. I recently replaced the u-joints in my 77 K10 front drive shaft rear drive shaft the old ones were original equipment and one joint had just a tiny bit of free play so I just replaced them all as they were 40 years old and then I had to replace the pinion seals also

 

[Grit dog]

^True story. Often need to move them until they free up and rotate smooth.
But this thread wasn’t about eating up new u joints. It wa about old u joints that are.......old.

 

[Grit dog]

i think the every time use grease recommendation was for severe duty use like if i plowed as a profession or frequently mudded. i was thinking like before winter after winter maybe even just before winter, im also getting pins for my plow that take grease(but those arent sealed so they need it more often) so i was gonna have a grease gun with both functions kept with the truck and the theory on the passageway is another possibility, my one u joint is missing a cap and when i pull them out ill have to posth them up and see what it was age water rust etc
in meantime im gonna make a d44 spindle cover because i took half assed sealed my extra axle when i stole the driveshaft last year and i want to take the hub locker and driveshaft out of driver side so i can do that one off-truck and just boom swap it in. the passenger ill have to take it off, do it, then put it back on

Well i do have the half ton.. nah, I shouldnt.

But on the subject does anyone know the name of the circular piece that has 2 prongs that i think push the gear away when you unlock the hub so they dont mesh and send power? if i can source one, i have 2 spare hub lock not counting my warns on half ton.

you could literally go into Autozone, find the grease department, cover your eyes and pick one off the shelf and there’s a 90% chance it will work for both applications....and wheel bearings too.
Don’t overthink the “why”. You have been talking about replacing the u joints for months? It snowed 6” yesterday up where I’m from. I’d jam some u joints in that thing before you have to shovel the driveway!

 

[Octane]

If ur eating old joints dont improperly install new ones and eat them.My old joint was good for 40 years and I checked one 6 months and 1000 miles later and it was bad.

 

[Grit dog]

But on the subject does anyone know the name of the circular piece that has 2 prongs that i think push the gear away when you unlock the hub so they dont mesh and send power? if i can source one, i have 2 spare hub lock not counting my warns on half ton.

Cam body or cam follower?
I just googled it.