Actually the BT40 boot with the 3/8" clamp is the setup that doesn't fail. The OE boot with the OE band is the one that does. It doesn't have anything to do with the clamp it's obvious why they fail they're to short, to light and they can't handle the shaft angle. The pic is on a brand new car OE everything and that boot didn't last 2 hours. One on the trans side failed in 3 hours.
One on the trans side failed in 3 hours.
Wow. I stand corrected.
Done Deal. That Tripod pod specific grease is very loose and light counter intuitive to what you'd think should be in there. Hope it works
A follow up on a few things after 2 days at the track;
- No issues with the driveshafts other than more grease coming out of the boot which leads me to believe that using 100g of Red N Tacky is just too much. Next time around, I'll try out the GKN grease to see if that's any better.
- Radical does not fit any kind of clamp on the small end of the boot as shown in Brian's picture above. My Radical dealer uses zip ties but I also purchased some Oetiker stepless 35mm clamps which worked.
- On the gearbox, there is a filter on the lower left side that should be replaced which the manual doesn't mention. There's a snap ring that holds it and the part is a K&N cartridge filter (KN 116).
- If you're going to pull the gears out you're going to need the Hewland reaction bar and socket to remove the locking nut.
- Regarding the oil change, I didn't think I got it all out just removing the line to the sump per the manual. There are two additional 15mm drain plugs on the lower right hand side that need to be removed as well so I think that's where my extra oil was.
Again, this is for an SR10 so not relevant to you guys who have the SR3's.
The first time around I thought the same thing. I had grease splatter but didn't see anything wrong with the boot. So I tried less grease and put a wire tie on the axle side and no luck same problem and now another one started leaking. On close inspection I found that if I stretched the boot out a little small breaks at the radius of the boot on the hub side where visible but they weren't visible without stretching it a little.
well i've googled around all over the place for what appears to be a unicorn object in the UK.
'tripod grease gun' 'tripod grease tool' tripod greaser tool'.
literally only one picture comes up from all of google images, and it's the one yo'uve linked from pegasus auto racing.
so, without such a gun......what is the 'standard' practice for repacking these driveshafts?
i was simply going to clean the tripod joint as much as possible using parts cleaner/degreaser, then cake it in the new grease with a brush, applying whilst rolling each bearing, and then with any excess left, apply it all around coating the inside of the boot, 70g in total as per the XX manual.
basically just following this video, except i was not going to bother to remove the actual tripod joint from the shaft as the manual doesn't say you need to, so i was simply just going to take the cup off, clean that up, and wipe away all the old grease from the tripod joint whilst it was still on the shaft, before applying the new grease.
will this be sufficient for our cars?
Yes, you have the right idea in your description above. That is a good video, however for race cars I would only use GKN tripod grease. It is expensive grease, but according to GKN and a knowledgeable race team manager I know, GKN will prolong the life of tripod bearings.
The greasing tool is indeed a unicorn. My race team manager Kevin Kloepfer invented it, and at one time various sizes were distributed by some parts store online (not Pegasus), but now only available from Kevin. That is where I got mine.
so, without such a gun......what is the 'standard' practice for repacking these driveshafts?
The brush method looks reasonable. I have seen Radical techs put on rubber gloves and massage the new grease into the needle bearings in one direction until it comes out of the other side.
@rojid @davidf The massage technique mentioned above is to put a dollop of clean grease into the palm of your hand, and then continually push that dollop through the needle rollers until the grease on the other side changes from black to whatever color the new grease is. It does take a bit of time and is very messy.
I weigh my new grease on a small scale to make sure I put enough in. Also, there used to be a recommendation (for SR8s) to use 105g, but I think the latest guidance is much less than that, about 80g or so. I need to look that up again. It's almost time for axle maintenance again.
And, finally, I don't use the GKN grease. I use Redline CV-2 which is supposedly superior. Who knows?
And, finally, I don't use the GKN grease. I use Redline CV-2 which is supposedly superior. Who knows?
According to this discussion, CV joint grease is too thick for tripod bearings, and I agree.
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/redline-cv-grease-for-tripod-joints.339404/
I have seen techs also use Lucas red and tacky, and I have seen those tripods fail prematurely.
GKN sells CV joint grease and they say
Not for use in Tripod joints. We offer a different GKN Tripod Joint Grease (Part No. 1476-051), which is specifically for use in needle-bearing tripod joints.
GKN says this about their tripod grease:
This grease is designed specifically for use in tripod joints. Use of the wrong grease can lead to premature failure.
The needle bearings in tripod joints can overheat easily because the rollers slide along the length of the needles in addition to spinning around them. The very tight tolerances in tripod joints also do not tolerate solid additives, which can jam and cause the bearings to seize. This special grease from GKN has high scuffing resistance, but without the solid additives typically found in CV grease.
Some photos. First photo shows the old grease in the tripod joints compared to the new grease. Old grease has turned from brown to grayish-brown.
Tripod greaser in action. The grease has been pushed from the outside to the inside.
In the steel tripod cup or female body (not sure what that is called), there is a plunger and spring which sits in a hole in the cup and keeps spring tension on the axle end. You don't want this to come out of its hole when you assemble the cup to the axle and rubber boot. I use a small dab of assembly grease in the hole which keeps it in place, even when turned upside down.
The last suggestion is to use the 7mm wide Oetiker clamp. I think it is the 167 89mm, but check on this site because the exact part number for SR3 is listed. Might be different for SR8/10. IDK. I have the small clamps, but I don't replace these unless the boot is damaged.
