Greasing the u-joint

[kenparker0703]

There is a roller bearing immediately behind the speedo gear. It supports the front end of the drive shaft. If grease is not getting to the speedo gear (and coming out the hole where the turtle resides) then you are not getting enuff greeze to the drive shaft front bearing.

[old31]

Originally Posted by Grumps

Alright then how would I go about getting the grease out of the clamshell so that I can put the John Deere corn head grease in. Wouldn't I have to remove the rearend to be able to get to everything for cleaning. I don't see how it could be done otherwise.

Grumps, remove the turtle.

Just keep installing the new corn head grease in the grease fitting. This will push out the old grease and then you will see the new grease appear in the turtle hole.

[bobbader]

I've taken apart more than my share of Model A transmissions and rear ends over the years. I find it interesting that I have probably found fewer than a handful that are "packed with grease" around the u-joint. And yet, many used u-joints (both new & old style) are far from unusable and most driveshaft roller bearings and their sleeves have stood the test of time, and can certainly be used again. I can't explain this except to remember that the front and rear bearings on the trans were NOT SEALED and allowed gear oil to leak out onto these parts, providing a small stream of lubricant to them.

[Werner]

Hello,


In my car, the excess grease spills out of the speedometer connection and on the flanks. It's a big mess because all the people can see where the car was parked.



That's why I filled in the special grease that is also used in the Löbro joints of heavily loaded cardan shafts (front-wheel drive). But only a little, about 2 - 3 shot glasses, that's enough!



This cardan shaft grease creeps into all corners if it has been warmed up a little from the many revolutions. A part is thrown off while driving. However, a small part of the grease continues to lubricate the cardan joint because it contains additives for life. (Molybdenum disulfide + graphite.)



After the car stops, the spun-off fat flows down again, thickly wetting all surfaces. This fat is very expensive because of the additives.



The disadvantage is that where it runs onto the floor, there are black spots that can no longer be removed. Not even with clothing!



An alternative is simple gear flow fat from slow-running mechanical engineering gears. Here you should add 4% MoS2.




Little is often more!

[abachman3]

I have found that removing just one of the bolts holding the speedometer housing, instead of removing the entire housing works well. It allows the grease to come out of the bolt hole nicely.

[WHN]

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Originally Posted by Grumps

Alright then how would I go about getting the grease out of the clamshell so that I can put the John Deere corn head grease in. Wouldn't I have to remove the rearend to be able to get to everything for cleaning. I don't see how it could be done otherwise.

Don’t read to much into this.

Just start using the Corn Head grease. Make sure you really fill it up. Over time it will get to where it has to go. It flows! That’s the nice thing.

Get a couple tubes, remove speedometer drive and start pumping. It will also lubricate the speedometer drive gear. Win-Win!

Enjoy.

[updraught]

Originally Posted by Werner

Hello,In my car, the excess grease spills out of the speedometer connection and on the flanks. It's a big mess because all the people can see where the car was parked.
That's why I filled in the special grease that is also used in the Löbro joints of heavily loaded cardan shafts (front-wheel drive). But only a little, about 2 - 3 shot glasses, that's enough!
This cardan shaft grease creeps into all corners if it has been warmed up a little from the many revolutions. A part is thrown off while driving. However, a small part of the grease continues to lubricate the cardan joint because it contains additives for life. (Molybdenum disulfide + graphite.)
After the car stops, the spun-off fat flows down again, thickly wetting all surfaces. This fat is very expensive because of the additives.
The disadvantage is that where it runs onto the floor, there are black spots that can no longer be removed. Not even with clothing!
An alternative is simple gear flow fat from slow-running mechanical engineering gears. Here you should add 4% MoS2.
Little is often more!

CV joint grease looks like 1.5 compared to cornhead thickness of 0?
https://penriteoil.com.au/assets/pis...T%20GREASE.pdf

Cornhead grease
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zNhli-J0Gk

[Werner]

Originally Posted by updraught

CV joint grease looks like 1.5 compared to cornhead thickness of 0?

These heavy-duty drive shaft greases are specially designed for this heavy-duty application. (e.g. Löbro joints.) The viscosity is around NLG 1.

[rotorwrench]

The design of most front wheel drive constant velocity drive joint couplings (CV-Joints) use the large ball bearings in a specially machined spherically contoured slot track in both inner hub and outer coupling. These type of couplings will work with centrifugal forces acting on the lubricant since it has no where else to go. Molybdenum Disulfide mixed into a lithium complex grease is the common lubricant for this type of joint. It may be too thick to function well with a Universal Joint.

The Universal joint also known as the Cardano or cardan joint to some, is different in that the axles of the gimbal bearings are blocked by the support structures during rotation. It needs more of a liquid like lubricant in order to act by capilary action when driving through a bath of the lubricant. Grease soap with less fluidity will not act that way since it will be thrown off by centrifugal forces and stick to all surfaces inside the housing. What Ford did was to mix the sodium grease soap with a lot more liquid based gear lubricant to make it more fluidic so that it would work by capilary action and be drawn into the bushings of the gimbal bearings. It wasn't perfect but it was functional. The thixotropic urea based greases turn to fluid when parts are in motion and then back to more of a solid state moments after the parts are at rest. It has time to flow back to the bottom of the housing.

If a transmission has a slinger ring then it has a form of seal, archaic as it may seem. The slingers aren't perfect but they hold the oil in pretty well as long as the case isn't overfilled. They only need around a pint and a half of gear oil to function.

[KenBolton]

A couple of years ago I filled the claim shells on both of my As. One took one tube of grease the second wanted more. After driving it over 400 miles I lifted the trans top due to a noise. No oil but lots and lots of grease! It doesn’t just go down the torque tube.

[1955cj5]

Tom Wesenberg posted this image several years ago.....

[Dino's A]

Maybe it would of been better for Henry to mount the grease
nipple on the side or top to ensure the grease would fall into
the joint instead of having to pump from the bottom of the joint.

[C1Nelson]

If someone has installed a Mitchell overdrive the original torque tube is removed and new tubes installed. The speedo turtle on the old torque tube is gone as the speedo cable connects at the OD unit. I guess you could pump several shots of grease into the u-joint clam when you change the oil. Would it be possible for excess grease to get into the OD? I have not heard of any instances of that happening. Comments please.

[P.S.]

When first assembled, pump enough grease into the clamshell that you feel it at the back of the clamshell where the torque tube comes out. That is close to 1/2 tube of grease. Thereafter, add about 5-10 pumps of grease to the u-joint fitting every time you lube the chassis. Excess will come out the back of the clamshell or any gap in the gaskets.

[The Master Cylinder]

Originally Posted by The Master Cylinder

Where does all the old grease go, inquiring minds ask??

Originally Posted by shew01

I have the same question. Is it possible to force too much grease into the universal joint cavity?

And still the age old question goes unanswered. If I filled the u-joint cavity until it is coming out the speedo, and 6 months later I pump in grease until it come out the speedo, where did the old grease go?

Seems like a FM to me??

[rotorwrench]

It depends on what is used for lubricant. It can exit from the front or the back. At the back it can go around the bell periphery or down the torque tube. It will seep around anything related with that area of the torque tube. That universal joint cavity is like a mixer bowl when operating so what ever is in there is always in motion when going down the road.

An old Ford that doesn't seep or ooze something out is likely low on lubricant. I never expect these old cars not to mark their spot. My old car mentor had an old 1908 Brush Runabout. It had a single cylinder and drip oil feed from a small tank on the firewall. It was a total loss oil system. The model Ts were a bit better and the model As were again better than previous types but all of them seeped & oozed something from somewhere. Some more or less than others.

[WHN]

Originally Posted by rotorwrench

It depends on what is used for lubricant. It can exit from the front or the back. At the back it can go around the bell periphery or down the torque tube. It will seep around anything related with that area of the torque tube. That universal joint cavity is like a mixer bowl when operating so what ever is in there is always in motion when going down the road.

An old Ford that doesn't seep or ooze something out is likely low on lubricant. I never expect these old cars not to mark their spot. My old car mentor had an old 1908 Brush Runabout. It had a single cylinder and drip oil feed from a small tank on the firewall. It was a total loss oil system. The model Ts were a bit better and the model As were again better than previous types but all of them seeped & oozed something from somewhere. Some more or less than others.

Just like their owners as we all get older!

Enjoy.

[Bigsnapper43]

Having driven an A for some 60 plus years I questioned how much grease to pump in. Onl in the last two years did I see on this board to t ake one of the turtle bolts out and watch for grease to appear. Some 200 pumps later it was done. No the grease will not down the drive shaft. There is a seal behind the drive shaft bearing

[SAXBY2]

As suggested sometime ago, corn head grease can be used. Tried it and it leaked out the seals, etc. It turns quite liquid from the heat and ujoint rotation. I returned to using conventional old school grease.

[AzBob]

Originally Posted by SAXBY2

I returned to using conventional old school grease.

X2 SAXBY2, Even old school conventional grease liquefies to some extent when heated. I keep my grease guns stored in a pan to contain the mess. Is more noticeable in the summer months.