What's new
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.

ball joints and axle shaft u joints

NEK5

NEK5

3/4 ton status
Joined
Oct 25, 2005
Posts
9,843
Reaction score
39
Location
Ipswich MA
the front end i`m swappin in has a bad ball joint, so should i replace that side, upper and lower, or all four? which are the best to get? and while thats gettin done might as well do the axle shaft u joints...which are the best to get for these?
 
If one ball joint is bad, might as well do upper and lower. If the other side is still good, don't worry about it.

Moog or TRW for the ball joints.

Spicer Life or Neapco Brute Force for the u-joints.
 
I use the greasable Spicer joints in my axle shafts, although that's an unpopular choice around here.
 
Most guys like the non-greasables because they think the u-joint is stronger without the grease passages and they think the joint lasts longer because the grease passages clog up with dry grease and then the joint isn't greased properly. I pump mine until grease comes out of all 4 caps and haven't had any problems yet.
 
Any wheeling I do is the mud and deep water, so I run the greasables. I don't run my truck real hard and don't do rocks, so strength usually isn't an issue. Either one should work fine for you.
 
hmm, where would one buy these things? would autozone have em?
 
divorced said:
Most guys like the non-greasables because they think the u-joint is stronger without the grease passages and they think the joint lasts longer because the grease passages clog up with dry grease and then the joint isn't greased properly. I pump mine until grease comes out of all 4 caps and haven't had any problems yet.
Click to expand...

Non-greasable Spicers ARE stronger than the greasables. It's not because of the lack of grease passeges though... Most of the strength advantage of the Spicers non-greasables is from better material. Cold forged vs. hot forged. Cold forged material is stronger.:wink1:
 
With the Moog ball joints the upper joint has a grease fitting at an angle on the side so you don't have to tear apart the whole knuckle to grease the upper joint.
 
4X4HIGH said:
With the Moog ball joints the upper joint has a grease fitting at an angle on the side so you don't have to tear apart the whole knuckle to grease the upper joint.
Click to expand...

Oooo... that's a nice feature. I wish I had known about that before I bought my TRWs. :doah:
 
ok...checked around, i can get moogs for 36 for uppers, 39 for lowers, and i can get trws at 28 for uppers and 34 for lowers, AAP has TRWs in stock, but the place that can get moogs needs to order them.....what do ya think?
 
It's your decision, is it worth the extra money and the wait time to order to not have to tear apart the whole knuckle to grease your upper ball joints?
 
do moogs have any kind of warranty on them?the trws at advanced have a lifetime warranty, hmmm what if i went trw lowers, and moog uppers? would you recommend it, or should i go all moogs?
 
are the axle shaft u joints also know as wheel joints?any brand have a warranty on them?

also where would one get spicers? i noticed they have brute force ones at autozone with a 3 mon warranty
 
Moog is the best ball joint out there. I'm not sure what the warranty is on them but i thought they were 1 year. Doesn't really matter what kind of warranty there is, if you take care of them properly they will last a very long time.

The front axle joints are just listed as "axle U-joints". Spicer is the best you can get in this item and people will argue one way or the other about grease fitting or not but i like them with a grease fitting so you can grease them and remove any contaminents and of course supply them with fresh grease.
 
Does anyone make a u-joint (besides CTM) that is greasable thru all 4 caps? Would it be possible to drill and tap the caps of a spicer joint for grease fittings, or are they too hard? It would seem that this would be the best setup, as it would eliminate the cross drilling, and thus the weakness of a greasable joint.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom