Spicer Driveline Installation Service Manual - Manual (Page 4)

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General Information
Introduction
This brochure is intended for:
• Installers who install Spicer driveshafts into an application where the transmission and axle are not in direct line with
each other, causing the driveshaft universal joints to operate at an angle.
• Anyone experiencing vibration problems with their application or their vehicle that driveshaft assembly balancing will not
correct.
• Truck Equipment Distributors who:
• Re-work a chassis to change the wheel base.
• Install a midship mounted power take-off or fire pump.
• Mount any other PTO-driven device such as a blower, hydraulic pump, or hydraulic motor.
Universal joint failures, as a rule, are of a progressive nature, which, when they occur, generally accelerate rapidly resulting in a
mass of melted trunnions and bearings.
Some recognizable signs of universal joint deterioration are:
1. Vibrations - Driver should report to maintenance.
2. Universal joint looseness - End play across bearings.
3. Universal joint discoloration due to excessive heat build-up.
4. Inability to purge all four trunnion seals when re-lubing universal joint.
Items 2) thru 4) should be checked at re-lube cycle and, if detected, reported to the maintenance supervisor for investigation.
Experience with universal joint failures has shown that a significant majority are related to lubricating film breakdown. This may
be caused by a lack of lubricant, inadequate lube quality for the application, inadequate initial lubrication, or failure to lubricate
properly and often enough.
Failures which are not the result of lubrication film breakdown are associated with the installation, angles and speeds, and manu-
facturing discrepancies.
Driveshaft failures through torque, fatigue, and bending are associated with overload, excessively high universal joint angles, and
drive shaft lengths excessive for operating speeds.