Drive shaft u-joints ???

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pajeepman

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Gonna swap rear ones out '03 1500 QC 5.9 4x4. Not many choices on rockauto.com. I plan on using Moogs. What type is better(I know this may be an opinion type of answer) greaseable or non greaseable? Pros or cons?

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Bullitt5339

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Greasable. The little tiny needle bearings take a beating and giving them a little slippery love every once in a while can make them last a lot longer.
 

Hootbro

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My vote is greased version if you plan on keeping it any length of time.
 

Lil_Ram

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Greaseable and spicers lil bit more but better quality


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Hot Ducer

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Just bought the Spicer myself, but haven't put them in yet

2003 1500 QuadCab 5.7 4x4
 
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pajeepman

pajeepman

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Just bought the Spicer myself, but haven't put them in yet

2003 1500 QuadCab 5.7 4x4
What part # are they. Tough finding spicers local to me, any good online source?

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Jimmy68

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Greasable is nice but you need to do it regularly and be certain you do. Especially if you see plenty of dirt roads and mud and water.
Non greasable is nice as they are better sealed and it helps prevent the dust, mud and water from entering the joint in the first place. Stick em in and forget them basically. They'll last as long as a greasable without the added work.
Possibly longer if you usually forget to grease your joints.
 

CorDog009

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Either will work fine, I usually go with greaseable though. Non greaseable are stronger if you're going to be hard on them.
 

Hot Ducer

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What part # are they. Tough finding spicers local to me, any good online source?

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Sorry for the delay, I just picked it up at oreillys. For your truck (5.9 '03 slt 4x4 QC) there's two spicer part numbers listed.

# 5-213x
# 5-1330-1x

2003 1500 QuadCab 5.7 4x4
 
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Bullitt5339

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Either will work fine, I usually go with greaseable though. Non greaseable are stronger if you're going to be hard on them.

That's not always true. Some non-greasable should be stronger because they are solid like Spicer, but I've seen plenty that were hollow just like the greasable ones, the only difference is that the ends weren't drilled out.

The debate for off-road and keeping dirt, mud and water out has raged on forever. The big difference is that if you grease them, you can flush any dirt. If you get any contaminates in a non-greasable joint, you'll never know and there's no way to make sure you didn't.

I think the truth is that if you do regular maintenance on your vehicle, you buy greasable ball joints, outer tie rods and u-joints. If you do nothing more than change the oil occasionally, you're probably better off with non-greasable in everything.
 

Jimmy68

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My second gen has greasable lower ball joints. How stupid. Have to remove the axle shaft to grease them. guess what never gets done.
 

Bullitt5339

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My second gen has greasable lower ball joints. How stupid. Have to remove the axle shaft to grease them. guess what never gets done.

Do it once and while it's apart, put a 90* fitting on the lower ball joints so that they're accessible.
 

Jimmy68

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Do it once and while it's apart, put a 90* fitting on the lower ball joints so that they're accessible.

Not enough room between the shaft and the joint. Only thing that fits is the low profile zerk you use a needle to grease and with the axle installed you can't get a needle in as the shaft/u-joint is in the way.
 

Bullitt5339

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Not enough room between the shaft and the joint. Only thing that fits is the low profile zerk you use a needle to grease and with the axle installed you can't get a needle in as the shaft/u-joint is in the way.

That's a pretty crappy design, it seems.
 
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