The Ford Barn

crankefrank · 11-11-2016, 07:53 AM

I just installed a new universal joint in my '34 Pickup and wondered how you know when it has enough grease surrounding it?

I packed a handful of bearing grease around the universal before closing it up but looking at volume of that enclosure I could probably pump another tube or two in there.

A schematic drawing I found shows a grease fitting on the torque tube next to the forward drive shaft bearing when did this upgrade appear? Mine doesn't have one.

rotorwrench · 11-11-2016, 12:31 PM

FoMoCo originally used a gear lube & soda soap mix that would be considered a semi-fluid grease in this day and age. Regular thickened grease would just be slung out of the way where it would stick and not really be effective at lubing the joint bushings. A lot of folks use the John Deere Corn Head that is a semi-fluid grease and works pretty well. Getting it in there on those old Model 18 type rear axles might be a bit different than the later rear axles used starting in 1935 due to the solid outer cap that holds the torque tube bell to the back of the transmission. The outer bell cap should have a grease fitting somewhere near the forward edge. The inner bell cap should have a small hole in it that corresponds to the grease fitting or is at least near to it so that grease injected in there will find a way into the inner cap and settle around the U-joint. There only needs to be enough in there to get lubricant in the U-joint bushings. I doubt if much more than a half to 3/4 of a tube would be needed. If you put too much in there is starts migrating back to the front drive shaft bearing & speedo drive area.

John Deere made a video that shows how the corn head grease works. It thickens at rest and returns to a more fluid state when movement happens.

Mac VP · 11-11-2016, 03:40 PM

You didn't say,but if you're using a new reproduction part, you might see an issue with misalignment of the u-joint to the axis of the mainshaft. I hope I am wrong and that your part fits correctly (or is an NOS original part). There have been problems on the repro u-joints that I've seen. The symptom will be an audible scraping sound where the u-j is rubbing against the inner cap of the torque tube connection.

I had to give up using them and we now supply only original Ford u-joints.......either good used, or we can rebuild them if worn. There's too much work to get at this part if this problem raises its head.

crankefrank · 11-11-2016, 09:48 PM

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I bought the universal from Macauto so I assumed it would be a Chinese reproduction. The spline joint fit is less precise than I expected. Otherwise the removable and installation was less challenging than I thought. Got it back together today and drove around the neighborhood. I didn't notice any scraping. Hopefully, I got lucky.

Plan to get some corn head grease, as recommended. Maybe I should rebuild my original universal for a spare.

Thanks for responses.

11-11-2016, 07:53 AM	#1
crankefrank Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Flower Mound, TX Posts: 11	'34 Universal joint repair I just installed a new universal joint in my '34 Pickup and wondered how you know when it has enough grease surrounding it? I packed a handful of bearing grease around the universal before closing it up but looking at volume of that enclosure I could probably pump another tube or two in there. A schematic drawing I found shows a grease fitting on the torque tube next to the forward drive shaft bearing when did this upgrade appear? Mine doesn't have one.

11-11-2016, 12:31 PM	#2
rotorwrench Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 16,440	Re: '34 Universal joint repair FoMoCo originally used a gear lube & soda soap mix that would be considered a semi-fluid grease in this day and age. Regular thickened grease would just be slung out of the way where it would stick and not really be effective at lubing the joint bushings. A lot of folks use the John Deere Corn Head that is a semi-fluid grease and works pretty well. Getting it in there on those old Model 18 type rear axles might be a bit different than the later rear axles used starting in 1935 due to the solid outer cap that holds the torque tube bell to the back of the transmission. The outer bell cap should have a grease fitting somewhere near the forward edge. The inner bell cap should have a small hole in it that corresponds to the grease fitting or is at least near to it so that grease injected in there will find a way into the inner cap and settle around the U-joint. There only needs to be enough in there to get lubricant in the U-joint bushings. I doubt if much more than a half to 3/4 of a tube would be needed. If you put too much in there is starts migrating back to the front drive shaft bearing & speedo drive area. John Deere made a video that shows how the corn head grease works. It thickens at rest and returns to a more fluid state when movement happens.

11-11-2016, 03:40 PM	#3
Mac VP Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 1,361	Re: '34 Universal joint repair You didn't say,but if you're using a new reproduction part, you might see an issue with misalignment of the u-joint to the axis of the mainshaft. I hope I am wrong and that your part fits correctly (or is an NOS original part). There have been problems on the repro u-joints that I've seen. The symptom will be an audible scraping sound where the u-j is rubbing against the inner cap of the torque tube connection. I had to give up using them and we now supply only original Ford u-joints.......either good used, or we can rebuild them if worn. There's too much work to get at this part if this problem raises its head. __________________ VANPELT SALES LLC Cincinnati, Ohio Office: 513-724-9486 www.vanpeltsales.com www.classictransmission.com

11-11-2016, 09:48 PM	#4
crankefrank Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Flower Mound, TX Posts: 11	Re: '34 Universal joint repair Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) I bought the universal from Macauto so I assumed it would be a Chinese reproduction. The spline joint fit is less precise than I expected. Otherwise the removable and installation was less challenging than I thought. Got it back together today and drove around the neighborhood. I didn't notice any scraping. Hopefully, I got lucky. Plan to get some corn head grease, as recommended. Maybe I should rebuild my original universal for a spare. Thanks for responses.