Any Lazar/Smith Traction bar users?

[HEMI®Dart]

Left side T-Bar is loose. The Heim joint at the rear axle is seized. Can't rotate. I used liberal amounts of Anti-Seize™ both inside the bar and covered the threads. There is some pre-load on the bar and I can't release it.



This is a hot mess

 

[JR]

Universals don't use grease. As long as the seals are good, no grease gets out and no junk gets in. Everything stays slippery and clean until the seal rots and the grease gets contaminated. Or the bearings wear, which will wallow out the seal and cause a leak as well. If you add a couple shots of grease to a serviceable joint every so often, the old grease has to go somewhere. And that's going to be through the seal, which will weaken the already softer seal further. And that's okay, but now you'll have to grease them on a schedule to keep the contaminants out. I guess it's all about what makes you feel better in the end. I prefer the durability of the non-greasable joints, but I know that having something with a zerk on it is comforting to others. But then there's the whole solid vs. hollow discussion...



I guess my underlying point is that Hemi's u-joint had already failed, either at the seals first or bearing wear leading to the seal failure. Adding grease wouldn't have fixed the problem, just prolonged the failure and made a mess on the underside of the truck.

Not looking to start an argument, as thats not what this thread is even pertaining too. And I agree that it is questionable as to what caused the failure of the joint to begin with. But Im not exactly sold on the sealed u joint theory. In a perfect world, sealed joints and bearings would be the way to go. Your absolutely right, universals dont "use" grease, they lose it. As time goes on, seals will contract/ expand from temperature changes, dry rot, etc. And when this happens, grease is replaced with water, dirt, mud, road grime, and salt to name a few. I would much rather have the choice of bieng able to push a little grease in every so often to keep contaminants out. And I dont mean pump it til you see it oozing past the seals, a little common sense is required . I realize the factory joints are sealed, and they seem to hold up well for the most part. But that doesnt mean its the best option. Dodge also put sealed wheelbearings and balljoints on our trucks, boy what I would give to have a zerk on them As far as the reliability thing, Ive been under medium duty trucks and have seen grease fittings on their universals from the factory, and under normal conditions and maint they can last for hundreds of thousands of miles. A sealed u joint would probably last someone a long time if they kept their truck on the pavement all the time. But me, Im on dirt roads, oil leases, fields, and back in the woods alot to help my dad haul firewood up to his house. Sealed u joints have never worked well for me. Just my opinion, based on my experiences

And Im certainly no rocket scientist :-laf

 

[PC12Driver]

Your absolutely right, universals dont "use" grease, they lose it.

If the seals are good, they don't lose it either. The first sign that a u-joint is about to fail is the ring of grease that gets slung on the bottom of the vehicle. If there's no grease on the outside, then all the grease is still on the inside. No extra grease needed. Everything stays slippery and happy. Once the seal goes bad however, then heat expansion will push some grease out, and then when the joint cools it will suck whatever has built up around the seal back into the joint. So with a non-zerk joint, when you start to see grease on the bottom of the truck, it's time to replace it.



I do see where a greaseable version has its place though. I think every joint on every piece of equipment on our farm has a zerk. But, like in your truck's case, they spend a lot of time in abrasive environments and the seals probably wouldn't last. Plus they sit for months, giving the grease time to settle out. A couple shots of grease during the season to push out the old stuff and clean out the seals is needed.



Each type has its place. But a good quality sealed unit should last many years on the average truck. It's not uncommon to have a solid Spicer last 200k (mine were still fine after 175k worth of daily driving, off roading, frequent towing, road salt, and 450hp). That pic above had premature failure for sure, whether it was a poor install, a defect, or being overworked (heat). At only 2 years of age, whatever caused that joint to go bad wasn't a function of greaseable vs. non-greaseable though. I'd suspect a greaseable joint would have failed as well had it been used in a truck set up with traction bars with as much preload as Lazarsmith suggests.

 

[HEMI®Dart]

I opted for the lubed for life because they are said to be the strongest no grease channel.

 

[PC12Driver]

Get the bars freed up?

 

[bighammer]

Lifting the truck a little takes some of the strain off of the suspension. When you preload the bars, you are actually pressing the rear axle back slightly... such that when your truck is loaded heavy, the bars actually go into compression somewhat.

If you snug the bars up with the truck on the ground, the bars should be slightly loose when you jack the rear bumper up. Thus, jacking up the truck first, and then preloading lets you get a little better preload.

--Eric

Way back when I put them on my '94, we tightened them up. The ends of bars were below axle axis, so this was pulling the axle forward. All I know is that it eliminated the shudder and shake when caught in deep sand or snow.

I don't think traction bars have a place being on a street driven daily driver. Install some well designed springs and shocks. Leave the solid mounted traction bars on the strip where they belong

Huh? What are you basing this on? Is there any downside or issue with having them on a daily driver. Maybe there's something I'm not aware of.