[DeTomaso] Axles and halfshafts

[pantdino at aol.com]

Do change any original u-joints in stock halfshafts to new ones-  possibly 
ones with no zerk fitting drillings to weaken the assemblies. Good luck- J 
Deryke


 When I replaced my halfshafts this question of "lifetime" Ujoints vs ones with Zerk fittings came up. I called Spicer, who told me what grease they used. I believe it was Shell synthetic, and when I called Shell they said the shelf life of that grease is 5 years, as I recall (it may have been 7).? 

He said those sealed U-joints are designed for vehicles that do high miles every year, so after a couple of years they are used up and get replaced.

I got the kind with Zerks so I can renew the grease periodically.

Jim Oddie


 


 

-----Original Message-----
From: JDeRyke at aol.com
To: wdemelo at cogeco.ca; detomaso at realbig.com
Sent: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 2:00 pm
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Axles and halfshafts










In a message dated 8/26/07 5:31:36 AM, wdemelo at cogeco.ca writes:

<< I'm putting a winter parts list together and am concerned about the axles 
and halfshafts. I've read about these breaking and making a ness of the inner 
body panels.
I have 450hp to the wheels.  >>

OEM u-joints from the '70s & '80s are known to break in stock Panteras. If an 
outer u-joint lets go while the car is rolling, the wheel-driven halfshaft 
will slide out on its splines & spin around under the inner fender panel, 
smashing and enlarging the hole,  debonding the fender panel from the lower 
subframe 
or tearing brake lines. If it's an inner u-joint that fails, the halfshaft 
will again rotate around at full extension, smashing the transaxle cases. I've 
welded up several ZF casess due to this. Late model aftermarket u-joints in 
stock halfshafts seem not to suddenly break like this. Spicer halfshafts are 
smaller and take smaller F-500 Ford truck u-joints, so it seems OEM halfshafts 
are 
certainly strong enough for your intended use, as long as you're not using 
original-equipment u-joints. I suggest NOT using the logo-u-joint covers or 
shiny grease shields, since just before a u-joint breaks, the failing cap will 
begin spinning, leaving a circular mark where the snap-ring is. This is a big 
red 
DANGER sign!
And as some have said, OEM hollow stub axles will occasionally break- in 
racing situations. The last one I'd heard of is Jim Saxton's GR-4 clone-racer. A 

stock axle broke at an open track event @ Willow Springs raceway some 15 yrs 
ago and his 'mechanic' changed the broken axle for a billet Hall axle. 5 years 
ago (10 yrs later) at a Fun Rally open track, the other stock axle broke.... 
This car probably has more power than yours and ran only track events with 
gumball tires. Other semi-pro racers have said that its not racing that breaks 
stub 
axles, its the duration of use of very high traction tires at very high 
cornering loads. 10-lap races will likely be no concern for many years, but a 
4-hr 
enduro WILL break stub axles. FWIW, they always let go where the wheel flange 
joins the axle shaft. Inspection is impossible without carrier disassembly. 

Bottom line- if this is primarily a street car, don't worry too much about 
breaking outer stub-axles, as long as they're in good shape and are a press fit 
with the bearings. Worry more about cracking paint and body panels without an 
aftermarket chassis stiffener system, or breaking ring gear bolts in the diff 
that are not safety wired.
Do change any original u-joints in stock halfshafts to new ones-  possibly 
ones with no zerk fitting drillings to weaken the assemblies. Good luck- J 
Deryke
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