What u-joints come on the TJ?

Jerry Bransford

Jerry Bransford

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There are actually seven u-joints on our TJs, two on the axle shafts and five on the front / rear driveshafts.

Two front axle shaft u-joints:
The factory u-joint on standard (non Rubicon models) is a Spicer 5-297. A highly recommended upgrade is the Spicer 5-760x u-joint which was specially designed for the Rubicon at Jeep's request.

Driveshaft u-joints:
The stock driveshaft u-joints are Spicer 1310. There are three u-joints up front and two in the rear. A highly recommended upgrade is the Spicer 5-1310x which is sealed, as well as a stronger and more durable directly replacement upgrade for the standard Spicer 1310 size u-joint.

Notes:
The TJ Rubicon uses different driveshaft u-joints and I'll have to recompile my list of those since they vary between 2003-2004 and 2005-2006 Rubicons. All years of the TJ Rubicon came standard with the Spicer 5-760x front axle shaft u-joints.
 
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Chris said:
I thought the front driveshaft used 1310s?
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The TJ uses 1310 driveshaft u-joints but not the Rubicon which uses combination 1330—1310 u-joints.

But thanks for catching my typo where I mentioned the 5-760x at the last which has been corrected to show it is the u-joint for the Rubicon's front axle shafts.
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
The TJ uses 1310 driveshaft u-joints but not the Rubicon which uses combination 1330—1310 u-joints.

But thanks for catching my typo where I mentioned the 5-760x at the last which has been corrected to show it is the u-joint for the Rubicon's front axle shafts.
Click to expand...

Got it. I figured that was a typo!
 
Jerry Bransford said:
There are actually seven u-joints on our TJs, two on the axle shafts and five on the front / rear driveshafts.

Two front axle shaft u-joints:
The factory u-joint on standard (non Rubicon models) is a Spicer 5-297. A highly recommended upgrade is the Spicer 5-760x which is sealed and a stronger, more durable direct replacement. Rubicons came from the factory with the Spicer 5-760x u-joint which was specially designed for the Rubicon at Jeep's request.

Driveshaft u-joints:
The stock driveshaft u-joints are Spicer 1310. There are three u-joints up front and two in the rear. A highly recommended upgrade is the Spicer 5-1310x which is sealed, as well as a stronger, more durable upgrade for the standard 1310 u-joint.

Notes:
The TJ Rubicon uses different driveshaft u-joints and I'll have to recompile my list of those since they vary between 2003-2004 and 2005-2006 Rubicons. All years of the TJ Rubicon use the same Spicer 5-760x front axle shaft u-joints as the standard TJs do.
Click to expand...

There are actually 8 u-joints. ;) The 8th one looks like this-

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...laming-river&gclid=CMyCxK6J8c8CFUxsfgodx9cMEQ
 
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derekmac said:
Jerry, what rear driveshaft u-joints would I need for my 05 Rubi?
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Is it the stock driveshaft or is it an aftermarket double cardan (CV) style driveshaft?

Because if it's the latter, I would probably want to call whoever made the driveshaft and check to see what sort of u-joints they used in it as it can vary from place-to-place.
 
Chris said:
Is it the stock driveshaft or is it an aftermarket double cardan (CV) style driveshaft?

Because if it's the latter, I would probably want to call whoever made the driveshaft and check to see what sort of u-joints they used in it as it can vary from place-to-place.
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It's the stock one. Rockauto seems to be giving me conflicting results.
 
derekmac said:
Jerry, what rear driveshaft u-joints would I need for my 05 Rubi?
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I haven't been able to verify this personally but these numbers seem to be correct for the SWB TJ 2005-2006 Rubicon rear driveshafts.

SWB TJ Rubicon T-Case end: 5-795x
SWB TJ Rubicon Pinion end: 5-793x
LWB LJ Unlimited Rubicon Transfer case end and Pinion end: 5-1310x.

These are all sealed which is the stronger and far more durable choice when compared to greasable.

The above are not correct for 2003-2004 which use different u-joints.
 
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How do you know which shaft number you have? I have an 05 LJ and have not seen (albeit I have not looked for it specifically) a part number on the shaft itself....... TIA
 
When I follow the link to Amazon for the 5-1310x and enter my vehicle make/model it tells me it does not fit (2004 TJ Sport)??? Is this an error on Amazon's part or am I missing something?
 
Flib said:
When I follow the link to Amazon for the 5-1310x and enter my vehicle make/model it tells me it does not fit (2004 TJ Sport)??? Is this an error on Amazon's part or am I missing something?
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That’s an error on Amazon’s part. But it’s most likely due to the fact that they aren’t the stock u-joints, they are instead an “upgrade”
 
Assuming they're still stock, when should I look into replacing the U-Joints on my 2006 Rubicon?
 
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CybrSlydr said:
Assuming they're still stock, when should I look into replacing the U-Joints on my 2006 Rubicon?
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How many miles? How much "use/abuse?" It is cheap insurance to replace them, if they break it can cause serious damage. Typically a vibration begins when the needle bearings inside begin to go bad.
 
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