u-joint beef

hey guys after some trouble with u-joints and i know u have all had trouble with them what about making bushings out of bronze like the longfield joints and others a buddy of mine has a cnc machine along with other lathes at his disposal just wondering what your thoughts are on them might even make a few extra to sell if you peeps are interested.

bj-666 said:

hey guys after some trouble with u-joints and i know u have all had trouble with them what about making bushings out of bronze like the longfield joints and others a buddy of mine has a cnc machine along with other lathes at his disposal just wondering what your thoughts are on them might even make a few extra to sell if you peeps are interested.

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Somebody beat you too it...They are called CTM.

yea but mine won't be $125 i know there was a post before about doing this but i can't find it. anyone want some of these if they prove to be functional. they wont' be expensive

hey brandon.. how is this NON-TECH?? i have wondered about how reliable bushings would be in a daily driver...

DrMoab said:

Somebody beat you too it...They are called CTM.

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i think he's talking about making just the bushings, not whole joints.

there was a guy doing this a while back, not sure if he still is. he sold a 760x joint with the bushings for $50.

Search for user Jeff 98XJ WI. IIRC he was experementing with this a while back.

HTH

CTM's are a whole new/different joint. Longfields are a cryo treated 760x joint with bronze bushings replacing the needle bearings. For the money and time invested, I wouldn't bother with making my own, I think the Longfields are $80. You need to have the dough for alloy shafts or it doesn't make any difference. A full circle clipped (or welded) 760x joint will handle as much or more than the ears on a stock Spicer axle shaft.

yea i forgot i was in not tec o well.

they would be very cheep because the kid that will be making them for me goes to school for machining and it would be a fun little project for him. i was just wondering what everyone thought about how the bronz pieces shold go in should there be space between the cap and bushing as well as space between the trunion sp* or should it press into/onto one or the other, the greese comes out the end of the joint so either way the bushings would get grease.

Let us know how they turn out and hold up. This wouldn't be a bad idea on a stock Spicer shaft but I wouldn't run anything but a OX, CTM, Yukon 4340 alloy, or the new Superior u-joints in my alloy shafts, maybe Longfields as well on the low side...but since alloy manufactureres don't warranty their shafts when the u-joint blows, why not run the best u-joint you can get or $ allows. I got 3 OX u-joints shipped to me for $300 from a guy on Pirate, otherwise I was looking at the Yukons for about $100/ea or ultimately the CTMs. U cannot go wrong with CTMs, the OX are claimed by OX to be good to 22,000 lbs or psi whatever the test is and 297 Spicer to 4,600 and 760's to 5,400. So the OX is 1 heck of a U-joint especially for $100 I got them for. Retail they are around $130-150.
Troy

Goatman said:

CTM's are a whole new/different joint. Longfields are a cryo treated 760x joint with bronze bushings replacing the needle bearings. For the money and time invested, I wouldn't bother with making my own, I think the Longfields are $80. You need to have the dough for alloy shafts or it doesn't make any difference. A full circle clipped (or welded) 760x joint will handle as much or more than the ears on a stock Spicer axle shaft.

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ah, but an advantage to having bronze bushings is that you don't have to worry about melting the needle bearings when you weld the joints in, or about crushing the needle bearings wheeling. If I could get a cheap set of bronze bushings, I would put them in some 760s, welded is the only way to go IMO with stock shafts and 760s.

as for the machinist, I would make them a very light press fit, so that you can turn a cap by hand but it takes a bit of effort. now that is purely a not-so-educated guess.