busting needles in u joint

1

1931flathead

Well-known member
I bust needles I the rear joint of my 53 the ones that goes to the rear axle did it two times first time it was about 6 of them this time it was 3

What could cause this never had any thing like it first time it was about 300 miles and this time 150 miles
 
If the U-joints are of modern manufacture, you may have to try to find some new old stock somewhere. Just about all bearings are questionable these days. Quality brands like Spicer, Neapco, or some old Ford Motorcraft should be safe bets but now days you just never know. More and more stuff is getting farmed out to the 3rd world. They may also need to be purged with some good quality grease too.
 
Only way I can think of that problem would be if bearings are dry, or some of the needles are missing.
 
They are not dry I put grease in them before I put them in and greased the joint I call the drive shaft shop he told me to bring the car down he wwould check it out
 
1931flathead said:
I bust needles I the rear joint of my 53 the ones that goes to the rear axle did it two times first time it was about 6 of them this time it was 3

What could cause this never had any thing like it first time it was about 300 miles and this time 150 miles
Click to expand...

I've seen this on clients vehicles. I hate to say it, but most likely improper installation is the cause.
 
If they don't rotate there will be problems.
In other words, the driveline angle has to be correct.
Material quality can also be an issue but it would not
be my first suspicion.
I work for a bearing manufacturer in the US, BTW.
 
How can you not put in Wright when it is the two caps that goes to the rear end you put the u bolts and nuts

The angle of the drive shaft is around 3 to 4 degree
 
yes that who I took it to find a u joint I called him to day he told me to drive the car down to him so he could look at it he said never seen needles but he has seen cap bust I should stop to day I was 15 miles from him with the car
 
1931flathead said:
How can you not put in Wright when it is the two caps that goes to the rear end you put the u bolts and nuts

The angle of the drive shaft is around 3 to 4 degree
Click to expand...

It is very easy to have a needle or two fall in to the bottom of the cup when assembling. If they do, they are 100% certain to break.
 
The originals rear joints just had little bearing blocks on two sides that bolted to the rear axle yoke. They didn't use U-bolts. I have no idea what axle it has now so it has mystery joints of some kind or other. Those old Ford rear axles are getting harder to get parts for. The Dana 44 & Ford 9-inch are a lot easier to get parts for.

I generally use a vice to press on the bearing cups in a pinch but some folks just hammer them in. As was mentioned, if the needles get out of place while going together, it can crack them. The needles are hard but that makes them a bit more brittle too.
 
I have a 8 inch rear the only ones I found broke is the on the yoke I had to buy a u joint to match the rear end and drive shaft
 
8" rears can have one of two different diameter caps, the small cap in the large saddle has caused grief in the past.

I have also seen damaged yokes that don't let the cap seat properly.

Good luck with finding the source of your problem.
 
When I took the drive shaft to the guy I brought the yoke with it so he had both parts to get I right

I had a guy come today and I traded for a different car and I told him about it
 
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