LS1RedZ

iTrader: (19)

I pull my driveshaft to do a gear swap and one of the caps fall off the u-joint. I look inside and all of the needle bearings are gone. They have ALL been ate up. What could be causing this? I have been through about 4 u-joints now. Could it be the yoke?

Raven02TA

iTrader: (11)

what torque arm is on your car? sounds like pinion angle could be off.

LS1RedZ

iTrader: (19)

I have the UMI tunnel mount T/A. My angle is set at -4

madclown

iTrader: (4)

Make sure you are not over tightening them.

87silverbullet

iTrader: (11)

Do you drive your car alot or just weekend cruising?

Ihasfip

iTrader: (5)

Does the car shake at highway speeds? Driveshaft could be out of balance?

D

waynehartwig

What brand of u joint - Precision I would guess? Precision needle bearings are very weak.....

cam

iTrader: (9)

I'd double check that first if its not vibrating than this is my guess. Make sure you set the pinion angle with all the suspension loaded as it would be on the ground.

bigredhelland

iTrader: (1)

i use spicer u joints with the grease nipple thing on them, easy to lube them a little any time you get the car up in the air for oil changes and such. try this and see if it helps

shoemike

iTrader: (25)

That`s a lot for a street car.

Joshiedoom

iTrader: (4)

Good idea but solid u-joints are the way to go.

LS1RedZ

iTrader: (19)

Well I got my car up on a 4 post lift. We ended up adjusting the LCAs to move the rearend back so we could adjust the pinion accordingly. My driveshaft had absolutely no room to move on the old settings. Now it has about a 1/2 -3/4 of an inch of room. Im thinking that was the reason behind the u-joints going bad..

9000th01ss

iTrader: (10)

Are you using an aftermarket rear with U Bolts instead of straps?

ccsanders01

iTrader: (1)

yes you need at least 3/4 slip in shaft, it should be measured with chassis loaded.i worked at driveshaft shop

LS1RedZ

iTrader: (19)

I have a 12 bolt. I am using the moroso straps. They are like a maroonish color with an allen head bolt.

9000th01ss

iTrader: (10)

Well you beat me to it.
I was running a car with U Bolts. It would always eat the needle bearings with Spicer U Joints.

I replaced the U Bolts with those thick aluminum 'u joint girdles' as they call them, it solved the problem.

waynehartwig

Overtightened u bolts will cause that. U bolts should only be snugged up, not torqued down Otherwise they will squash the caps, cause the dang things to run hot and purge all of the grease faster. Straps you can torque down... Or girddles...

Raven02TA

iTrader: (11)

im surprised that nobody besides shoemike has pointed out that THIS ^^^^ is why you are burning up your u-joint. for a car that is driven on the street frequently it should not be set any further than -2 or even -1.... i run -2 and have to swap my u-joint every 6 months. and i only drive the car on the weekends. and like others have stated if you have also over tightened your u-bolts that will contribute to it.

EPP

iTrader: (22)

We never go past -2 at our shop, that indeed could be part or all of the problem. Bob

ss1

iTrader: (32)

When you change the U-joints, how are you doing it? If you hammer on the driveshaft welds to remove the U-joints, you can bend the driveshaft a very small amount which will cause this problem.

The racecar I drove two years ago kept destroying needle bearings. The car would get this strange vibrating sensation. When I took the driveshaft out to change the U-joints, I noticed the previous owner had done what I mentioned above. The only was to fix it was to get a new driveshaft, and that cured the problem.