Info needed: 1967 M38A1 Lubrication?

[rob love]

Les:

He is likely talking about the axle knuckles grenading, which was applicable to the older knuckles with 4 large ball bearings acting as the U-joint. With a bit of wear, and a full turn, a ball could pop out, and the force of the jeep was now pushing against a locked up knuckle. It usually happens at slower speeds since any full turn over about 18 miles an hour results in a Jeep rolling over.

Good news is that there is a 99% chance your Jeep has the more simple standard Cardan type U-joint. That is to say that, inside that knuckle is a normal universal joint much like your drive shaft. It does not have seals on it like a drive shaft U-joint. Instead the knuckle is packed in grease. In all these years, I have never had to replace a U joint on a CDN2 or CDN3 front axle shaft.

So don't bother with the locking hubs. That said, I did see some of the earlier knuckles find their way onto the Cdn2s. That is where the 1% comes in. There was an overlap for several years between the 52 and 53 Jeeps and the CDN2 and CDN3, so if there would be a problem in the front end, the whole axle or axle shaft could get changed with an earlier assembly or component.

On the earlier Jeeps with the early knuckles, the axles can be changed up to the more modern type, but usually guys do not do that until they have experienced the failure.