Q. on Moog Universal Joint

[Donald]

Got a pair of Moog u-joints for my Jeep. (Made in USA by the way).

OK, its been awhile since I looked at universal joints in a car. There is no grease fitting in the center of the u-joint, but a hole on the face of one of the 4 sides. And a screw in a plastic bag to insert into the hole after greasing?

The most recent u-joints I have greased were in the PTO shaft of a farm tractor and it was in the middle of the joint.

 

[default]

Look more closely at the "screw" its probably a needle style grease fitting.

 

[NHGUY]

Its a spring loaded ball equipped fitting.Its low profile so it doesnt hit anything or throw balance off....you will need the larger sized tapered "needle" to grease it.

You either bought the Heavy Duty version,or its for the front wheels...

 

[Johnny248]

Those are generally a stronger u-joint also because it has a solid "cross". They have grease gun tips that look like a \/ that allows to grease through the small ball valve in the screw in fitting of the ujoint.

 

[Trav]

Moog = Precision for U Joints. You need a needle adapter for that grease fitting.
Make sure you have a straight shot at that fitting once its installed or you wont be able to grease it in service.

BTW my old Expedition had a shroud around the front shaft rear joint making a greasable fitting impossible to use. Check carefully.

 

[expat]

SKF used to make a UJ like that, they were very good.
Easier to lube than with the nipple in the cross, and stronger too.

 

[Donald]

Thanks for the input. The Moog grease-able u-joint was the best RockAuto had and was $13.

So these maybe stronger, but does a grease joint ever break in the center? I thought the rollers would fail and that was how a u-joint failed.

If the u-joint in my Mercruiser ever failed, it would damage the transom assembly and cause the boat to take on water and sink.