Top image is acdelco and the next is moog. Does the shapes of the clips matter? I changed them some years ago, not many, with acdelco greaseable, but didn't grease them because I messed up on the grease fitting access positions. It's vibrating again and this time I want to do the work right but even rockauto doesn't list single driveshaft UJ. I need 2 joints, at the transmission and at the rear differential. When last change, I didn't take note on which clip went where on the bracket. Does this matter? They are all round shapes. I am assuming all caps are same diameter. Mostly I drive through small towns with 35-40 mph limits. Once in a while highway and the vibration starts around 50 and ends 65 mph. Smooth before and after. Vibrations stopped with new joints but came back now. I think I installed the new ones wrong, mostly not greasing. I want moog this time. I can't solely blame acdelco but it didn't last at all. UJ was changed 12/2015, at around 121K miles. Truck says it's got about 130K miles now.
BTW, I included different changes in the signature but not same parts replacements, such as the UJ, gas tank, shocks, engine mounts, etc.

 

The clips that are a simple "C" shape are for the OUTside of the cap - the caps with grooves cut into them. The others (regardless of specific shape) are for the INside of the bore (groove in the casting). No, not all caps or trunnions are the same size. And greasable U-joints are physically weaker than greasables; they also don't last as long because their seals are designed to leak (to let the grease out as you pump more in). Ford began switching to non-greasable for those reasons & more back in the 80s. Click this, read the caption, and follow the links in the caption:

(phone app link)

 

Thank you again for the help. Appreciate the reasons behind not using the greaseables. At the time, I thought the cups were fairly empty of grease. I was going to grease the joints but gave up when seeing I positioned the nipples wrong and couldn't attach the grease connector. I messed up that work. Although I plan to get moog this time, I guess acdelco did fairly well as I didn't give it any grease.

Forgot to ask about this photo. I guess it works but just double checking. If the cups are filled with that much grease, do they go back on the joints easily enough?

 

The simple "c" clips go on the inside of the yoke as you can see the groove on the two cups are on the inside. The other shaped clips get squeezed on the outside end of the cups and engage a groove on the yoke.

Don't get discouraged with the greasables, yes they may be a little weaker because of the grease channel but I never seen anyone break one under regular driving conditions. I have used them and give them a quick shot of grease once a year. I never had to replace a greasable joint on any of my vehicles.I still have three greasable u joints on my f150 still in service which I installed back in 1996 and are still good. Once the seal dries out on the non greasable's there's nothing you can do to save them or if water should get in such as driving in flooded conditions, you can't pump out any water which might get in.

If you get the non greasable, putting in too much grease is just as bad .. You have to pay attention especially the rear, if the drive shaft uses u bolts, the bigger cups go under the u bolts. But you likely would find out if you try pressing them in the yoke. If yours uses a companion flange, you don't have to worry that.

When it comes to u joints, I will only use Spicer or Neapco.

 

Wouldn't hurt to run the assembled driveline by a Driveline shop and have them check the balance. You might be surprised at what the entire job would have cost had you removed the driveline and brought it to them.

 

Yes - the extra gets squeezed out as you install the cups onto the trunnion. The important thing is that all the needles stay in-place during that process, which is why that extra grease is so critical.(phone app link)
Modern rubber seals don't harden like originals did. But they do stretch, which will happen EVERY time you add grease to a greasable. Since sealed u-joints only get greased once, they stay sealed much longer, which is why Ford switched to them a couple of decades ago. Switching back to greasables is like switching back to a carburetor, an 8-track tape deck, or solid-rubber tires.

 

Non greasables go back to the 60's, old technology. My 87 had non greasables from the factory and my records show them going bad in less that 55k miles.. I never had an OEM joint or suspension part ever get close to 100k miles. Like I stated, I still have in use three joints on my f150 which I replaced in 1996. Seals are still pliable and the joints are still good..My whole front end has been replaced with greasable parts at the same time period and they are still good. That's the only proof I need.Showing a failed, cheap joint from Autozone just doesn't cut the mustard with me.I don't use such junk, only proven brands.

BTW- the only reason an auto maker uses non greasable is because it is cheaper and quicker to install, not better. Those OEM parts will easily outlive the warranty period, that's all they care about. No grease fitting and no guy making $36 an hour plus benefits to grease every part. Fact.

 

The one in the pic didn't break because its seals were bad; and it doesn't prove anything. It's simply an example of a u-joint that failed under normal driving conditions. Yes, it happens to be greasable, but that didn't have much impact on why it broke.

And Ford doesn't install U-joints, or pay a guy to grease them. Ford designs some parts, and lets the subcontractors (who supply the parts & assemblies) design others. Spicer (your favorite brand) supplied the sealed U-joints that Dana installed in the front axle of all Ford 4WDs of this era; and the ones in all the driveshafts (though I don't know who supplied the driveshafts). I prefer them, too - but specifically the ones with a circular trunnion (which are never greasable), like the originals. They're harder to find, and more expensive. So they weren't supplied because they're cheaper for anyone.

 

i like greasables too, only because i like greasing stuff as part of maintenance..but my 96 is over 100k now, with the original sealed ujoints on the rear shaft. my dads 08 still has the rear driveshaft and ujoints too...at 140k, and of course they are sealed.

 

Toyota used a greaseable 4x4 driveline for years and it was an excellent product. The failure of factory greaseable ujoints, ball joints ect is when they are not greased on a regular basis. Very few vehicles on the road today come factory with any parts that can be greased so the few that have them get overlooked for regular maintenance.