VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1912-1928 drive shaft lubrication. 27

how does the drive shaft on the 27 get lubricated

a few senerio's

A. does the front bearing get its lube oil from the u-joint oil or does it flow forward through the rear bearing from the differential

B. are sealed bearings a good upgrade or does it prevent the oil flow to the bearings from the differential or u-joint


C. should the u-joint be lubricated with grease or differential type oil. 600W

D. if you lube the u-joint with grease, use sealed bearings on both the front and rear drive shaft ....is this a good way to prevent oil leaks from the u-joint ball seal and the telescoping o-ring driveshaft / u-joint coupling

thanks. ron

There must be a way for the transmission (600 W)fluid to leak back into the U-Joint cavity as that is it's only source of lubrication except for that which is physically added to the U-Joint.

600 W is the recommended fluid for the U-Joint.

Using a sealed one side bearing on the input shaft for the transmission is considered a wise move.

thank you

i have a 3 speed trans and the u-joint cavity has its own lubrication Alimite fitting.

What I was wondering was rear of the u-joint, the forward torque tube bushing /bearing !
If I use a single sided sealed bearing with the seal towards the U/joint will it get lubrication from the differential oil or is that either too far away or could it be up hill and no fluid would get that far on a frequent enough basis ?

thanks. ron

Gravity prevents lube from flowing from rear end to U-joint (unless on a very steep down hill). Seal between U-joint and rear end keeps lube from draining away. Or you can periodically drain the excess and put it back in the transmission like several folks do.

is there a seal at the transmission end of the torque tube, have never taken one apart

the oil you put in the u-joint chamber can flow to the top end of the torque tube and lubricate the telescoping u-joint spline correct?


in parts books i've seen front end torque tube bushing and bearing, is their a seal at that end also?

thanks for your time and tech info

ron

Ron,
That is correct. There is a seal and bronze surfaced bushing with a set pin on top which holds the busing from turning. The outer sleeve of the torque tube also has a cork seal to the torque tube. All is lubricated with the 600W U-joint lube.
Best,
Paul

Hi All,

Below is a link to a posting from my blog in 2012.

http://my28chev.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/steering-box-and-uni-joint-lubrication.html

I have been using Penrite Steering Box Lube (grease) since about 2010.

Its a nice sticky grease that is not spun out of the uni joint.

For me it works well.

Regards

Ray

Hi Ron
Attached is a scan that I made from one of the Chevy service manuals showing a general cutaway view of the universal ball joint area which includes the propeller shaft front bushing and seal. After the initial fill of fluid to the universal joint, the oil from the transmission migrates to it to keep it lubricated. The excess flows back in to the trans. The seal behind the front propeller shaft bushing keeps the transmission oil from migrating into the differential and overfilling it. The original seal set up was a cork o ring with steel back up washers. The cork seal dries out and cracks from age letting oil migrate to the differential. We sell replacement rubber lipped steel seal for this area.
Regards Bob@marxparts