# Universal Joints - They Do Wear Out



## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

Something that I am sure many do not think about - Universal Joints. They do wear out and need replacing. The most common test is to grab your driveshaft and shake it about to see if there is any play or movement. But this doesn't tell you the condition inside the U-joint like the needle bearings.

Don't think that just because you have a lower mileage original car that the u-joints are good. When they start to go, my expereince is that you will find a vibration that goes through the car that you may or may not think that it is a tire/rim/out of balance problem or the car is out of alignment. It will get worse over time. Shifting an automatic trans from drive to reverse and you hear an audible "clunk" can also be a sign that the u-joints have a lot of play in them and are shot. If your ring/pinion gear is heavily worn, you may get the same results and then write it off as the worn gears when it was in fact the u-joint. No fun when the u-joint fails and that driveshaft goes whipping around under the car - it can tear free of the car or even worse.

Here is a picture of my original 68,000 mile 1973 Fury U-joints I just changed out. I had a vibration that would change when I accelerated and decelerated. Also had the "clunking" sound when going from reverse to drive and vice versa. So I knew the U-joints were shot.

The rear U-joint had no needle bearings found in the caps. They were MIA, the inside of the caps rusty, and they were also broken. The front U-joint was better, the needle bearings were there, but were not doing their job as there was no grease and the needle bearings had been worn into the U-joint cross. The factory U-joints didn't have grease fittings while the replacements do.

Most will take their cars to a shop to have the U-joints replaced. I replace my own. Not too difficult of a job if you know how and have the equipment. I beat them out/in with a big hammer supporting under the U-joint caps as you don't want to bend the ears on the driveshaft, and you have to be careful so as not to damage/lose any of the needle bearings.


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## NOS Only (Nov 14, 2017)

The rust on the trunnion tells me the seal went bad (probably dry rot), the grease flew out and water got in. Needle bearing needles last longer on grease than water. The damage could have been prolonged by periodically greasing the U-joints every time you grease your ball joints and tie rod ends.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

Here are the ujoints from my one-owner, garage kept, low mileage GTO. No matter how clean or perfect the car looks, all this crap is still needs to be replaced.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

Well I guess the site doesnt like pictures today. Anyway, they were both rusted solid.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

Here are the ujoints from my one-owner, garage kept, low mileage GTO. No matter how clean or perfect the car looks, all this crap is still needs to be replaced.


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## Jetzster (Jan 18, 2020)

What the..?


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## 67ventwindow (Mar 3, 2020)

Jetzster said:


> What the..?
> View attachment 146863


 This is how every car my wife own ends up. The dealer ship called today asking if we wanted to sell our 2018 it now has 160K and has been ran into 3 times and had a tree fall on it. I just laughed.


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## PontiacJim (Dec 29, 2012)

NOS Only said:


> The rust on the trunnion tells me the seal went bad (probably dry rot), the grease flew out and water got in. Needle bearing needles last longer on grease than water. The damage could have been prolonged by periodically greasing the U-joints every time you grease your ball joints and tie rod ends.


Owned by a little old lady and the car probably never got greased. The ball joints/tie rod ends are shot. Anything with rubber on it to hold in the grease is rotted/cracked/split wide open. The car needs a complete going through - I'll replace/rebuild the entire front end at some point.

You cannot periodically grease the U-joints if they don't have grease fittings. I don't know of anyone who has their U-joints removed and greased during a chassis greasing. That would be a pretty big grease job bill- more than the U-joints are worth.


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## Khmike (Jun 21, 2021)

Good topic PJ. For my 4-speed, the rear bearing where the U-joints enter the differential has 1/4" play in every direction. I called around this week to find a reputable shop in Portland; the current wait time is 6 weeks.


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