oem u joint size

Yes, OEM U-Joints will fit. Those U-Joints you have now are undersized Spicers with a sleeve that adapts them to the OEM opening. As an alternative, Powertrain Industries has a listing for a Pantera U-Joint. They are slightly longer than OEM U-Joints, so they supply them with slightly thinner snap rings. If I recall, the OEM application for these U-Joints is a '70's Toyota 2wd pickup driveshaft.

A little background story for the bushes you found installed on your U joints.

back in the day 0EM u joints were prohibitively expensive in comparison to what everyone was used to spending on u joints. I believe it was Hall Pantera who came up with the work around that provided the thin bushes which allowed the use of cheaper u joints.

OEM sized u joints are now readily available from the vendors for more reasonable prices, and this is a good thing as the bushes can prove to be problematic

BTW, Spicer has a line of U joints that do not have zerk  fittings and do not require maintenance. The cap seals are not flexible rubber, which can  deform and allow grease  to exit, but are hard plastic designed to retain the grease. I had a local Spicer counterman turn me on to these many years ago, he says they have a very long service life even when used in severe duty here in the California central valley for driving water pumps used for irrigation, usually sheltered from direct sunlight but subject to months-long heat exposure in small steel sheds.

considering the minimal miles most owners put on their cars, these U joints are a lifelong part that ends the annual greasing and subsequent flinging of grease  throughout the engine bay. 👍👍😁

Larry

Before investing in new u-joints take some measurements of your existing half shafts, the Hall bushing workaround (we call it a bodge in the UK) have a habit of spinning in the half shaft and wearing it oversize.

FWIW, the u-joints specified for Spicer halfshafts cross-reference to Ford F-500 heavy duty trucks. These are one size larger than what contemporary sporty cars use. The OEM u-joints are a second size larger, but they seemed to be hardened thus more brittle back in the '70s.

Also, you'll get a noticeable vibration (mostly during acceleration) if even ONE of the sixteen bolts used to hold the halfshafts together are not fully torqued. Such vibration may have nothing to do with the u-joints. Its cured by torquing ALL the halfshaft bolts.

Many thanks for your replies 👍👍

With the dimensions from Powertrain Industries (32.0 mm x 106.3 mm) i found U-joints listed as IVECO Part.-No. 4576888, available in the EU.

Unfortunately, after dismantling and cleaning i noticed the splined end in one half shaft is worn. I didn`t feel the excessive backlash with the shaft in the car, but this should explain the drivetrain swinging/rocking while going at constant, moderate speeds.