I put both on my driveshaft,as I just replaced my clutch.They are NAPA 260-0266, made in Japan. Must we include them(Japanese) with the Chinese "junk" parts? I'm going to get a driveshaft from the junkyard and see if the loud vibration disappears. Then I will know for sure it's defective NAPA U-Joints.I want to try a different brand. These are going on a 1979 stock 225 2wd D-100 pickup.Parts America.com has GMB, which I've never heard of. Know of any reasonably priced,over-the-counter, (American made) U-Joints? Also, thanks to Doctor Dodge for diagnosing this problem!!

YOU MAY HAVE A BENT DRIVESHAFT WITH good ujoints.

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

Most of the parts coming out of Japan are very well made.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Ive used only TRW U-joints for 40 years now. Never had a bad one yet.

NAPA is the Walmart of car parts. I dont hardly ever go there. Id reather pay a few more pennies now, than sit on the road later.

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Eric, please keep in mind that baseless and overly simplistic statements like this work exactly the same way as foolhardy suggestions to carve holes in brake drums instead of converting to disc brakes: no matter how many times you repeat it, it remains false.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I have always had good luck with Napa.

That's because you live in Reality, not in Zipperland (which, come to think of it, sounds a lot like Pepperland...I wonder if any Blue Meanies live there! )

Seriously, NAPA have been sliding towards mediocrity along with the rest of the aftermarket parts industry, but to a large degree if you are careful to specify and accept only their professional-grade parts and not their "consumer" or "value" grade junk, NAPA's among the better parts sources. Of course, there's also the factor of the competence of the staff of any given parts store.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I do typically opt for the mid or high-grade parts. Then again, I alwyads had good luck with the $20 blue Napa gas charged shocks. Bottom of the heap, but performed good (for me anyway).

Dan,

Your full of it. Just becuse you dont know aobut it, doent make it bad.

Racers ported drums before you were born, and still do today. The same with disc rotors.

Ive run ported drums for longer than you have be alive, and Ive NEVER had one fail yet. Guess you just have to know what you are doing.

So shut your trap about things you have no idea about.

and NAPA sells the lowest grade stuff around, always has, always will.

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I do know about it, and so do a good many others, including some very talented professional engineers. And what we know disagrees with what you think you know. So you're welcome to carry on believing in fairy tales, but when you make dangerous suggestions to people who might not know enough about cars to discern that you're speaking from somewhere other than your mouth, I will speak up and point it out.
Post it another thirty or forty dozen times...maybe it'll come true.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Geez you guys, chill out...

Most major chain parts stores like Car Quest, Napa, Bumper to Bumper (I'm not including the "grocery store style parts chains like Useless Zone or Advance,O'Reillys, etc) sell at least 2 grades of parts. One is usually decently made, usually in North America, and costs a bit more. Their "sub-line" is usually cheap imported crap that is priced directly to compete with the grocery store style parts chains. AVOID THE CHEAP LINE LIKE THE PLAGUE! I can't speak for the whole country, but around here, even when comparing the good line vs. good line, Napa is far and away higher than Car Quest and Bumper to Bumper, and the guys that work for Napa behind the counter aren't any better than the grocery store style chains. My 1st call??? CAR QUEST!
On your U joints, Ive had good luck with Dana/Spicer, Neapco, Precision (an extension of Moog). STAY AWAY from GMB! they are cheap garbage.
They have larger diameter needles which makes for less contact area to the trunnion, so they don't hold up to the torque load as well as the others.
That is, unless you like pulling the driveshaft every 4-6 months to swap out your U joints. Here's where its worth spending a few bucks more up front; it actually comes out cheaper in the long run in reduced downtime, etc. If they ask, make sure you get greasable ones, AND GREASE THEM every time you grease your front end. Some companies make them with the zerk in the cap so you dont need the needle adapter for your grease gun to access the fittings. I havent had any problems getting grease to all 4 caps on the U-joint as some may claim.

"Avoid the cheap line like the plague"

Ya got that right! I'm still working part-time at O'Reilly's Auto Parts; it's close to the house, and I get a nice discount.
Yes, there are two lines of just about everything, go for the name brand, not the "house" brand.

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"Ja, Ich fahre ein altes auto."
'78 Volare 225
'67 Charger 318

I don't need to carve holes in my brake drums; rust does the work for me (haha). Also, I would say that just about any brand of u-joint would work OK for quite a while after initial installation as long as it is installed correctly (i.e. with an arbor press or hydraulic press not pounded in with a sledge hammer like a cave man), but inferior quality bearings might very well make themselves known by lack of durability. I saw this with Chinese wheel bearings (not Timken brand). The author of this post seems to be having initial problems, not durability problems.

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1964 Dart 225 1966 Valiant 225
1966 Dart 273 1966 Barracuda 273
1969 Dart 225
'64-170 engine '66-170 engine
(two) 198 crank/rod sets in custom-fitted wooden boxes

wooden motor scooter with hybrid-electric drive

Another installation procedure that a fine driveline shop showed me long ago is to be sure the yokes (front and rear) are at 90 degrees to each other. In other words, fiddle around when putting in your driveshaft to be sure that the front slide on yoke has its "fingers" 90 degrees offset from the "fingers" on the pinion yoke. You may have to rotate a tire or the tranny output shaft to avoid these yokes being in the same plane. And without pulling my FSM, I believe I remember this being in the truck FSM.

Anecdotally, nearly 45 years ago in the first U-joint swap I did (in an old Chevy) I dropped and lost a needle bearing. I said to myself, that couldn't make a lot of difference and put the cap on and the bearing in. Now THAT was a driveline vibration when I took off!

rock
'64d100