Hello all, We have a 95' F-150 4x that we have owned for a bout 4 years now. Other than it being a 6 cyl. and ball-less its been a decent truck. Killer is, we live at the end of a two mile dirt road that is steep, rocky in places, red clay mud in places, holes that stay wet/deep for long periods, really muddy in the winter, etc.. We have been working the road (not maintained by the state) as well as our driveway (1/2 mile of the same) each year to make it better but it will never be a nice road. Needless to say, we go through U-joints on the rear driveshaft about every 4-5 months, the front about once a year, and I have done the U joints in the front end once so far at about 2.5 years after we bought the truck. We go through front wheel bearings in 6-8 months on average. A bit more frequent on the passengeres side as on remote country roads it takes more of a beating getting over in the ditch for oncomming vehicles. I have also replaced drag link and TR ends in that time. Given the truck was bought used I cant complain about the TR ends and drag link (150k miles on it now, 116 when we bought it). My question is, what is all of your input on U-Joints, bearings, grease, etc. for such rough conditions? We have been buying Federal Mogul Precision U-Joints (pretty generic) and I keep a complete set for the entire truck in-stock at all times. I can change them out in a flash at this point. Wheel bearings have also been Federal Mogul and running standard Valvoline disc brake grease. Running a general Valvoline grease in the U-Joints. Last two sets of U-Joints I tried not greasing them at all after installation on the suggestion of a guy I spoke with who runs his truck off road (tending gas wells) daily. He said in his experience the more you grease them the faster they go. His logic was that the frequent greasing holds the seal open, then when the drive is hot (going down the pavement at normal speed) and you pull onto a dirt road with wet/muddy holes the quick quenching/cooling allows the joint to more easily suck water in. He said he coudnt say anything more but that was just his experience. My experience (over the last 8-10 mos.) is that the U-joints lasted no longer, and no shorter, than when I had greased them monthly. Given that, I could save the time and money (not much money) of greasing them. Looking at it logically I cant imagine the seals are held open very long after greasing them when you head down the road they warm up/whip the grease out from under the seal etc.. That said, I didnt get any more life out of them greasing them regularly. I am writting this having just finished a new set of wheel bearings (front) replacing a set I put in late fall last year. I clean everything in a parts washer, use a bearing packer on the wheel bearings, change seals every time, etc.. I am looking for input from anyone on ways to stretch this process out. Questions:
Is it worth tracking down/buying a different brand of U-Joint or bearing?
What are all of your recommendations on grease (brand/type) for the wheel bearings and U-Joints?
Any other input would be greatly appreciated. At this point I think the guys who coined the phrase "Built Ford Tough" needs to send a truck down here for a year or two and see that showing a truck bouncing up a pile of fist sized boulders doesnt cut the mustard with regard to daily use in hard conditions in the real world.
Thanks, sorry for the length, Mark