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Bolting the spiffy set of locking hubs onto our 30 year old factory shafts made about as much sense as standing up in a canoe. A set of Yukon 4340 chrome moly shafts and Superjoints got assembled and stuffed in before the hubs were put on.
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Although still in working order, the old shafts had seen better days. We got in the habit of painting a line across the U-joint caps when we install them. This way, we can tell if they are spinning in the shaft ears like these ones are. Also notice the rust ring around edge of the cap indicating movement.
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Yukon supplies a grease gun with high pressure grease to keep the joints in working order for years to come.
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The added strength over factory units comes from the use of 4340 material and a lack of needle bearings. This allows a larger, stronger, nears Dana 60 sized trunion to be used. If you do a lot of street miles, make sure you have hubs to keep these from spinning on the street and wearing out prematurely.
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Taking a closer look at the shafts, factory units (top) normally shear off where the shaft necks down by the splines.
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You can physically see how much added material there is in the Yukon shaft ears. The Superjoint caps use full circle clips, most aftermarket shafts are machined to do so, but if not, you can file the ears to fit the clips.
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The relief cuts in the side of the joints are not for decoration, they are needed to get the massive unit in the ears of the yolk.
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The caps have a stepped edge this allows them to easily slip into the shaft ears straight. Nice touch.
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After the caps and clips are in, the grease fittings are installed and the grease reservoirs in the joint are filled up. It may take a few times to purge the air out of the joints and replace it with grease. Don’t forget to use a paint pen to mark your caps.
By Bryan Irons
Ed note: Prior to installing Yukon's Hardcore locking hubs (see "Hardcore Hubs - Digging Deep into Yukon's Modern Hubs), a set of Yukon 4340 Chrome-Moly shafts and Superjoints got assembled and stuffed in before the hubs were put on.