OEM vs Aftermarket u joints

[papapoopski]

I will be replacing my rearmost ujoint soon. Any opinions on aftermarket vs OEM?

I don't have a preference but I also don't know enough about the driveshaft. I like saving money. NAPA is 5 minutes away. BUT, I've spent the extra for OEM on other stuff like steering rack, etc.

 

[alico268]

I would say stick with OEM. I had my rear u-joint go out on my 2000 2wd and was talked into an aftermarket with grease zerks as the 2wd versions are factory sealed. I was never able to get a grease gun attachment of any kind on those zerks and had a bad vibration over 60mph. Went as far as putting a whole new driveshaft (aftermarket) on and still did not get rid of the vibration. I got fed up and had OEM drive shaft and u-joints put back on and it was smooth sailing from there on out. Morale of the story is I spent a lot more money and frustration in the end not going with OEM. YMMV

 

[gamefreakgc]

I have not yet needed to replace my u-joints, but the driveline becomes a point of frustration for many people. I think it may be best to stay OEM on this one.

 

[nissanh]

OEM or good used TOYOTA drive shaft. I pulled a used drive shaft from 300+ K miles truck and it was as good as new. If you maintain it right it goes a long way.

 

[Nelsonmd]

OEM or good used TOYOTA drive shaft. I pulled a used drive shaft from 300+ K miles truck and it was as good as new. If you maintain it right it goes a long way.

Used drive shaft? He's replacing the rear u-joint, not the double cardan... buying a whole new DS is a ridiculous solution to needing to replace a normal wear item, especially considering the u-joint in the used DS will be used too with who knows how many miles on it... I mean i'm glad your's has worked out for however long you've had it, but that is not a solution to the OP's problem.

IMO, go with whatever. The OEM is showing up for me as $50, I got a Moog one for about $15 and it has been fine for I think about a year and a half so far. The OEM isn't THAT expensive, so go for it if you want higher quality, but certainly don't buy a used drive shaft.

It is a straightforward install of you have a press, or still straightforward for any shop. you can take the DS off the vehicle yourself and take it in making it cost alot less than if you just take it to a dealership.

 

[cleanrunner]

Currently running Moog u-joints on a 2.7 2wd with no issues for about two years.

 

[JayRolla]

I had moogs fail on my bronco in about 15k miles. My driveshaft failed around 250k miles. Pulled a used 150k mile shaft for $25 and running like a champ.

 

[Nelsonmd]

I had moogs fail on my bronco in about 15k miles. My driveshaft failed around 250k miles. Pulled a used 150k mile shaft for $25 and running like a champ.

Yeah, Moog is by far not my favorite brand, I have bashed their stuff pretty hard in other threads, but I needed to do the fix that day, so my options were limited. I know that I bought the convenience with lifespan.

Really, the swap out isn't that bad, so if it fails prematurely, I'll just replace it with a better OEM one. At least the u-joint doesn't fail catastrophically like LBJ's do.

I will say though that I am well beyond 15k on mine, but I'm not going to go out on a limb to vouch for Moog either. My original u-joint (I assume original) failed around 150k. If my moog fails early, it'll probably be because I don't lube it as frequently as I should.

 

[JayRolla]

Yeah, Moog is by far not my favorite brand, I have bashed their stuff pretty hard in other threads, but I needed to do the fix that day, so my options were limited. I know that I bought the convenience with lifespan.

Really, the swap out isn't that bad, so if it fails prematurely, I'll just replace it with a better OEM one. At least the u-joint doesn't fail catastrophically like LBJ's do.

I will say though that I am well beyond 15k on mine, but I'm not going to go out on a limb to vouch for Moog either. My original u-joint (I assume original) failed around 150k. If my moog fails early, it'll probably be because I don't lube it as frequently as I should.

Yes that is so true, I had a driveshaft come apart on my 400hp Talon back in the day. Not fun, entire undercarriage was dented, floor pan was so messed up. LOL. I did get to do it front of a Lotus Elise (slow) and an SVT SC Cobra Mustang (kind of quick) which made a fun story.

Guy in Mustang stopped and gave me ride home. He was getting paranoid the closer we got. I was kind of confused. Long story short once we arrived he was relieved because I guess he was having an affair with the women across the street years before and thought I was the husband!!! LMAO. Was great.

 

[Nelsonmd]

Yes that is so true, I had a driveshaft come apart on my 400hp Talon back in the day. Not fun, entire undercarriage was dented, floor pan was so messed up. LOL. I did get to do it front of a Lotus Elise (slow) and an SVT SC Cobra Mustang (kind of quick) which made a fun story.

Guy in Mustang stopped and gave me ride home. He was getting paranoid the closer we got. I was kind of confused. Long story short once we arrived he was relieved because I guess he was having an affair with the women across the street years before and thought I was the husband!!! LMAO. Was great.

HA! Nice. I guess that's good evidence that these are never really over, so keep it in your pants unless your wife lets it out gents... Pretty hilariously random though.

I wouldn't think that it would bounce around that much, but I guess that with it bending at the DC, you would get some decent moment on the DC pushing it to whip around.

I think it is very unlikely that you will get a separation failure with a crappy u-joint, I think it will just wear out early. I was surprised to find that my rumbling u-joint was missing a lot of needles from 2 out of the 4 bearings. I didn't think that it was nearly that far gone based on how much it rumbled.

 

[JayRolla]

HA! Nice. I guess that's good evidence that these are never really over, so keep it in your pants unless your wife lets it out gents... Pretty hilariously random though.

I wouldn't think that it would bounce around that much, but I guess that with it bending at the DC, you would get some decent moment on the DC pushing it to whip around.

I think it is very unlikely that you will get a separation failure with a crappy u-joint, I think it will just wear out early. I was surprised to find that my rumbling u-joint was missing a lot of needles from 2 out of the 4 bearings. I didn't think that it was nearly that far gone based on how much it rumbled.

My Talon normally had a 3 piece driveshaft that ran a long distance for how small the car was. I had an aftermarket 2 piece shaft that had gotten bent previously (we wont talk about that) at the DC. I didnt know it and at high speed the shaft was unbalanced and the DC ripped out its mounts. Was not saying it was from bad u joints. Just saying its not fun for a shaft to fail like that. The Lotus said he had to dodge junks of asphalt flying at him.

 

[Scramble]

When something needs to be replaced on my truck I go OEM or better. Yes, you can buy better than OEM for less money on some things (like my drive shaft). I would look at Tom Woods Gold Seal U-joints. They're only $20 & guaranteed for life. Thats less than 1/2 of a OEM u-joint.

Tom Wood's Custom Drive Shafts - Tom Woods Custom Drive Shafts Custom Driveshafts Specialist

 

[nevada]

I will be replacing my rearmost ujoint soon. Any opinions on aftermarket vs OEM?

I don't have a preference but I also don't know enough about the driveshaft. I like saving money. NAPA is 5 minutes away. BUT, I've spent the extra for OEM on other stuff like steering rack, etc.

according to my driveline guy, and various other people around the world, OEM Toyota U-joints are hard to beat.

they are some of the strongest out there, and will operate at a much higher angle.

now, whether the aftermarket joints are built to the same standards, I have no idea.

but I do know, I had over 250k miles before I finally had to replace a bad joint. and im certain had I maintained it better, it would still be good....

 

[Nelsonmd]

When something needs to be replaced on my truck I go OEM or better. Yes, you can buy better than OEM for less money on some things (like my drive shaft). I would look at Tom Woods Gold Seal U-joints. They're only $20 & guaranteed for life. Thats less than 1/2 of a OEM u-joint.

Tom Wood's Custom Drive Shafts - Tom Woods Custom Drive Shafts Custom Driveshafts Specialist

Yeah, I don't know. No aftermarket company can spend as much money developing each gen/model specific component as the OEM can. That could result in specific geometric issues causing less articulation than the OEM. Or, if you really have a good aftermarket company with some actual intellectual property in their product, they might be able to make something better. Unless you are replacing a whole system though, I would just stick with OEM.

I think OEM will tend to have better materials than aftermarket. If Tom's has a good warranty though, that can be useful in and of itself.

 

[Scramble]

Yeah, I don't know. No aftermarket company can spend as much money developing each gen/model specific component as the OEM can. That could result in specific geometric issues causing less articulation than the OEM. Or, if you really have a good aftermarket company with some actual intellectual property in their product, they might be able to make something better. Unless you are replacing a whole system though, I would just stick with OEM.

I think OEM will tend to have better materials than aftermarket. If Tom's has a good warranty though, that can be useful in and of itself.

I agree but Toyota isn't perfect. It doesn't look like they did much research on their LBJ's, or dash clock! LOL Go to Toms website & read the warranty, if the u-joint fails & messes up your drive shaft, they will replace it. Lets see Napa or Toyota do that. They make drive shafts & joints for off road vehicles, they can add articulation. Check out their website.