u-joint quick question - Sierra 18-6406

[RickyGee]

If anyone has one of the new Sierra u-joints available, can you answer 2 questions? First, does it have a zerk? Second, if you remove the cap with the needles, what does the journal mic out to, 0.701" or 0.717" and is it hollow or solid. Ok, I guess that's 3 questions... never could count...:joyous:

BTW - iBoats price on the Sierra joint is very competitive.

 

[K-2]

Re: u-joint quick question - Sierra 18-6406

I see TVC100010G for $39.95 , with zerk.
RovahFarm for all your new Land Rover Parts and Accessories ,,, scroll way down
they are in USA.
Sorry, I guess I didn't answer your question

 

[RickyGee]

Re: u-joint quick question - Sierra 18-6406

S'okay. I saw that earlier and think they are the only one's in the US listing that part, at least on the internet. Reason I'm asking the question is that the OEM VP and Merc trunnions are unique, massive, 2015 forgings that are undrilled, making them about the strongest you could get for the 0.701 journal size. Drilling a journal for grease passages necessarily weakens it a bit, so I thought that going to the 0.717 journal (TVC100010G or RTC4587G) with drilled passages would be about equivalent in strength. But an undrilled 0.717 (ungreasable or Permalube to use the marketing term...) would be even better. I have the GKN internal number, but like the GKN internal number for the VP, Merc and old style Sierra, they don't exist outside the OEMs where the number is translated. Must be a contract thing, so they can charge $170 for a $20 ujoint. Or it could just be a "small production, high cost" thing...

I was hoping that Sierra cracked the code and their unit was the 0.717 undrilled journal. Gad, I'm long winded. Sorry...

 

[Bondo]

Re: u-joint quick question - Sierra 18-6406

S'okay. I saw that earlier and think they are the only one's in the US listing that part, at least on the internet. Reason I'm asking the question is that the OEM VP and Merc trunnions are unique, massive, 2015 forgings that are undrilled, making them about the strongest you could get for the 0.701 journal size. Drilling a journal for grease passages necessarily weakens it a bit, so I thought that going to the 0.717 journal (TVC100010G or RTC4587G) with drilled passages would be about equivalent in strength. But an undrilled 0.717 (ungreasable or Permalube to use the marketing term...) would be even better. I have the GKN internal number, but like the GKN internal number for the VP, Merc and old style Sierra, they don't exist outside the OEMs where the number is translated. Must be a contract thing, so they can charge $170 for a $20 ujoint. Or it could just be a "small production, high cost" thing...

I was hoping that Sierra cracked the code and their unit was the 0.717 undrilled journal. Gad, I'm long winded. Sorry...

Ayuh,.... Generally speakin',... The U-joints ain't a Weak spot,...

There wear out, but I've never seen a boat Break one,...

 

[bruceb58]

Re: u-joint quick question - Sierra 18-6406

Ayuh,.... Generally speakin',... The U-joints ain't a Weak spot,...

There wear out, but I've never seen a boat Break one,...

I agree. Never understood the reason for not having a greasable version. Same thoughts apply to sealed gimbal bearings.

 

[K-2]

Re: u-joint quick question - Sierra 18-6406

I liked that pic Ricky posted that shows the larger journal diameter and the cap with more needles in the needle bearing.
My thoughts were - more bearing surface = a better longer lasting spider. I'm not the least bit worried about breaking the cross but I liked the looks of that bigger bearing.
Shift a diesel from forward to reverse @ 2000 RPM and it's not the U joints that break , it's way more expensive than that

 

[RickyGee]

Re: u-joint quick question - Sierra 18-6406

Shift a diesel from forward to reverse @ 2000 RPM and it's not the U joints that break , it's way more expensive than that[/QUOTE]

Yowww. My MMCs won't let me do that....so I just ram the dock instead...tends to scatter the crowd. I'm pretty sure that's what those really big fenders are for :lol:

 

[RickyGee]

Re: u-joint quick question - Sierra 18-6406

Guess I’m just being overly cautious. Grew up on a lake in the 60’s when the first sterndrives appeared. Cool newfangled things until the first failures began to happen, mostly because the new owners were not doing the annual maintenance of pulling the drives. Never had to do that before… I heard about broken ujoints…the boat sank. Bellows leaked, and the boat sank. Split the crowd into pro-sterndrive people and anti-sterndrive people.

Here’s a Merc 75832A2. Notice the small journal size (typical std duty automotive)



And here’s a more recent Merc 865493A01. Look familiar? Same 2015 forging as used on the VP spider, though I think this guy cut the trunnion off.


Houseboats typically only get hauled out every 8-10 years, so there's no chance that my ujoints will get greased again after install, but I really like the idea of greasing them AT install. I'm retarded (er....retired) so I have plenty of time to get this right, at least before I get the boat's butt out of the water. Then I will turn into a pumpkin at midnight. Hence all the advance planning.

 

[RickyGee]

Re: u-joint quick question - Sierra 18-6406

Back to my original question: can anyone put a micrometer or calipers on the journal of one of the "new" Sierra 18-6406 spiders and tell us what the size is? One that looks like this: taking from the Sierra website.

 

[K-2]

Re: u-joint quick question - Sierra 18-6406

Shift a diesel from forward to reverse @ 2000 RPM and it's not the U joints that break , it's way more expensive than that

Yowww. My MMCs won't let me do that....so I just ram the dock instead...tends to scatter the crowd. I'm pretty sure that's what those really big fenders are for :lol:[/QUOTE]
That was before I put the MMC's on, Mathers cables and someone lost their balance and fell against the controls out on deck.
When I installed the MMC's I built an aluminum guard goes around the controls.
I understand your U joint concerns if you get hauled that infrequently . Good Luck!

 

[RickyGee]

Re: u-joint quick question - Sierra 18-6406

Ayuh,.... Generally speakin',... The U-joints ain't a Weak spot,...

There wear out, but I've never seen a boat Break one,...

Guess I won't worry about getting one that's drilled then. After all, any grease is better than no grease, right? I think I read that somewhere... Thanks for sharing your experience. I really appreciate it.