I run Spicer greaseable ujoints, 1350 pn: 5-1350-1X on my rear driveshaft, and the front drive shaft 1310 pn: 5-1310-1x.
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.
1989 K5 - Gradual Learning
- Thread starter shima
- Start date
First 4x4 - learning basic maintenance / upkeep and maybe some small mods.
I stand corrected.
I was trying to find the greasable Spicer and the driveshaft shop said they don't exist, I believed him
It appears that my u-joints have never been changed, because the plastic molding is still in place within the driveshaft ears. Getting this s*** out is a pain. I'm trying the torch method and it just ain't melting...
EDIT: NVM... Harbor Freight pick set to the rescue.
EDIT: NVM... Harbor Freight pick set to the rescue.
I used a torch to heat mine up, also boiled the grease, the cap shot out, across the garage and dented in my dads toolbox 
Ended up getting the new u-joints installed. I went with the Moog Super Strength 235 because my local AutoZone didn't have greaseable Spicer joints in stock.
Everything went smoothly for the most part aside from the damn zerk fittings on the end caps of the new u-joints. It took me forever to get them to take grease. I had to hammer a pick tool into the little ball that sits inside the zerk fitting to get it to loosen up. Even then, grease would still overflow out of the tip of the grease gun instead of going into the u-joint. I packed as much grease as I could into the end caps by hand before putting them on... hopefully I can figure out how to grease them properly at the next oil change. I guess I could always replace these grease fittings with "normal" zerks that you find on the front end.
My grease gun is just a cheapy thing from AutoZone, and I noticed that the tip of it doesn't really have anything that would depress the little ball inside the zerk fitting:
Anyhow, the new u-joints are on and I'm excited to take it for a test drive tomorrow to see if the vibration is resolved.
Also, an aside... my old u-joint on the t-case side had been "leaking ATF" for a while. I say that because the "drip" was coming from there. At first I thought it was the transfer case output shaft seal, but I replaced that not long ago and it still looks fine. So when everything was apart, I took a tip from this old CK5 post and poured ATF into the yoke while it was vertical. Sure enough, it leaked ATF along the center edge down onto the ground. In all honesty it doesn't leak all that much so I'm going to ignore it for now. It's just nice to finally know where it is coming from.
Everything went smoothly for the most part aside from the damn zerk fittings on the end caps of the new u-joints. It took me forever to get them to take grease. I had to hammer a pick tool into the little ball that sits inside the zerk fitting to get it to loosen up. Even then, grease would still overflow out of the tip of the grease gun instead of going into the u-joint. I packed as much grease as I could into the end caps by hand before putting them on... hopefully I can figure out how to grease them properly at the next oil change. I guess I could always replace these grease fittings with "normal" zerks that you find on the front end.
My grease gun is just a cheapy thing from AutoZone, and I noticed that the tip of it doesn't really have anything that would depress the little ball inside the zerk fitting:
Anyhow, the new u-joints are on and I'm excited to take it for a test drive tomorrow to see if the vibration is resolved.
Also, an aside... my old u-joint on the t-case side had been "leaking ATF" for a while. I say that because the "drip" was coming from there. At first I thought it was the transfer case output shaft seal, but I replaced that not long ago and it still looks fine. So when everything was apart, I took a tip from this old CK5 post and poured ATF into the yoke while it was vertical. Sure enough, it leaked ATF along the center edge down onto the ground. In all honesty it doesn't leak all that much so I'm going to ignore it for now. It's just nice to finally know where it is coming from.
Glad you got the job done. The end cap zerk u joints aren't my favorite. Since you packed grease in the caps before assembly, you probably had the joint full of grease. So it made adding more with the grease gun difficult. The pressure of the grease is supposed to push the ball in, no mechanism other than pressure.
Not sure about your leak, is this a slip yoke ?
Not sure about your leak, is this a slip yoke ?
Get a needle tip for your grease gun.
Martin
Martin
I got one of these for tight spots on a driveshaft
A few posts back (early June) I wrote about hearing and feeling a pretty loud "popping" noise coming from the driver's side front end when turning. Around that time, a friend stopped by to try and help me diagnose where the sound was coming from. We jacked up the front end and turned the wheel back and forth but couldn't reproduce the "pop". While I was on vacation last week, I did some digging through old threads and found this old thread from 2007.
It gave me a solid list of things to check:
I called @ZooMad75 through Instagram and showed it to him, and we chatted about options. This thing rides pretty rough overall (it always has), so I think I'm going to take the opportunity to replace my springs in the front. I'll likely get the same springs that Zoo picked up, new bushings, and new u-bolts.
It gave me a solid list of things to check:
- Check steering box - make sure bolts are tight
- Check ball joints - pull at 6 and 12 o'clock on the tire. Look at knuckle while doing it
- Could be bad leaf spring bushings
- Check that leaf spring shackle bolts are tight
- Check that there are no steering box frame cracks
I called @ZooMad75 through Instagram and showed it to him, and we chatted about options. This thing rides pretty rough overall (it always has), so I think I'm going to take the opportunity to replace my springs in the front. I'll likely get the same springs that Zoo picked up, new bushings, and new u-bolts.
Superlift Softride 4" springs. PN 01-234-6
Superlift Suspension 01-234-6 Superlift Lift Leaf Springs | Summit Racing
Free Shipping - Superlift Lift Leaf Springs with qualifying orders of $109. Shop Leaf Springs at Summit Racing.
I can now vouch for the ride off pavement. So much better than the rough country springs I've had forever. They are not ORD/Alcans, but they are a marked improvement over what I had. Fast dirt roads usually unsettled my truck with the old springs. Even with Bilstein shocks the faster travel off road ride quality sucked. Now the truck is stable and the shocks can do the job they were there for. I found myself going faster than normal, even to the point Larry called out I was driving it like a Raptor over the radio. It's not a Raptor by a long shot, but it's so much better it was worth the effort to swap them out.
When Drew and I were on the phone I suggested the ORD bushings and picking up some u-bolts too.
Last night I was able to remove the u-bolts from the front axle. I'm pretty scrawny and thus pretty weak, so I had to use my floor jack handle as a lever to get those things loose. It was a great workout. While working on the passenger side, I noticed that my brake line has a rip in it. What's weird is that it doesn't appear to be leaking... I'll take a closer look at it this evening and will grab a pic.
I am going to go ahead and order some longer brake lines from ORD. It has been on my to do list since 2017 when @Justin V came over to look at the Blazer after I first bought it...
I am going to go ahead and order some longer brake lines from ORD. It has been on my to do list since 2017 when @Justin V came over to look at the Blazer after I first bought it...
The brake lines are multi-layered.
Thanks @mrk5, that makes sense.
I ordered all the parts! Pretty excited.
I ordered all the parts! Pretty excited.
- Springs: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/slf-01-234-6
- Bushings: https://www.offroaddesign.com/front-spring-bushings-for-67-91-gm-trucks.html
- U-Bolts: https://www.offroaddesign.com/u-bolt-kit-for-gm-1-2-3-4-ton-front-axles.html
- Brake Lines: https://www.offroaddesign.com/71-91-gm-vehicle-stainless-braided-brakeline-kits.html
Very cool exiting to get to the suspension. I have the ORD braided brake lines, I am going to lengthen the rear, at full droop it is tight. Not sure if your set is the same as what I ordered, I think I could 4" lift version then, maybe ORD has realized 4" is arbitrary. Curious why you passed on the HD shackles? The bang and pop you heard was the spring eye smacking the frame, this still might be possible with oem hangers and new bushings. Plus you might get a smidge more + caster the slightly longer shackles.
I may have messed up, because I did not think there would still be a risk of it happening after replacing the bushings.
It looks like if I were to get this shackle kit from ORD, then I could skip buying the spring eye bushings and it would be a net increase of only about $50... maybe I can contact them and swap the items before they ship everything out. The new shackles would address the comment from @Blue85 as well.
People have bent the stock shackles. And not doing things terribly difficult either.
Your upper shackle bushings looked ok in the picture, ............ but I would error on the MAW side. Unless funds are really tight. The uppers can be done later.
