hippy 60
Well-Known Member
I am looking for a Polished jute breather for a ball & trunnion universal joint ,Can you buy them, And will it hurt to run it without one.I took 3 apart and neither one had it in them.Any help would be great.....Thanks
I will call and see if he has it and THANKSYour money, effort, and time are much better spent doing the cross and roller conversion. If you're bound and determined to keep the ball and trunnion setup, you might call Andy Bernbaum about that breather.
Called him and they said didn't have anything like that will it hurt to run it without it???I will call and see if he has it and THANKS
Here is a pic of itI opened the boot to re-grease on a larger ball & trunnion from a B-body (64 Belvedere) and didn't notice any jute for "breathing". I also have several A-body rebuild kits (not for sale) and they don't have any jute type thing.
The ball & trunion is a fine design and rugged, just hard to source parts. You can find them occasionally if you search. I posted all PN's several times. Re changing to the slider design which Dan linked, some Jeeps (67-81 std shift) used the B&T and many do that mod. There is an ebay listing for a Jeep drive-axle for $150 in any length, but don't know if it applies to that mod. Someone might inquire and let us know. Also, if junkyard picking, 64-70 Dodge A100 trucks and A108 Vans used the same B&T PN and they probably have a longer driveshaft (usually easy to shorten).
I took 3 apart and none of them had it but the boot was busted on all of them ,Maybe they fall out when that happens......Thanks for posting the FSM drawing. I'll look for that tiny "breather" in the rebuild kits. Apparently, its purpose is to allow air to flow out as the driveshaft moves forward (rear sinks down), so the rubber bellows doesn't bulge (and reverse when the rear lifts). CV joints are similar, but I never noticed a breather in them. Instead the rubber bellows just clamps tightly to the shaft on each end.
Makes one wonder if the breather is necessary or even desirable. Seems like if you install the driveshaft and get it at nominal length, then clamp down the bellows, there wouldn't be a permanent bulge and the bellows could accommodate slight changes from rear-end bouncing. Wouldn't apply to those who drive long periods off-nominal height, like mafia guys carrying bodies in the trunk, but they prefer large vehicles.
BTW, if one needs to replace just a torn rubber bellows, without removing the driveshaft, people say a split bellows repair kit for an old VW Beetle driveshaft works.