Non-greasable Nissan U-joints

[mdbrandy]

Well, I just invested a chunk of change in a set of 4 Nissan half-shaft U-joints (37126-VB925). Just opened them tonight. And interestingly, they have no provision for grease fittings! I am somewhat surprised, and wondering how much grease I need to put in the joint when I put it together, since I'll never get another chance...

The caps are fairly well filled with the "normal" yellow Nissan grease. The cross-piece, however, is totally devoid of grease. Should I pack the cross piece with grease before assembly? I can't think of any downside to doing so, and the spinning of the joint ought to then keep that grease forced toward the caps where it is needed...

Any suggestions are appreciated. It's been a long time since I've done U-joints...

[Dtsnlvrs]

I would Take em back and buy Spicer Heavy Duty U-joints.

[beandip]

I agree , I replaced all my u-joints with the best I could buy and they came with a Zerk fitting that screws into the u-joint , then you remove it and put in a plug. In about 10K re lube them. If you do use the Nissan parts by all means pack them with grease. Back in the day '50s this is all that was available and you had to disassemble them and lube them about every 15 to 20K . Too much trouble . I went with the aftermarket u-joints . about $25.00 a copy . But you will never need to replace them again. When you lube them after assembly, be careful to not blow the seals . Watch the little rubber seal and stop pumping in the grease when you see it swell . If you push In more grease the seal can pop out of it's seat . Then it will fling the grease out when it spins.

[TomoHawk]

Isn't there a little pinhole where you can push the grease with a needle tip?

[mdbrandy]

I agree , I replaced all my u-joints with the best I could buy and they came with a Zerk fitting that screws into the u-joint , then you remove it and put in a plug. In about 10K re lube them. If you do use the Nissan parts by all means pack them with grease. Back in the day '50s this is all that was available and you had to disassemble them and lube them about every 15 to 20K . Too much trouble . I went with the aftermarket u-joints . about $25.00 a copy . But you will never need to replace them again. When you lube them after assembly, be careful to not blow the seals . Watch the little rubber seal and stop pumping in the grease when you see it swell . If you push In more grease the seal can pop out of it's seat . Then it will fling the grease out when it spins.

I have a set of 4 aftermarket joints from VB, but their quality appears poor. After assembly of one of them, there was still obvious axial play. The Nissan joints come with mulitple circlips to get the axial play minimized, but the aftermarket joints have no such facility.

Dtsnlvrs suggests Spicers, which I have seen advertised by MSA, but haven't looked for otherwise. The Nissan joints are slightly MORE expensive than Spicers from MSA. Are there other sources; for Spicers or otherwise high-quality U-joints that people would suggest?

And Tomo - No, there is no pinhole.

[TomoHawk]

I thnks it's the half-shafts that have a pinhole for grease or something.

[=Enigma=]

I ordered the aftermarkets from VB as well but was not impressed with the quality at all. I sent them back for a refund. I ended up using the original ones that were in the car. They may have been replaced at some point but they looked a lot better and there was noting wrong with them.

Man there are a lot of little needle bearings in these things. I tore them down to nothing and rebuilt them, placing each of the 496 needle bearings back in by hand and packing them with heavy duty moly-graphite bearing grease.

[beandip]

enigma, if the little roller bearings and the shaft of the ujoint didnt show any ware , you did all that is needed . What makes them fail is the lack of lube. What you did was how they have been serviced for many years . even new ujoints need to be lubed . When they are assembled at the factory , they only put a little grease in each cup to hold the pin bearings in place . Other wise they are dry .

[beandip]

I have a set of 4 aftermarket joints from VB, but their quality appears poor. After assembly of one of them, there was still obvious axial play. The Nissan joints come with mulitple circlips to get the axial play minimized, but the aftermarket joints have no such facility.

Dtsnlvrs suggests Spicers, which I have seen advertised by MSA, but haven't looked for otherwise. The Nissan joints are slightly MORE expensive than Spicers from MSA. Are there other sources; for Spicers or otherwise high-quality U-joints that people would suggest?

I just went to my local parts store. They had one brand for $14.00 and another for $25.00 I bought the better ones . I don't remember the brand , but the guy I deal with , is into performance and he recommended them .

[texasz]

I got Spicers from MSA about two years ago and they hare been great. The research I did at the time indicated that they were the best part available for my 240Z and since I will be autoxing the car that's what I went with.

[Dtsnlvrs]

Dtsnlvrs suggests Spicers, which I have seen advertised by MSA, but haven't looked for otherwise. The Nissan joints are slightly MORE expensive than Spicers from MSA. Are there other sources; for Spicers or otherwise high-quality U-joints that people would suggest?

And Tomo - No, there is no pinhole.

Spicer U-joints can be ordered thru any 4x4 shop, or local Dana/Spicer distro centers. Best bet is to call MSA and politely ask for the Spicer part number then order from whomever you like. However, MSA keeps the Spicer Z-car U-joints in stock, and can usually get them shipped to me faster than ordering from a local distributor, and the price is usually the same. And as far as the different circlip widths go, a little sand paper goes along way to make the spicer clips a perfect fit.

[=Enigma=]

enigma, if the little roller bearings and the shaft of the ujoint didnt show any ware , you did all that is needed . What makes them fail is the lack of lube. What you did was how they have been serviced for many years . even new ujoints need to be lubed . When they are assembled at the factory , they only put a little grease in each cup to hold the pin bearings in place . Other wise they are dry .

These were actually packed quite well and not just the caps, so apparently yhey were redone at some point, although the grease was that cheap looking clear yellowish kind. I believe they were all marked Koyo.