strongest u-joint?
 

What is the best drag racing u-joint to buy? - Thanks Ryan

Brute Force 1350 is all you'll ever need.

Who makes it?

I think Brute Force is the actual company name. I use Spicer 1350 U-joints and haven't broken one yet.

Don't know. That was the brand name on the box. Do you know how to use google?:rolleyes:

Any forged u-joint 1350 series would do the job. Brute force are plenty strong and are readily available. The zerk fitting if in the body of the u-joint is a failure point. Some u-joints have the zerk fitting on the end of the cup, in this case the zerk fitting would not reduce strength.

Tim C

AutoZone now stocks them, 14.99 each.

I use Neapco, zerkless.

Im running a solid saginaw u joint and I believe I was told it was good for 700 hp depending on vehicle weight of course. But the 1350 will be the top of the line.

I thought that the designations such as 3R and 1350 are the style and dimensions...not so much the material....can someone help me understand?

67 LeMans, you are correct, 1350 is the size, or also referred to the series. I guess I am getting a little sloppy in my posts.

Tim C

I wasn't trying to be nit-picky, was just confused....

Had the Brute Force 1350 U-joints in the Discomobile on a 3.5" x .083" mild steel shaft. No failures with upwards of 800-HP pushing 3850 lbs. These joints do no have the zerk fitting and are solid.

I've been using spicer joints for years with no complaints!:)

What about Lakewood u-joints ?
I thought about them .......
Unfortunatly I can't run 1350 joints..I'm stuck with 1310 series due to my funky two piece drive shaft...I could change front & rear joint over to 1350 but not the center...so why bother ??:confused:
I have only roached onejoint so far in 4 seasons..
Car weighs 4,000+ pounds with 550-600 HP.
I am going to try Precision 324 Super Strenght grease less joints.
I've had good luck after going with Precision joints with zerk fittings so I figure solid joints should hold...
Don't really have a Spicer dealer near....

60MAN
You got some torque to launch that thing with a 1.50 60' . A lot of weight to get going on 1310 joints. I'm impressed. Always liked your launch picture.

Thanks for your compliment man...the weight factor is why i'm upgrading the joints again..increasing torque again this season..:D
Until I replaced the joints when I first got the car I was under the impression they were 1350 joints....boy was I surprised ! I replaced them with Precision #235 joints. I had bought some Precision greasable (end cap)Super Strenght joints but never got around to putting them in. Well I broke front joint about 25 races ago. I put a Super Strenght joint in. Now I am going with the solid Precision SS joint....no grease fitting...anywhere.
$26.95 at NAPA...I'll put them to the test...;)

Hmmmmmmmmmm.. Baker uses Brute Force. When I checked Advance Auto for a good joint I came up with a listing for a Neapco u-joint. It listed three different qualities. Top of the line "Lifetime Warranty" line was Brute Force ! Is Neapco the same as the Brute Force that Baker used..:noidea: ;)

I'm going to order one for a spare and compare it..
Adavance price is only $15.00.......that makes me suspicious.
That's $11.00 cheaper than Precision SS & $32.00 cheaper than Lakewood.

What say you Darin ???

We use and recomend the Brute Force joints, 1350 series for serious work.

FWIW, one of our customers used the joints from Advance Auto, cause he worked there, and busted one. The joint exploded, driveshaft comes out, pushes up on the transmission tailhousing, snaps the TH350 off at the bellhousing, driveshaft goes out from under the car, cuts the sidewall of a brand new MT slick! Pretty costly end result to save $15 one U-joints!.....Cliff

So what you are saying Cliff is that the Avance Auto joint is NOT the true Brute Force ?? Where do you get The Brute Force joints ??:)
Did your customer use the Brute Force joint ? Was it the greasable one ? Just asking because they offer different quality of joints..
I just mentioned price just because....not after CHEAP joints. But I know a lot of guys running the Precision SS joints (both kinds) without problems...
Belive me...I wish I could upgrade to 1350's....

Sorry i am a little confused too. Advance has a Neapco brute force without zerks for 14.94. is this the one i am looking for? Thanks - ryan

I didn't look at the packages, or install the joints, so I can't say for certain that they were Brute Force joints, or some imported "knock-off". They did fail miserably, causing considerable destruction and expense. This also occurred back around 2001, not sure if Advance even sold "Brute Force" joints at that time?.....Cliff

Pep Boys carries them...
 

As with most other things with this hobby, insist on and use the best parts, especially for driveshafts and diff's. Pontiac engines in particular use/rely on massive amounts of torque to effectively run with/outrun most other makes. This can be incredibly hard on drivetrain parts, to date I've broken EVERYTHING behind my 455 engine, including blowing two 8.5 stock carriers to bits on two consecutive passes. It looked like someone took the cover off and threw a hand grenade inside, blowing the spider gears into a million peices and leaving a fist sized hole in the carrier on the last failure!......Cliff

Just for kicks I went to Advance Auto and got a Brute Force joint.
It's the 1310 series. I'll post some pics later of both the Precision joints and the Brute Force..
Has anyone got pics of a Lakewood.Mark Williams,etc...
Must admit this has become interesting to me...
I will say that I found out the Precision SS greasable joint is still cross drilled
where as the non greasable is only "partially" drilled..
Later
This is the box the BF joint came in...

Troy, I think that is the Neapco joint I use. The guy that did my drive shaft told me it would hold up to anything I could throw at it. So far, so good.

Thanks Darin.
Ok I'll post the pics of joints.
The one with the RED seals is the Brute Force.
Then I have one of the Greasable(235) & the Non-greasable(234)
joints side by side. The 235 is cross drilled for lube the 234 is not.
In comparing to the BF joint the Bf joint had more metal in the machined area of bearing jounal. But the 234 joint had a thicker wall at the end of journal..trade off !!??
I would still like to see a "solid" Spicer,Mark Williams,etc. to compare.
I think I'm going to try the Brute Force along with the 234 Precision joints.
I included a pic of my destroyed front joint just to show "where" it failed..
This joint was "regular" Precision joint...

ry57pont: If you are street driving I believe the Precision Geasable SS or Non-greasable SS joint will do as well as the Brute Force joint

Amen..I hear ya Cliff. This old 9.3" rear is pretty tough...spider gears the weak link.
I went to a spool and cured that but then managed to break both axles in one launch ...Moser cured that. I have only lost one u-joint though even with them not being 1350's...I also think pinion angle has a lot to do with stress on the joints. I also use Moroso u-joint girdles..
And I agree TORQUE is where it is at.....:drive:

Spicer 1350 is what you need. Get it and .................... forget ir.

Sounds like it. I recall the Brute Force joints that were installed on my driveshaft weren't that expensive.

Agree...if possible to do it. Hell if I could I would just upgrade the whole driveshaft....and forget it !! That is the way to go. Meanwhile there are those of us that need the strongest 1310/1330 series joint...simple is not always possible ;)
In my case a two piece driveshaft....