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Dobie
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-- 01-31-2014 @ 1:58 PM
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Has anyone used John Deere corn picker grease for their U joint? And how did it work?
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supereal
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-- 01-31-2014 @ 3:25 PM
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I use Mystik JT-6. It is a sticky waterproof grease that won't "hollow out" as the u-joint revolves. I became aware of this grease when we were having problems with boat trailer bearings, and use it as a general purpose lube at our shop. The fitting on the u-joint cover can be a problem to reach on some old Fords. If so, there is an extension available.
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supereal
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-- 01-31-2014 @ 3:26 PM
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I use Mystik JT-6. It is a sticky waterproof grease that won't "hollow out" as the u-joint revolves. I became aware of this grease when we were having problems with boat trailer bearings, and use it as a general purpose lube at our shop. The fitting on the u-joint cover can be a problem to reach on some old Fords. If so, there is an extension available.
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Stroker
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-- 01-31-2014 @ 4:28 PM
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I'd concur with Supereal on using a non-tunneling grease rather than John Deere corn head grease
for the U-joint. The corn head grease is designed for slow-turning gearboxes, and as such, works very well in steering boxes, where it's "shear-thinning" properties allow it to lubricate the sliding worm gear/sector interface, while remaining semi-solid in areas that are not subject to significant relative movement. JD grease solves an issue with those who would like to not have their steering boxes drip on the garage floor and the highway and would prefer not to rebuild them with new seals. The product seems to provide adequate lubrication where it is needed in this application. U-joint lubrication is not quite the same challenge, and in fact the early Ford enclosed joint receives quite a bit of lubrication in the form of gear oil from the transmission. Corn head grease, in my humble opinion is a bit of a "crutch" that solves the symptom, but does not cure the problem, which is seal/gasket/and in some cases horn wire tube leakage.
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Old Henry
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-- 01-31-2014 @ 5:57 PM
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I decided to use the corn head grease after seeing this video of how it thins so that it doesn't let the U-joint just carve out a cavern as it would with stiffer grease. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEwk_sYP6A8
So far, so good.
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David J
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-- 01-31-2014 @ 7:20 PM
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In my 33-34 cars I just use SAE 140 in steering box , tranny , u-joint & rear end . Factory spec for 34 is 4oz and that is well below the level of the center hole in the inner bell . As pointed out already your tranny is going to slobber into the cavity anyway . To address your question cornhead grease has a dedicated-noisy following on another site . I do use it in my old JD tractors but not in my old fords . Your call of course .
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JM
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-- 01-31-2014 @ 9:05 PM
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I did a complete rebuild, including changing ring & pinion gears to 3.78, on the rear of my '35 Fordor sedan last spring. When reinstalling the rear, I filled the U joint housing with JD Corn Head Grease. Since then I have driven this car 10,000+ miles with no U joint problems. I also filled the steering box with JDCHG at the same time. This grease is working well in both locations with no apparent leakage.
I'm planning to use this same grease in the same locations on a '35 coupe as it goes back together.
John
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40 Coupe
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-- 02-02-2014 @ 8:14 AM
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I use 0-0 grease. it is so thin, it comes in a squeeze bottle and will recombine and not "hollow" out. Install 4 1/2 Oz through the speedometer gear hole on the torque tube using a small thin tube to get it in the u-joint area. Then use a couple of squirts with a grease gun on the u-joint cover Zerk fitting, with regular chassis grease. Ford did recommend 140W gear lube for the truck u-joint but insisted to continue to use soda soap grease on the car u-joint. I do not recommend JD cornhead for the u-joint but JD does have a video you can view of their corn head grease in action and you can decide.
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supereal
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-- 02-02-2014 @ 1:30 PM
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As my friend Stroker says above, there is plenty of gear oil from the rear of the transmission to keep the grease emulsified. Soda soap grease is long obsolete, but was also specified as a wheel bearing grease. If you fill the u-joint housing with gear oil, be prepared to oil the floor of your garage. The reason there was a difference between car and truck specs is that the trucks mostly had open drive lines and u-joints. Light duty trucks were classified as "commercial cars", rather than "trucks".
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David J
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-- 02-02-2014 @ 4:45 PM
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If you go the gear oil route remember factory spec is 4 oz [ 1934 ] service bulletins . The 4 oz level is well below the hole in the clams so if it is leaking all over the floor your bell and tranny mount gaskets are not doing the job . If you overfill it you will indeed have it leak all over the floor as the felt - cork or whatever you use is only a wiper . Pretty sure it is in a late 1932 service bulletin where the formula for " cylinder oil - soda soap grease " is listed . Pretty much oil and you will see the key part is the use of tallow as a thickener and that is the big difference between this and wheel bearing grease . Tallow melts at the touch and the stuff for wheel bearings is 350* . I would assume by the dedication of the cornhead grease followers it must work well also . Cornhead grease is actually " 0 " viscosity and the post above points out " 00 " viscosity as working good also . I use all of these types in my tractors and equipment but not in my Fords .
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JM
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-- 02-02-2014 @ 8:00 PM
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I'll let my '35 Ford Fordor Sedan continue to be a documented test for determining how well John Deere Corn Head Grease works at keeping a stock/original universal joint lubricated and in good working condition. This universal had 54k miles on it when I rebuilt the rear. It now has 64k miles or 10k miles with JDCHG as its lubrication. I'm planning to drive this car to two EFV-8 C/A National meets and on several tours this year, so this should put at least another 5k miles on this UJ. If any of you plan to be at these meets, look me up, and we can discuss UJ life vs.the proper or best lubricants to be used with them  .
John
This message was edited by JM on 2-2-14 @ 8:10 PM
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supereal
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-- 02-03-2014 @ 7:06 AM
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Genuine Ford u-joints are nearly indestructable. The repros, not so much. If there had been tight oil seals on the transmission output shaft, the story would probably be different. At one time, replacing the u-joints with the Lincoln needle bearing joints was popular, but probably not necessary. Failure is rare unless they are run dry, or abused.
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Dobie
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-- 02-07-2014 @ 1:51 PM
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I used a tube of the mystic grease, drove to Calif. and back there was none left. 6000 miles The u joint was wet as was the surround. The only evidence of grease was by the zert. The u joint showed some wear.
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David J
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-- 02-07-2014 @ 3:14 PM
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What year are you dealing with ? I only mess with 33-34 but some stuff is basic . Is your rear end overfull ? Is your tranny overfull ? There is a seal behind the front driveshaft bearing and if it is bad your lube will head down the torque tube . Can you tell if it was leaking out the bottom of the bell ? Speedo turtle ? If it is just coming out the center pivot hole it cannot empty itself that way . Kinda hasta be the driveshaft seal , turtle gasket or the bell gaskets .
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