CV Joint on Front Driveshaft

[Sharecropper]

I'm in the process of installing the lift kit on my M1028, so I thought I would inspect the U joints on my drive shafts for anything unusual. The front shaft has the standard grease-able U joint closest to the axle, and this appears to be in fine condition and has been lubricated regularly. However, the CV joint closest to the transfer case appears to have never been lubricated. My truck sat on a NG base in Arizona for 25 years and has only 12,338 miles, so I believe the CV joint still has the original factory grease in it and nothing else. Probably because it requires a special needle grease gun fitting to reach into the grease receptacle (see photo).

Question - is there a better CV joint available, one which may be stronger and easier to lubricate? What are the rock crawlers using? As always, comments are appreciated.

 

[Westech]

When they go bad I just have a new shaft made WITH out the CV joint and just one U joint. We used to do that with all the S-10 trucks too.

 

[DokWatson]

If you are lifting your truck you probably need a longer shaft anyways. I got a brand new custom length drive shaft built for 275$ and made the mistake of re-using the old double cardan. Get it rebuilt while its in the shop.

If there isn't any play in that CV joint its ok for now, but it will wear itself out running dry. Thats what happened to mine, I got the old CV put on the new shaft because we thought it was good and now it rattles terribly in 4wd. Gotta take it back for a new CV on my already built shaft.

You can get a non-CV drive shaft made, it uses one u-joint just like the front of the shaft. Supposed to help with angles and easier to work on. I didn't go this route because you might have to tune pinion angle etc, I don't have the patience for it.

 

[Yeti]

Tom woods makes custom cv shafts, that's what the crawlers are using. I cant imagine yours being worn out though.

Napa has the needle greaser btw

 

[Cucvnut]

i kept my CV and i just cut and made my stock shaft longer.