u joints for my 72

[1972Banana]

I went to advance auto to get replacement u joints for my 72 chevy. The guy just did the cross reference on the computer and gave me the joints that came up. Got the old ones out and the first one is too big by 1/8". I know there are two different shafts because the first carrier bearing was wrong and I told him to try again and got the correct one. How do i know what the numbers are for the u joints? The old joints do not have a part number on them. Just gonna get them from rockauto.com but I need the right ones. Any suggestions?

[Wrenchbender Ret]

That is such a common part you should be able to walk in any parts store & walk out with it. Take the old one with you & match it up. A good parts man can get it by demensions.

[Shyguy]

Originally Posted by Wrenchbender Ret

That is such a common part you should be able to walk in any parts store & walk out with it. Take the old one with you & match it up. A good parts man can get it by demensions.

When I worked at O'Rielly's we use to do it quite a bit, they have books to use.

[brad_man_72]

Measure the joints. Should be 1310 series. Spicer part number 5-1310x.
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[brad_man_72]

Or ya know since your shaft needs so much work and needs to be ballanced by a professional anyways just take it to a driveline shop and have them put the right ujoints in correctly, have them check the condition of the rest of the shaft and ballance it, since it needs to be taken to a pro who will have the correct parts laying around for ballancing.
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[Tx Firefighter]

If he just needs three u joints, its a bit overkill to take it to a driveline shop. Why turn a 40 dollar job into a 200 dollar job ?
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[brad_man_72]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

If he just needs three u joints, its a bit overkill to take it to a driveline shop. Why turn a 40 dollar job into a 200 dollar job ?
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He has already replaced the carrier bearing. That alone warrants a ballance job. The ballance always changes when swapping carrier bearings, and the better the ballance the longer the rubber surround will last. if the parts weren't marked and not reassembled the exact way it was when the shaft was ballanced last (probably 40 years ago). The stub for the bolt on yoke for these shafts is usually too long for the bolt to tighten the yoke properly.

If he can't identify the joints that are in the shaft now as original, one can only assume they have been replaced, did whoever replaced them last time mark everything or have the shaft ballanced then?

we charge less than $10 to install our joints, $15 you bring in junk joints from a parts store. If we have to fix the joints you installed improperly at least another $10 if you didn't ruin a $30 weld yoke.

I think a 2 piece ballance is $65 so less than $100 for 3 joints and a ballance. If it ends up being a $200 job the shop had to fix a bunch of stuff you didn't even know was wrong. Probably saving you time, money, and a headache trying to figure out why your rebuilt driveshaft still vibrates.
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[TBONE1964]

The following are the correct u joint part numbers for spicer u joints available for the drive shaft in your truck.

5 - 153X if it has 1.063" cups and outside snap rings (more common for 350 turbo trans in 1/2 ton)

5 - 178X if it has 1.188" cups and outside snap rings ( more common with 400 turbo trans in 1/2 ton)

5 - 3147X if it has inside snap rings. (more common in 3/4 ton)

[Mint68]

That's a good point brad man 72, I never thought about that, but my truck could probably use a balance job too.

[68_Step]

Originally Posted by brad_man_72

He has already replaced the carrier bearing. That alone warrants a ballance job. The ballance always changes when swapping carrier bearings, and the better the ballance the longer the rubber surround will last. if the parts weren't marked and not reassembled the exact way it was when the shaft was ballanced last (probably 40 years ago). The stub for the bolt on yoke for these shafts is usually too long for the bolt to tighten the yoke properly.

If he can't identify the joints that are in the shaft now as original, one can only assume they have been replaced, did whoever replaced them last time mark everything or have the shaft ballanced then?

we charge less than $10 to install our joints, $15 you bring in junk joints from a parts store. If we have to fix the joints you installed improperly at least another $10 if you didn't ruin a $30 weld yoke.

I think a 2 piece ballance is $65 so less than $100 for 3 joints and a ballance. If it ends up being a $200 job the shop had to fix a bunch of stuff you didn't even know was wrong. Probably saving you time, money, and a headache trying to figure out why your rebuilt driveshaft still vibrates.
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Brad_Man_72: I see you are in Springfield, I am just up the road in Marshfield. Did I read your post right, that you work at a driveline shop? Which one? I know I will need new u-joints soon...

[brad_man_72]

Originally Posted by TBONE1964

The following are the correct u joint part numbers for spicer u joints available for the drive shaft in your truck.

5 - 153X if it has 1.063" cups and outside snap rings (more common for 350 turbo trans in 1/2 ton)

5 - 178X if it has 1.188" cups and outside snap rings ( more common with 400 turbo trans in 1/2 ton)

5 - 3147X if it has inside snap rings. (more common in 3/4 ton)

Spicer changed all of their part numbers within the last year when they updated those joints.
5-1310x
5-1350x
I can't recall what the part number is for the 3r joint but I haven't seen a 67-72 with 3r joints yet.
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