P38A Hardy-spicers - UJs

Any idea what the original brand fitted was?

Land Rover ones are £50+ each. RimmerBros have OEM at a tenner (yeah, I was surprised too) but they don't seem to have grease nipples. Not at all sure that's a good idea.

Britpart: not going there so forget that!

Part number seems to be RTC3458. I assume all 4 are the same and that if I am doing one I might as well do the lot?

No brand mentioned here but does have a grease nipple. £5? Got to be Britpart quality?

http://www.shop4autoparts.net/parts/axle-suspension/tvc100010-universal-joint-with-greaser/

Ah, this looks better:

http://www.shop4autoparts.net/parts/axle-suspension/universal-joint-hd-grsr-gkn-hs-18mm-j-75x27/

GKN not do them for P38? That's what you want

Grrrrrr said:

No brand mentioned here but does have a grease nipple. £5? Got to be Britpart quality?

http://www.shop4autoparts.net/parts/axle-suspension/tvc100010-universal-joint-with-greaser/

Ah, this looks better:

http://www.shop4autoparts.net/parts/axle-suspension/universal-joint-hd-grsr-gkn-hs-18mm-j-75x27/

Click to expand...

g one is supplied by britpart

resto_d1 said:

GKN not do them for P38? That's what you want

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Thanks. GKN do (see link 2 above). Says 75mm end to end (correct) and 27mm caps (also correct, I think) but the 18mm gallery has me a bit worried. Pretty sure it is the right one though.

tvc100010 supercedes rtc3458 both are the 75mm

jamesmartin said:

g one is supplied by britpart

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The cheaper one is without the G? The second link has G at the end and claims to be GKN?

Jesus Christ have you seen what Rimmers want for one? https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-RTC3458 or https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-TVC100010 They really are a joke.

Grrrrrr said:

The cheaper one is without the G? The second link has G at the end and claims to be GKN?

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yes it will be gkn supplied by britpart hence the g

jamesmartin said:

yes it will be gkn supplied by britpart hence the g

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How can Britpart supply GKN?

Hitting a real wall on this one. No-one local has one unless Dingocroft have one and I've had an unpleasant experience from Dingocroft so tend not to use them unless I have to. Not barred yet but not a preferred supplier.

@resto_d1 : Island are barred from my supplier list. Thanks for the link but they're not an option for me.

wammers said:

Jesus Christ have you seen what Rimmers want for one? https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-RTC3458 or https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-TVC100010 They really are a joke.

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Have a look at Land Rover parts direct. They make Rimmers look a bargain.

Cannot believe Land Rover ones don't have a grease nipple. Is that now considered a better option?

Grrrrrr said:

How can Britpart supply GKN?

Hitting a real wall on this one. No-one local has one unless Dingocroft have one and I've had an unpleasant experience from Dingocroft so tend not to use them unless I have to. Not barred yet but not a preferred supplier.

@resto_d1 : Island are barred from my supplier list. Thanks for the link but they're not an option for me.

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cos they are a wholesaler they also supply genuine lr parts in lr boxes,the britpart suipplied cheaper pattern stuff will come from the same factories that bearmach and allmakes use for cheap ****e too

Dingocroft came up trumps. Picked them up before they closed.

Front prop off, replaced the dodgy end. A grease channel was blocked with ****e so that end had no grease, the needle bearings were shot to pieces. That end wasn't so bad. Thought I might as well replace the good end while I was about it. Cannot get a single bloody circlip to move. Chiselled the ends off 2 and the f*ckers are still jammed solid. So given up for the night. Beer and back to it in the morning. Means tomorrow's jobs have been put back a bit.

Grrrrrr said:

Any idea what the original brand fitted was?

Land Rover ones are £50+ each. RimmerBros have OEM at a tenner (yeah, I was surprised too) but they don't seem to have grease nipples. Not at all sure that's a good idea.

Britpart: not going there so forget that!

Part number seems to be RTC3458. I assume all 4 are the same and that if I am doing one I might as well do the lot?

Click to expand...

On the prop shaft I ripped out to replace complete unit u/j's are marked as GNK, could not be bothered with the hassle of getting it out to find a yolk warn and when I did found two caps completely worn through due to lack of maintenance, complete new shaft cost me £92 which I thought was not bad depending on the price differentials on new u/j's

keithcanfixit said:

On the prop shaft I ripped out to replace complete unit u/j's are marked as GNK, could not be bothered with the hassle of getting it out to find a yolk warn and when I did found two caps completely worn through due to lack of maintenance, complete new shaft cost me £92 which I thought was not bad depending on the price differentials on new u/j's

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That sounds like the Britpart propshaft?! GKN prop is about £150. 2 GKN Hardy-Spicers are less than £50 the pair, although given the current hassles I am beginning to think the extra £100 would have been money well spent!

This is for my benefit as much as anyone else's. For the record the sequence of events was pretty much ...

Symptoms

Vibration at high speed. Initially only at 85 mph but later on at lower speeds too. At the end particularly bad between 20 and 25 mph. Hard to pin down where the vibration is coming from. Later on you can feel it coming up through the seat rather than through the steering wheel.

Tools.

Jack and stands (and bricks / blocks to stop the car moving).
14 mm spanner.
Propshaft (14 mm) socket tool.
Vice (or G-clamp if you're lucky)
Hammer & chisel.
Circlip pliers.
7 mm spanner for the grease nipple.
27 mm socket or similar to push the caps into.
19 mm socket of similar to push the caps through.
Torque wrench (propshaft nuts should be 48 nm as per RAVE).
Possibly some Plusgas. WD40 or 3-in-1 oil.
Grease gun.

Diagnosis

Tailgate up to disable suspension, chock all wheels, handbrake on. Jack rear of vehicle so one wheel is off and rest on stand. Crawl under and give the rear prop a real good twisting back and forth. There should be no movement from the splines on the prop-shaft or the universal joints. If all OK lower the vehicle and same procedure on the front. In my case one end of the front prop had way too much movement. This video explains everything you need to know.



Parts

GNK Hardy-Spicers. 75mm end to end; 27 mm caps. Gallery approximately 18 mm. These should be the TVC100010 heavy duty ones with a grease nipple.

Removing prop.

Lift the car as above but this time you need 1 rear wheel and 1 front wheel off the ground, handbrake off and select neutral. This is so you can spin the shafts easily to get at the nuts/bolts easily. You'll need a 14 mm flat spanner (or possibly closest Imperial spanner, 9/16ths inch?) and a propshaft nut socket, although a slim socket with a wobble-extension can get in there. Undo all nuts at the gearbox end and then undo the nuts and remove the bolts from the other end. Careful with the last one because it'll drop in your face with nothing to hold it! Lower an then pull off the gearbox end.

Removing the Hardy-Spicers (UJs).

This video explains it far better than I can.



I don't know about using a G-clamp: his fingers must be stronger than King Kong's bigger brother. I used a vice and that wasn't exactly easy. The circlips can be a right PITA to get out. I chiselled the ends off 5 of the them before they moved, even soaking overnight in Plusgas. It is the worst part of the job if they're stuck.

Replacing the Hardy-Spicers.



As per the video. Remember to put the grease nipple in and tighten it up before fitting the new part. All the grease nipples should pretty much line up on the same line down the shaft so think about that when you're inserting the spider into the joint. All I'll add is that when it isn't straight the cap won't want to go in. 2 of them are fairly easy but the angle on the prop for 2 of them is a bit of a sod. When it is straight it'll suddenly go in pretty easily. Otherwise it is a sod. Keep checking the needle rollers are all still in place and just keep trying to line it all up. When you've finished pump grease through all 3 grease nipples until it is running clean. Clear up the excess.

Refitting the prop.

In true fashion, reverse of removal. If someone can pull the handbrake on while you're tightening it will save some time and effort. Ideally you'd use new nuts and bolts for the propshaft, or nuts at the very least. Don't use Britpart, especially if you're only doing the nuts. Tighten to 48 nm.

Conclusion

Given how much hassle those circlips can be I think next time I'd seriously consider paying the extra and just get a whole new GNK propshaft. You're looking at about £150 instead of £50 but with the time saving and ease of replacement I'm severely tempted. Plus, if you stuff up the refitting of the UJs then if you're lucky it is an extra £25 for another replacement and if you're unlucky then it will be a new propshaft anyway and you've wasted £50. Next time I'll be seriously considering it.