Patent ID: 7022021

Claim:
A roller assembly for a universal joint having a plurality of roller assemblies that are rotatably mounted on respective roller supports of a spider that is attached to a drive shaft and that run in respective longitudinal grooves or tracks of a housing, the roller assembly comprising: a roller and a needle roller bearing for rotatably mounting the roller on the roller support, the needle roller bearing including a plurality of needle rollers and a cage, the cage having spaced end rings that are connected by a plurality of cross bars to form a plurality of roller pockets that receive the needle rollers and retain the needle rollers with respect to the roller in the longitudinal or axial direction, and the cage having an outer diameter flange on one end ring that cooperates with one end of the roller and a separate snap ring carried by the other end ring that cooperates with an opposite end of the roller, and including an annular recess formed in said other end ring in which the snap ring is installed.