Universal Joint Description

WARNING: This page does not describe the selected car, but rather 58 other vehicles, including the 2003 Saturn Vue, 2003 Saturn L300, 2003 Saturn Ion 3, 2003 Saturn Ion 2, and 2003 Saturn Ion 1. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.

The universal joint is connected to the driveshaft. The universal consist of 4 caps with needle bearings and grease seals mounted on the trunnions of a cross or spider. These bearings and caps are greased at the factory and no periodic maintenance is required. There are 2 universal joints used in a one piece driveshaft and 3 used in 2 piece driveshaft. The bearings and caps are pressed into the yokes and held in place with snap rings, except for 2 bearings on some models witch are strapped onto the pinion flange of the differential. Universal joints are designed to handle the effects of various loads and rear axle windup conditions during acceleration and braking. The universal joint operates efficiently and safely within the designed angle variations. When the design angles are exceeded, the operational life of the joint decreases.