u joint help

im in the process of a 6.0/80e swap in my 1500 silverado.. i have a 2500hd driveshaft that is the right length but on the gear end the u joint is bigger than whats coming out of my rear end.. not shure if any of these options are doable but i was thinking of somehow mixing 2 joints, smaller on one set than the other? next i was thinking maybe i could get the part on the rear end that connects to the u joint from the 2500hd and swap it out with mine and just be able to use a 2500 u joint but im not shure if they have different splines or somthing that would keep me from doing that... at worst case i could use my 1500 driveshaft and have cut down, welded back and balanced which seems alot pricer if i could get one of the other options to work.. anyone have any suggestions

You could change your yolk on your rear end or you could get a conversion joint. I don't know what people are charging to shorten and balance but where I work we only charge 50 bucks. Rear end yolk would be around 60. Conversion joint would be around 20.

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Originally Posted by jansen

You could change your yolk on your rear end or you could get a conversion joint. I don't know what people are charging to shorten and balance but where I work we only charge 50 bucks. Rear end yolk would be around 60. Conversion joint would be around 20.

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Wow that's a good price! When I had driveline shortened when I done the 350 swap into my yota I think it was 125

My gosh 125 is rape! We can re tube a shaft for 125. Shortening , welding it back up, and balancing is only a 20 min job.

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Originally Posted by jansen

My gosh 125 is rape! We can re tube a shaft for 125. Shortening , welding it back up, and balancing is only a 20 min job.

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I thought it was steep. We don't have a driveline shop around here so I took it to a local machine shop

so would the yoke be the same? i figured since the rear end was bigger on the hd that it would be different... i can get the yoke for free from the guy i got the parts from, he still has the rear end from the truck..my question now is will i mess any mesh or crush on the rear end if i remove that bolt to change yokes then re tq it

No you'll have to buy one for your rear end that uses the bigger joint.

either change the rear end yoke, or buy a crossover u-joint. but whatever you do, dont buy any of that vatozone bs.. you'll be changing them out monthly. find a shop that actually carries Neapco or Spicer joints, spend the extra money to buy non greasable.

Why the hell would you want to buy non greasable? I change at least 30 u joints a day and I have never replaced one because it was greased to much.

if you buy a good non greasable, they will last you 100k+.. why else would basically ALL new vehicles come with non greasable ujoints?? and 90% of them last 100k plus.. I work in a driveline shop. non greasable is the best damn thing you can buy, if you buy a good quality joint like Neapco or Spicer. If you work at a reputable driveline shop you should know that a good non greasable is better than a greasable any day. if you can put grease in it, you can get water in it, and water in a ujoint will ruin it. Spicer ujoints are triple sealed, plus a plastic seal over that. i may be stupid, but do a lil research, and ill seem like i know what im talkin about.

I can confirm greasable joints are weaker (hollow) and more roller-fail prone (grease never makes it to most of the needles). U-joints are a tough sell at the dealer level many times when each joint can be over $100 just for parts from GM and O-o-O'Rielly's has them for $17. The OR joints have zerks, the GM's do not (and say Spicer on them).

Our Spicer ujoints, best can buy are about 45 bucks a ujoint normally. we have a USA made Neapco joint that are a few bucks cheaper, and bout the same quality. they are OEM replacement joints.

i just ordered a conversion joint from my local shop, they couldent get a spicer and the only one they could get was a neapco greasable i believe, ill post the number up fr future reference... also if i give you the number do you think when you get time you could see if you could cross it over and find a non greasable spicer

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Originally Posted by ImportThis

Our Spicer ujoints, best can buy are about 45 bucks a ujoint normally. we have a USA made Neapco joint that are a few bucks cheaper, and bout the same quality. they are OEM replacement joints.

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