by turnturn » Thu Jul 29, 2010 7:54 pm
I've had a mixed bag with universals.
My 2.8 (UCS55) has done in excess of 300,000ks and has never been touched (standard suspension).
My 3.1 (UCS69) had only done 147,000 ks when I got it and it needed the rear universal replaced. When I went to do it I noticed that it had already been replaced before. The U-joint that I put in only lasted about 4000ks before spitting off two of the bearing cups in quick succesion (at 100 kph+). I'd like to think that I had replaced it correctly and have since replaced this again (for obvious reasons). This second new joint has been in for about 3000ks. This mu has had raised suspension in the past (I have returned it to pretty much standard height).
I have acurately measured the UCS55 driveshaft angles and they are within 1 degree (output of gearbox vs input of diff).
I have roughly measured the UCS69 driveshaft angles and think that the same two datums are at about 3 degrees different.
All information that I have found recommends that driveshaft angles should be 1 degree or less. I am currently looking into wedges to correct the pinion angle.
Just as a side note here is a picture of the factory universal vs the replacement. The factory universal has bigger journal diameters and is generally a bit beefier looking.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.