To stop impurities from getting into the joints while they are being greased, clean the zerk fittings. Pump grease into the spider joint using the grease gun coupler attached to the zerk fitting until the fresh grease leaks out of all four bearings. The joint may be dry and loud pops may be heard when lubricating it if it hasn’t been lubricated in a while. Grab a roll of shop towels and wipe away the extra or old grease once the new grease has been suitably poured into the joint.
cleaning advice
- To floss between the bearings, roll up a sheet of shop paper.
- To keep your workspace tidy, keep a box nearby to use as a portable garbage.
In This Article...
Step 2. Lubricate Slip Yoke
To stop impurities from getting into the joints while they are being greased, clean the zerk fittings. Attach the slip yoke zerk fitting, pump, and grease gun coupler. For the AFT slip yoke, I pump four times full, and for the FWD slip yoke, I pump twice full. If the slip yoke is too jam-packed with oil, the propeller shaft may not stretch or contract properly because it slides in and out of the shaft.
Tips:
- Use a pick to depress the zerk-fitting nipple if the slip yoke is too jam-packed with grease. Pressure should be released by grease flowing out. Alternately, remove the slide yoke zerk fitting using an expanded 7mm socket. For the AFT shaft to articulate, repeatedly climb onto the back of the 4Runner. Replace the zerk fitting after removing any grease.
Step 3. Position 4Runner To Ensure Access to AFT Shaft Zerk Fittings & Chock Wheels
Check the AFT propeller shaft slide yoke and spider joint locations when the car is parked. Make that the three zerk fittings on the AFT propeller shaft can accept the grease gun coupler. As an extra measure of safety, chock the wheels.
Place a jack and a piece of 44 beneath the tow hitch and jack up the rear end when working on the AFT propeller shaft. Place a jack beneath the front jack point and jack up the front end when working on the FWD propeller shaft.
Use your best judgment to observe and put into practice all safety precautions. This is optional and is not intended to elevate the vehicle off the ground. Instead, it is meant to allow more workspace when underneath the vehicle.
Step 4. AFT Propeller Shaft
The AFT propeller shaft can be easily lubricated. Follow the steps in Steps 1 and 2 to connect the grease gun coupler to the spider joints and slide yoke zerk fittings.
AFT Propeller Shaft Hints: It will be easier to access from the passenger side.
Step 5. FWD Propeller Shaft
Due to the slide yoke and spider joint being located between the exhaust pipe and transfer case, the FWD propeller shaft is by far the most challenging of the two to replace. To make it simpler to place the zerk fittings, the FWD propeller shaft can be turned by hand.
The slide yoke and spider joint are located on the driver’s side, close to the heat shield, and are the easiest to access (mounted to the cab). When the shaft is in place, attach the grease gun coupler to the slide yoke zerk fittings and spider joints as directed in Steps 1 and 2.
Tips for the FWD Propeller Shaft: There is a shield between the shaft and the exhaust pipe that can be removed (12 mm) for easier access but is not required.
Final Thoughts
It should take around 30 to 45 minutes to complete, most of which will be spent scraping oil from the four spider joints. It will give you peace of mind for many miles to come to take the time and perform this maintenance at the suggested Toyota period.
On a prop shaft, what kind of grease do you apply?
Sometimes it’s easiest to ignore the simplest maintenance measures. That is the situation for some boaters when it comes to lubricating the prop shaft and any necessary engine fittings.
Quicksilver provides two useful tools to make those tasks even easier. The first is a high-end marine grease called Quicksilver 2-4-C. This premium lithium-based grease, which is available in an 8-ounce squeeze tube or a 14-ounce grease gun cartridge, keeps its consistency without degrading even when it mixes with water, making it the perfect grease for maritime applications. The best part is that due to its adaptability, 2-4-C Marine Oil is the only grease you need to lubricate a wide range of parts, such as:
- linkages and cables for the steering system
- Control cables, shift links, and throttles
- the use of remotes
- a prop shaft
- rotary pins
- Splined drive shafts
- Tilt-lock systems
- Hook pins
- Bearings for boat trailer wheels
- Almost all other parts have a grease fitting.
This handy chart, which offers a summary of lubrication spots and the proper intervals for applying 2-4-C Marine Grease to outboard, sterndrive, and inboard propulsion systems, is the other useful resource. You can print it out and take it with you wherever you keep your boat for convenient access.
Some engine parts can be manually lubricated with a latex glove. You’ll need a grease gun with the proper fitting to match what’s on your engine for a lot of the other jobs. To confirm where and how to lubricate each service point, consult your owner’s manual.
By lubricating the prop shaft, you can avoid hub kit sticking. There are only a few easy actions and tools needed. To remove and tighten the prop nut, you will need 1) a ratchet wrench with an appropriate-sized deep-well socket (about 1 1/16 inch) or a Quicksilver Floating Prop Wrench, and 2) either a Quicksilver Floating Prop Piece or a block of wood to stop the prop from spinning. When taking out and putting back in the prop and hub kit, be careful to adhere to the instructions provided in the owner’s manual for your engine.
Check for fishing line and make sure the visible seals are unharmed before lubricating the prop shaft. If necessary, replace any damaged seals. The threads and splines on the prop shaft should also be cleaned. Next, check them for damage as well. Contact an approved maritime service center for assistance if the prop shaft is damaged.
Apply 2-4-C Marine Grease to all of the threads and splines on the prop shaft if everything is in working order. Reinstall the prop and hub kit after that. It’s that easy.
View this handy instructional video from Wired2Fish to see the procedure in action. It describes each step in depth and illustrates how much grease is necessary to complete the task successfully.
What sort of lubricant is applied to a drive shaft?
Before we ship any Tom Wood, the drive shaft is completely lubricated. So all you have to do at first is install it. To ensure a long life, you will eventually need to lubricate your drive shaft. Grease your shaft after each oil change as a good starting point. Grease your shaft as soon as you arrive home if you go wheeling and drive through a lot of mud or water. By doing this, the contaminants will be removed before they can cause too much damage. Any grease will work, although we advise using a high-quality grade 2 grease with calcium sulfonate as an addition. Just be sure not to miss the cv center ball!
How often should I lubricate my drive shaft?
Premature failure may be caused by contamination and corrosion brought on by chemicals, operating circumstances, a lack of sufficient preventative maintenance, incorrect handling and storage techniques, and so on. Your universal driveshafts may last longer if you adhere to the preventive maintenance guidelines and storage and handling techniques mentioned in this article.
Many assets are ignored in today’s fast-paced production environment because proper preventative maintenance processes aren’t in place. Due to businesses failing to address the criticality of their assets, these assets are frequently ignored and in a run-to-failure phase. Due of their accessibility and position, universal jackshafts are frequently disregarded. Extreme guarding, a lack of qualified personnel, and a lack of PM time are the main causes of early failure. A jackshaft’s life will be cut short if the PMs are insufficient. The frequency of re-lubrication and the procedure for maintaining the ideal lubrication schedule for universal jackshafts will be thoroughly covered in the next few paragraphs. Finally, suitable storage and handling techniques will be covered. We will also go through the dos and don’ts for proper relubrication.
Make sure you have the proper grease for the jackshaft before starting to re-lubricate your universal jackshaft. You can start the re-lubrication process by making sure you have identified and are using the right lubricant for this application from among the various acceptable greases available on the market.
Make sure you follow the relevant lock-out/tag-out safety measures before removing any guarding and carrying out any work before beginning the re-lubrication sequence. Remove the guarding after the lock-out/tag-out procedures have been completed. Be careful because the guarding could be hefty and need further assistance. Additionally, check the guarding to make sure its security hasn’t been jeopardized in any way. Please report any problems with the guarding on the work order so that it can be fixed as soon as feasible.
Particularly in contaminated situations, U-joint and slip spline lubrication can significantly affect the performance and lifespan of universal jackshafts. A high-quality lithium-based EP NLGI 2 grease with good water tolerance and rust and corrosion protection is needed for universal jackshafts. Thoroughly clean the grease fitting and surrounding area before re-greasing the u-joints to make sure all pollutants are gone. You may have one to four zerk fittings, depending on the type of universal joint cross section used in your application (See Item 1). Make that all four of the universal joint’s seals have been purged before beginning the re-greasing procedure. To make sure the new grease can run through all four internal grease channels and properly purge all four cap seals, it might be required to lightly pound the end cap with a ball peen hammer during this procedure. Make a note and replace the bearing or shaft on the following available outage if one or more of the four caps throughout this process do not purge with fresh grease. Now that you are aware that a bearing or bearings are not receiving lubrication, failure is looming.
Item 1: A cross-sectional illustration of a universal joint’s interior grease channels. Thanks to Dana Spicer
Premature jackshaft failure is also significantly impacted by improper handling and storage techniques. It is recommended to store all jackshafts horizontally (See Item 2). Shafts can be housed on pallets or in inexpensive wooden cradles in the storage area. As part of an in-storage maintenance program, every six months, all shafts should be re-lubricated. Any shaft that is being retrieved from storage and put into use should be relubricated before doing so. Shafts should be delivered to the job site with caution.
All shafts need to be kept dry and protected from the elements. The connecting faces of the Flange should be coated with an anti-corrosion compound if the Driveshaft will be kept in storage for an extended period of time.
For driveshafts used in industrial plants, the suggested lubrication period is around every 500 hours of regular operation. Shorter lubrication intervals may be required by unfavorable factors including temperature, grime, and water. You may easily prolong the life of driveshafts and prevent early failures caused by poor and infrequent lubrication by adhering to suitable re-lubrication, storage, and handling methods. If the warning symptoms of a poor universal joint are ignored, the drive shaft may fail, causing equipment damage and increasing the cost of repairs.
Which grease works best for U joints?
Run-drying or degreasing a U-joint is the most frequent reason for it to fail. To avoid joint failure, you should include lubricating U-joints in your routine maintenance regimen. It is important to maintain a thin coating of grease around the needle bearings while lubricating universal joints. As a result, there is less metal-to-metal contact, grinding, and wear. If you ride in a good environment, it is advised to grease U-Joints every time you replace the oil. The steps listed below should be followed to properly grease U-joints in your car:
Step 1: Access Rear Axle:
Allow your automobile to rest on the jack stands after lifting it with a floor jack. Locate the back axle by sliding beneath the vehicle with a creeper or a piece of wood or cardboard.
Step 2: Find Out the Grease Fitting Point:
Find the location where the driveshaft connects to the back axle underneath your car. The U-Joint is situated in this area. The center of the U-Joint is where the grease fitting point is. If you can’t see the grease fitting point, slowly turn the drive shaft by hand in the direction of the grease fitting until you do.
Step 3: Grease U-Joint:
Start filling the filler house with grease using a grease gun and the appropriate size grease gun coupler. Fill the grease as necessary until clean grease starts to emerge from the filing location. Always use certified moly oil for U-joints, such as Spicer U-Joint grease or Grease-U-Joint. The best certified universal joint greases available on the market are those, which execute the job flawlessly.
Step 4: Grease the Front Driveshaft U-Joints (if equipped):
The front driveshaft U-Joints must also be greased if you are operating one of those four-wheel-drive vehicles to complete the task. Where the driveshaft and transmission meet is where the front driveshaft U-Joints are located. Repeat the same lubrication procedure you used on the rear U-joints. After you’re done, use a clean rug to remove any extra grease that may have leaked throughout the greasing process.
Q. How Often Do You Grease U-Joints?
Greasing U-Joints is advised during routine maintenance. When driving in a hard climate or after every 40,00050,000 miles if the automobile is operating in a regular environment, several other vehicles advise lubrication. Additionally, it’s a good idea to lubricate the U-joints and the steering whenever you get in deep mud or water or whenever you perform maintenance on your car.
Q. What Kind of Grease Do You Use on U-Joints?
MOLY grease is the best kind of grease to use on U-Joints. This grease has been approved for this use. Another excellent option is the lithium-based EP NLGI 2 Grease. Additionally water-resistant, this grease shields the joints from rust and corrosion.
Q. What Happens If You Do Not Grease U-Joints?
When you use degreased U-Joints in your car, the internal metal components begin to grind against one another. When the surface is then exposed to the outside environment’s dirt and dust, U-joints will eventually collapse. Your U-projected Joint’s life can be extended by lubricating them.
Q. Can You Drive With Bad U-Joints?
You can drive your car with defective U-joints, but the driving experience won’t be enjoyable. During the voyage, there will be a terrible vibration that starts in the middle and moves to the back of the car. When releasing the brake or depressing the accelerator, a clunking sound will also be heard. Therefore, it is preferable to identify the issue and have the U-Joints replaced if necessary.
Q. What Are The Signs of a Bad Universal Joint?
When something is amiss with the universal joint, there are two main indicators that alert you to the problem. When traveling ahead or going backward, you will first hear a high-pitched metallic clunking noise. The vehicle vibrating, particularly when going at a fast speed, is another indication.