Universal Joints..

[trunt]

I'm looking at replacing the UJ's on my propshaft and trying to avoid the cheap ones. I see HD versions in UK but cant identify them
in USA..

Is the GKN/Hardy Spicer Brand OK? I can get those Stateside.. they do cost more!

Thanks
Terry

[new to this]

Ive got some HD UJs i bought from Wards, ill let you know the make tomorrow

[wilf]

GKN/Hardy Spicer make the UJs/ CV joints for many vehicles as OE.

[trunt]

Yup seems that there are 2 versions.. a regular duty and a HD. I’m thinking the regular one is already a step up, but looking into the HD.

GKN 18110 seems to be the regular it has a rubber seal,
GKN 18179 the HD it has a metallic seal, larger internals.

Wards pic shows a GKN, looks to be the 18179

[jbuckl]

Chris witors parts are tried and tested for saloons & estates & stags. Reasonably priced too.
+1 for gkn / hardy spicer being oem.
their U.K. plant was recently affected again by offshoring / globalisation afaiaa though.
Dana corporation affects / Melrose possibly?
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc...m-55847026.amp
sad because the last time I needed a bit of propshaft work I dropped it off at a counter there & picked it up after a sandwich & a cup of tea. Rebuilt with joints & balanced / painted for £50. Those days are gone..... so called progress, maybe for the ceo, accountants & shareholders, but not for us or the employees.
rant over.

[Lingen]

Can someone explain to me why HD ones have suddenly become available? OE ones weren't "HD" and they lasted for years if the were kept lubricated. Are the new HD ones perhaps the same quality as OE used to be, whereas non HD ones are now not fit for purpose? I wouldn't be surprised, as it seems to be the norm with so many items these days.
Mike.

[jbuckl]

Yep, less quality control?
maybe hd is necessary?
didn’t have any problems with chris witor supplied joints.
Others had lash from the start though

[Phil S]

If the cup is the same size (as that can't change) then larger rollers mean a smaller cruciform bearing, or the reverse if the rollers are smaller, how can changing one bearing dimension make it heavy duty, as it will decrease another.
sounds like you are paying more for a change of grease seal.
Are either fitted with a grease nipple, if so that's the one to fit.
some of the TR5 ones I fitted years ago had a grease point, are they the same size?
CDD cv shafts fitted so can only look on from outside as problem removed for me.

[022Dave]

Can someone explain to me why HD ones have suddenly become available? OE ones weren't "HD" and they lasted for years if the were kept lubricated. Are the new HD ones perhaps the same quality as OE used to be, whereas non HD ones are now not fit for purpose? I wouldn't be surprised, as it seems to be the norm with so many items these days.
Mike.

Dubious Chinese quality and good PR. Age brings cynicism, Mike

Dave

[trunt]

Are either fitted with a grease nipple, if so that's the one to fit.

Yes, both of those GKN numbers I quoted have grease nipples, there are also sealed versions available under different numbers.

The different roller/cruciform size did occur to me as well, maybe the HD provides a larger bearing surface? It would be interesting to compare the size of the cruciform on an original UJ.. anyone got one apart?

Terry

[Klaus Schlueter]

I installed a Hardy Spicer at the end of the propshaft. The pic shows a GKN brand in the center.

[flying farmer]

Can someone explain to me why HD ones have suddenly become available? OE ones weren't "HD" and they lasted for years if the were kept lubricated. Are the new HD ones perhaps the same quality as OE used to be, whereas non HD ones are now not fit for purpose? I wouldn't be surprised, as it seems to be the norm with so many items these days.
Mike.

Sadly the non original ones got to be real crap at one point. The original UJs on my old PI saloon lasted about 70,000 miles, similar to the originals on my TR. It got to a point where 3000 miles was an optimistic life expectancy. When the uprated GKN ones came out I swapped to those as the crap ones failed and have never needed to replace another one.
The GKN ones do have a thinner outer case from memory, with a lot more rollers that are about 40% longer than the cheap crap.

Neil

[trunt]

Even Though The standard GKN would probably be OK after a bit of thought I decided to go for the HD GKN ones. Finding them was a challenge over here in the USA but it seems that the best thing to look for is Landrover items, some are the same type. so for those in foreign parts like me here is what I found.

The UJ is a Hardy Spicer 1300 type 27mm x 74.5mm a lot of the LR sites mention a 27x75 and this worried me for a bit but it seems they are rounding as in the GKN catalog found here
https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com/...sal_joints.pdf
They definitely cross reference the same joints we use to the Rover numbers, and there are no 75mm ones listed..

GKN 18179
Löbro U967

Rover numbers
Rtc3458
Rtc4587
Tvc100010G

The Rover numbers do not necessarily refer to HD versions except perhaps the last one where the G does seem to indicate HD. I found that many were advertising "HD" yet the pictures did not seem to show the metal seals I associate with the HD version.. so beware! In the end I found a GKN listing that seemed to be good, picture was OK had the G suffix and looked correct, (with free shipping and returns!) at $38 so price seems about right as well..

Lets see!

Terry