Forgot to clean my zerk fittings...what now?

[shtbrwn86]

1988 4Runner V6 5-speed

I've searched on this topic but could only find posts saying "ALWAYS CLEAN YOUR ZERKS!" But nothing really about "I forgot to clean them and this happened, or "This is what I did to remedy it."

I don't know why...just spaced cleaning the zerks on the cardan joint and front u-joint and pumped new grease in them. They weren't caked in mud or anything since I never go off-road. They did have old grease on them though.

I've only read on here and YotaTech to make sure to clean them or else you can get contaminants in the bearings. So what now? Can I just pump a ton of grease in to try and purge any contaminated grease out? What are the chances that my u-joints are going to fail on me now? I don't drive this thing much. Probably 4-5k a year max. Do I just roll with it and replace the u-joints when they fail?

I haven't driven it yet...

 

[Mudder]

Don't worry about it and just run 'em. Little bit of crap in then won't cut the life super drastically.

 

[shtbrwn86]

Don't worry about it and just run 'em. Little bit of crap in then won't cut the life super drastically.

That's what I was thinking...I mean they probably hadn't been greased in over 10 years anyway. Thanks for the input.

 

[FishTacos]

That's what I was thinking...I mean they probably hadn't been greased in over 10 years anyway. Thanks for the input.

It can't hurt to put some grease through them. Zerks are replaceable in most cases, too. If one doesn't take grease, just swap it out for a new one.

 

[PAToyota]

Basically, any dirt will act as a scouring pad and wear things out faster - pretty much the opposite of the reason why you put the grease in there in the first place. From what you describe, will you notice any difference? Probably not.