Universal Joints

buck91 · Jul 18, 2015

Going to be doing universals on a 4 seasons daily driver Mustang soon. Two debates.

1) Sealed vs greaseable?
2) Best brand or model of part?

Currently looking at the greaseable Spicers, due to costs but open to other options and why they would be better.

Srt20 · Jul 18, 2015

Sealed. Most people never grease them anyway.

stephen9666 · Jul 18, 2015

A lot of people here seem to love greseable, but I also prefer sealed.

SwampSurvivor · Jul 18, 2015

Most sealed ones are cross drilled anyway, so they aren't going to be much stronger. I like greaseable becuase you can just pump in new grease and ... unless you break it, it's not going to wear out.

Jimmy9190 · Jul 18, 2015

Spicer is OEM on my Dakota, which is very different from a Mustang, however I found out the hard way Spicer is much better than the cheaper brands. My OE Spicer u-joints lasted 150,000 miles and were sealed. New Spicer sealed should last you just as long.

joegreen · Jul 19, 2015

I logged in just to post. definitely get sealed. On a car i don't think you will be mudding or doing water crossings. Sealed are easier and often last longer because they have better seals to keep out the dirt and water. Almost all oem u joints are sealed and they last a long time. I would do a little research and get quality u-joints not something from autozone or the likes.

Chris142 · Jul 19, 2015

Spicer is top notch. I have precision in my truck and they seem OK. Greasable ones are a pain. Get sealed ones if you can.

Lolvoguy · Jul 19, 2015

Originally Posted By: Srt20
Sealed. Most people never grease them anyway.

not only that, but most RWD vehicles are setup with the exhaust below some areas of the DS, so you'd have to remove the heat shields and exhaust to access it

Sealed all the way

Donald · Jul 19, 2015

I thought that greaesable should last longer as long as they are properly greased with high quality grease.

But sealed will probably last a long time also.

Lubener · Jul 19, 2015

Originally Posted By: Srt20
Sealed. Most people never grease them anyway.

Always go with greasable. They ARE sealed with the addition of a fitting. If you grease the u joints every year or two, you will never have to change them again. Look for the Spicer or NEAPCO brands as these are one of the best.

Trav · Jul 19, 2015

Sealed all the way. The day of the greasable joints and suspension parts for light duty use like in cars is long gone. The Brute Force from Neapco are also a good US made joint.

barkingspider · Jul 19, 2015

Either should be the last ones you get as they will most likely last as long as the vehicle. I would get which ever is cheaper. If they cost the same, get the sealed as u never have to maintain them.

buck91 · Jul 19, 2015

Doesn't look like Spicer makes a sealed for this application based on thier online reference?

Any experience with AC Delco "professional" u-joints? Dirt cheap on amazon right now but msrp is on-par with spicer and neapco...

Trav · Jul 19, 2015

No idea AC Delco is funny, some of their stuff is very good other stuff is lets say not top shelf but its not junk either.

Check out the Brute Force at AA and use a coupon code.

Lubener · Jul 19, 2015

Everyones missing the point. After the initial installation, If you choose not to periodically grease them, you don't have to.They have seals on the cups also, no difference.. The greasable ones are the same as the sealed in every way with the exception of a fitting installed. I would feel better knowing I could grease them anytime if I had to.

Trav · Jul 19, 2015

Originally Posted By: Lubener
Everyones missing the point. After the initial installation, If you choose not to periodically grease them, you don't have to.They have seals on the cups also, no difference.. The greasable ones are the same as the sealed in every way with the exception of a fitting installed. I would feel better knowing I could grease them anytime if I had to.

Greasable joints seals are not as tight so some grease can escape when it is greased so the boot doesn’t blow out. As a result if it runs low on lube water and dirt can get in.

Quote:
Beyond these things one of the more notable differences between a greasable and a non-greasable universal joint is the seal for the bearing cap. With most non-greasable universal joints the seal is specially constructed to keep ALL the grease in and all contaminates out. These are generally a much tighter seal than you would see on a greasable universal joint. Many are even triple lipped. These do a great job at making the joint last a long time. It is not uncommon to see an original equipment shaft with non-greasable seals go 100,000 mile or more before failure.

http://mad4wd.com/blog/?p=18

dailydriver · Jul 19, 2015

I'm not going to get involved in the greasable vs, non-greasable war, but I WILL tell you to get a coated u-joint if you are putting it into an alloy drive shaft yoke. (Not sure what the Stangs have.

)

IF everything is steel, then it does not matter.

Universal Joints

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