Does my 200 land cruiser drive shaft have grease zerks?

[bloc]

Anyone have videos of this for us dummies? Pretty sure mine have never been done (mall cruiser, 168k). Past time to get it done.

No video, but the relevant pictures.

How I grease my front driveshaft

I've seen a few threads asking for advice on getting the front driveline lubed, and even a couple asking whether there are even zerks up there. Had to do my drivelines recently and figured I'd take some pictures of what I do. First off.. the equipment. No fancy grease gun or nozzle here. Just a...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[vcheng]

So I tried to do this for the first time on my 200. What a pain! This part of the maintenance will likely be overlooked by most dealers. To make it more fun, Toyota pointed all three fittings on each driveshaft in different directions, not to mention the frenzied warnings created with the transmission in N to rotate them.

And as if these"features" were not enough, the hot exhaust is right there. And the edge of the heat shield on the muffler can act as a guillotine. Fun! NOT.

 

[2001LC]

. To make it more fun, Toyota pointed all three fittings on each driveshaft in different directions,

Either you're mistaken, or someone has worked on your propeller shaft and assembled out of faze.

 

[vcheng]

Either you're mistaken, or someone has worked on your propeller shaft and assembled out of faze.

Neither. The service manual shows the different angles for the zerks, spread over about 60 degrees or so.

 

[KLF]

So I tried to do this for the first time on my 200. What a pain! This part of the maintenance will likely be overlooked by most dealers. To make it more fun, Toyota pointed all three fittings on each driveshaft in different directions, not to mention the frenzied warnings created with the transmission in N to rotate them.

And as if these"features" were not enough, the hot exhaust is right there. And the edge of the heat shield on the muffler can act as a guillotine. Fun! NOT.

It's MUCH easier if the truck is up on a lift so you can spin the wheels and driveshafts. And you can get rid of the warning beeps if you leave the key fob inside the truck.

 

[vcheng]

It's MUCH easier if the truck is up on a lift so you can spin the wheels and driveshafts. And you can get rid of the warning beeps if you leave the key fob inside the truck.

Not as much as "easier", as less of a pain.

 

[2001LC]

Neither. The service manual shows the different angles for the zerks, spread over about 60 degrees or so.

You're right. I hadn't noticed that before. The FSM illustration of the shaft show in line. But the rear view does not. I thought that meant the spider zerk is offset.

I don't have one here today to look at. But I did find these pictures of orientation.
I use slide yoke to orient the shaft to begin lubing. When doing so the opening of spider seems in line with the slide yoke zerk.

Here it looks like zerk is off set.

Could it be that the zerk is offset/angled in the spider. That it's the same spider used in all end of propeller shafts. So that when orienting the spider, zerk is to inside (toward other spider). That this point the zerks hole off center about 30 degrees

I'll pay closer attention next one I service. See if I can get better pictures also.

 

[FrazzledHunter]

I got a needle fitting for my grease gun and it made it extremely easy to hit the U joint zerks. Of course I had to creep the truck to get the zerks pointed downward but that didn't take long.

BTW, I greased the U joints and shafts at 7335 miles. Why? I was just curious to see how hard it would be and I was just a bit suspicious that they might not be well lubed based on the stuff I read on these forums. So I did it.

I gave 2 pumps to the shafts & did not notice any movement but I stopped there. Then I went on to the U joints. The U joints were EXTREMELY dry in my opinion. They all took 2+ pumps to show any grease coming out which I found shocking. With my previous LC, a 2001 100 series, I never gave it much thought as I assumed everything was well greased from the factory and waited for the dealer to perform the lube as part of the scheduled factory service. I'll never know if it was dry from the factory or, based on my later experience, if the dealer ever lubed them at all. I never checked.

After warranty I had a well regarded garage do the lubes every few years. The one time I pulled off the skids & checked on them I found that they did not do the front shaft or U joints. With the front skids off, I got under the truck on their lot with their service manager and showed him the dry zerks covered with road mud/dirt. These zerks simply couldn't have been touched, even with a needle fitting. I made a huge stink about it right in their crowded waiting room. They instantly put it on the lift while I watched them lube my truck. After that I started doing my own lubes.

I assumed top rated EXPENSIVE garages did what they said what they would do on my 2000 100 series and that they would not be lazy.
I assumed the U joints would be well lubed from the factory on my 2018 200 series.
Don't be like me.

Needle fitting - I unscrewed the regular fitting entirely and replaced it with the needle - it makes the whole thing shorter and easier to handle:

 

[vcheng]

I got a needle fitting for my grease gun and it made it extremely easy to hit the U joint zerks. Of course I had to creep the truck to get the zerks pointed downward but that didn't take long.

BTW, I greased the U joints and shafts at 7335 miles. Why? I was just curious to see how hard it would be and I was just a bit suspicious that they might not be well lubed based on the stuff I read on these forums. So I did it.

I gave 2 pumps to the shafts & did not notice any movement but I stopped there. Then I went on to the U joints. The U joints were EXTREMELY dry in my opinion. They all took 2+ pumps to show any grease coming out which I found shocking. With my previous LC, a 2001 100 series, I never gave it much thought as I assumed everything was well greased from the factory and waited for the dealer to perform the lube as part of the scheduled factory service. I'll never know if it was dry from the factory or, based on my later experience, if the dealer ever lubed them at all. I never checked.

After warranty I had a well regarded garage do the lubes every few years. The one time I pulled off the skids & checked on them I found that they did not do the front shaft or U joints. With the front skids off, I got under the truck on their lot with their service manager and showed him the dry zerks covered with road mud/dirt. These zerks simply couldn't have been touched, even with a needle fitting. I made a huge stink about it right in their crowded waiting room. They instantly put it on the lift while I watched them lube my truck. After that I started doing my own lubes.

I assumed top rated EXPENSIVE garages did what they said what they would do on my 2000 100 series and that they would not be lazy.
I assumed the U joints would be well lubed from the factory on my 2018 200 series.
Don't be like me.

Needle fitting - I unscrewed the regular fitting entirely and replaced it with the needle - it makes the whole thing shorter and easier to handle:

View attachment 2422964

I am like you in that nothing is as good as knowing it is done properly, which, sadly these days means doing it yourself., increasingly. The needle adapter is on order from Amazon for the next time.

 

[2001LC]

It's MUCH easier if the truck is up on a lift so you can spin the wheels and driveshafts. And you can get rid of the warning beeps if you leave the key fob inside the truck.

Easier to line up. But having the wheels dangling while on lift, is not recommended. This extends the slide yoke, when wheels dangling. Then we tend to over grease side yoke, if following FSM recommendation (until extension begins). Once placed back on the ground the grease compresses, pressing outward very hard on transfer case and differentials.

Toyota changed the recommendation to; only pump in grease until slide yoke begins to extend, from until passes seal. Presumably due to the hydro pressure created. A vehicle in neutral stand, with weight on all four wheels is best practice.. It was a very good shop foreman, gave me that tip. He'd only allow his guys to lubes the yokes on ramp type lifts. Some just cheat and use the five and go rule of thumb Most shop just don't lube these PITA points.

Been a year since I've done a 200 series lube. But last time I found I could orient each yoke once, and hit all three.

Repost from post #27:
After lubing a few 200 series, I found I could get the difficult fronts propeller shaft lube points at one time. That is to say, without turning the propeller shaft repeatedly.
See Scored 2011 LC W/79K OMG CLEAN (2012 missing link) starting on post #20.

 

[KLF]

Easier to line up. But having the wheels dangling while on lift, is not recommended. This extends the slide yoke, when wheels dangling. Then we tend to over grease side yoke, if following FSM recommendation (until extension begins). Once placed back on the ground the grease compresses, pressing outward very hard on transfer case and differentials.

This is why my practice is to lube everything while up on the lift (QuickJack), then I actually remove the zerks from the slip joints before putting it back down on it's feet. Bounce it a few times, then I crawl back under, wipe off what came out, and put the zerks back in. I do this with every oil change, also do a 5-tire rotation and spray lube the spare hoist mechanism.

Good points though.

 

[foolforthecity]

For those with bud built skids. What is the easiest way to get to grease the front drive shaft. I put the skids on myself but obviously want to save as much time as possible dropping skids!

 

[foolforthecity]

I was able to get 5 of the 6 zerks without dropping skids. The ujoint on the rear of the front drive shaft near the cross member is going to be tough. Will tackle that one another day and report back. I personally cannot stomach dropping skids evey 5k so I will likely move to a 10k interval for that particular zerk. Would love to hear any shortcuts from others with BB skids.

 

[KLF]

For those with bud built skids. What is the easiest way to get to grease the front drive shaft. I put the skids on myself but obviously want to save as much time as possible dropping skids!

I only have the front and engine skids, and the cat guards. None of them interfere with greasing the u-joints.

 

[foolforthecity]

Yes I have the Xfer case skid and that is the issue. I will just have to suck it up and drop it.