U-Joints

[lostnavigator]

I believe I need new joint on my 2003 nomad. I have read here that there are 2 replacements. One is from a Kawasaki Prarie 400ATV and the other is from the Tucker Rocky ATV catalog. I am not in favor of having to buy a complete shaft just because the joint is bad and the price.
If anyone has ordered one of the replacement joints I listed, I would appreciate the results.

[cnc]

In case you did not realize the sources and part #'s are listed in the tech section of our forum.http://www.vulcanbagger.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=17405

[lostnavigator]

Yes I knew that, I found the part numbers on gadget. The Kawasaki shop here will not put them in, they want to sell the whole shaft . Afraid of being sued if the part fails. Guess I will have to do it myself. Just wanted to check with someone that had done it before I ordered it.
It seems Tucker Rocky ATV sells to all the distributers. Kawasaki oem part#49050-1002 now sells for $102.55

[ringadingh]

Ive replaced a couple so far, I use the Tucker Rocky part, its about $35.00 here, and not too difficult to install. You will notice the shifting is a lot smoother with the new U joint.
Part numbers are listed in our Tech section.

[Jllm02199]

I USED THIS ONE
Ask your dealer to check the Tucker Rocky ATV catalog and specifically part #57-8236. That is the equivalent of the Prairie 400 part (49050-1002) (see photo left) and costs about $30 including four snap rings.

[lostnavigator]

Going to Kaw dealer this morning and see what kind of lies they have on early ujoint failure. I had autos with over 150000 miles with the same joints. We need to let the Kaw company know this is crap.

[recumbentbob]

Originally Posted by lostnavigator

Going to Kaw dealer this morning and see what kind of lies they have on early ujoint failure. I had autos with over 150000 miles with the same joints. We need to let the Kaw company know this is crap.

You think they care......

[lostnavigator]

Well got back and the mechanic has been there 32 years and only seen one u joint go bad and that was on a 1500 classic and the guy was a hot rod driver. They say sounds more like tires. I am going to see if he will take it for a drive. I did notice one thing, checked the air pressure in back tire 29 psi should be 40. Will air it up and try that first.

[ringadingh]

What makes you think that you needed a new U joint?

[MAS Tequila]

Does anyone have the specs, cup size and over all dimensions, of these cardan joints?

I have a hard time believing that we can't take the specs and cross reference them and find a suitable replacement.

There are only a few different varieties, and no one designs their own joint, they use a commercially available one.

I just went through this with 4x4 truck joint and drive shafts, and there really are only 3 main variations (1310, 1330, & 1350) with minor application variations.

Maybe I'll look for a cheap shaft on ebay and do some experimenting.

The Kaw unit looks very similar to the front half of a Ford front shaft from the slip joint back to the transfer case.

MT

[denny 606]

I've got a question. What does a bad u joint feel like when riding the bike? I have a small vibration that I feel when on the bike that doesn't seem to be engine related. I have new properly inflated Michelins with dyna beads in them.

It seems to show up around 25 to 45 mph. I can pull the clutch in and rev the engine and it doesn't change , also it was present with the previous set of tires.
I have been suspicious of the u joint but I haven't taken the time to pull the swing arm and check it. It may be a wheel bearing but none of those seemed rough when I change tires. I know that would have been the time to pull the swing arm and check the u joint but I was in a hurry to get it back on the road as the weather was improving enough to ride some. Also the rear tire was cupped a bit and I though all my vibration would be cured by changing them out.

Had I ever been near the shop the OP took his bike too I may have thought he was talking about me , the 1500 hot rod rider but I've never had a ujoint failure.
The bike has about 80k miles on it as well.

Any thoughts ?

[ringadingh]

I noticed that the shifting gets a bit sticky and it doesn't click into gear effortlessly, The best way is to check is to remove the swingarm and look at the U joint. If it has any loose play in it or is tight or stuck in a position, then replace it.
I thought I had a bad U joint back in the fall, and one day before I got to check it, it let go on me and broke. The bike skidded to a halt and left me stuck on the road requiring a tow to get it home. I had to replace the complete driveshaft as it was badly mangled. Now the bike shifts silky smooth again.

[lostnavigator]

Bought this bike late last year and new tires, brakes and oil change was done by the dealer before I bought (Dunlap tires) it. Yesterday I checked the tire pressure, you would think they would know how to read a pressure gauge. Back tire 28 pounds. Front to low. Aired up the tires and replaced the back shocks (air shocks bad) seems to be much better now. Wind was blowing so hard it was hard to hear anything and the Vance Hines pipes are fairly loud. Was aircraft mechanic and autos so anything out of the ordinary I notice more than the average person. Hearing is getting bad after being married for almost 25 years. She calls it selective hearing

[Bud2rat]

She calls it selective hearing. I have the same issue.

[VulcanE]

Originally Posted by denny 606

I've got a question. What does a bad u joint feel like when riding the bike? I have a small vibration that I feel when on the bike that doesn't seem to be engine related. I have new properly inflated Michelins with dyna beads in them.

It seems to show up around 25 to 45 mph. I can pull the clutch in and rev the engine and it doesn't change , also it was present with the previous set of tires.
I have been suspicious of the u joint but I haven't taken the time to pull the swing arm and check it. It may be a wheel bearing but none of those seemed rough when I change tires. I know that would have been the time to pull the swing arm and check the u joint but I was in a hurry to get it back on the road as the weather was improving enough to ride some. Also the rear tire was cupped a bit and I though all my vibration would be cured by changing them out.

Had I ever been near the shop the OP took his bike too I may have thought he was talking about me , the 1500 hot rod rider but I've never had a ujoint failure.
The bike has about 80k miles on it as well.

Any thoughts ?

Did you regrease your slip joint, and put about 20ml of grease into it before you reconnected it to the final drive?
Occasionally mine will get the vibration your describing, and I found that when the slip joint loses that 20ml of grease (and I have no idea where it goes) then I start getting that vibration.