grease fittings on 97 lx450

[landcruisers4ever]

does any one have a map of all the grease fittings on a 97 lx450

thanks for any help,
Garett

 

[gray]

You've only got six zerks; one for each driveshaft yolk (2), and one each for the U-joints (4). Use Lithium base grease for those; something like Mobil 1 synthetic (no Moly). Then you have one screw plug on each knuckle (2), use Moly fortified grease for those. Many use Valvoline's Synpower grease which has 1% Moly. I have also used Valvoline's Palladium grease (non-synthetic) available from NAPA which has 3% Moly. The FSM does not specify the % Moly to be used however. You could read up in the FAQ section on basic maintenence; lots of threads on that. Be careful to not overgrease the driveshaft yolks; most agree just enough to see the yolk start to move but no more, and do it with the wheels on the ground (so that the shafts are not extended). You can clean up any old crud from driveshaft yolk (I use PB Blaster) then smear a tad of fresh grease on the bare metal when you are done. Do not be shy however when greasing the U-joints; you should pump grease through them until you see fresh grease coming out via the seals. If you want you can then reach up and pull out the grease overflow with your finger if you don't want it slung all over your undercarriage.

 

[dano82]

hmm i did not know that ...and how often should we be greasing our 80's

 

[Romer]

That reminds me about doing the zircs on the U joints.

I bought the sideways sliding zirc fitting for the grease gun and between that and the regular straight shot I can get 3 of the 4 U joints. The rear shaft front U joint is always a problem and last time I had to remove the shaft from the Tcase to get to it. Possibly was rebuilt wrong.

Is there another zirc fitting thats useful in these tight situations?

 

[gray]

IIRC I twist my driveshaft to get that zerk to the 1-2 o'clock position and approach it with the grease gun from slightly above (the driveshaft) standing on the DS, IIRC. Also, IIRC that one is the straight type (not 90 degree, etc)

 

[mudking82]

hmm i did not know that ...and how often should we be greasing our 80's

Every oil change. Or after you go through a bunch of water.

 

[corsair23]

does any one have a map of all the grease fittings on a 97 lx450

thanks for any help,
Garett

Posted this up in another thread so had it handy...I'm with Romer on trouble accessing that one zerk on the rear DS. Romer, I'm thinking it has to do with the lift as I don't have the same problem on my 80 that isn't lifted. Just enough angle on the DS to keep you from getting at that bugger. If you find a grease fitting that works let me know


x2 on what Gray posted about the amount of grease to use on the u-joints and the yokes

.

 

[breathed]

I also have one fitting I can't get a regular grease gun tip on. I bought a needle nose grease gun tip after reading about it on this board and it works like a charm. You'll have to have a pistol grip type grease gun so you can use one hand to push the needle nose tip into the zirk fitting and one hand to pump. Don't buy the needle injector tip used to pierce the rubber boot on a u-joint (looks like a big hypodermic needle). Buy the needle nose tip. I haven't tried the 90 degree fitting. That would be best because it would leave both hands free to pump, but I wasn't sure if it would fit in the u-joint.

Here's a link to a bunch of different tips
MSC Google Search Results

Dorian

 

[gray]

I don't have a lift, but I would think that might make it easier to get to the zerk ie: if you turn the driveshaft so that the zerk is pointing upward (toward the floor pan) at about a 12-2 o'clock orientation. the U-joint should be a tad more open with a lift (depending on mods). You should be able to access it by reaching up and above the joint and coming down on the zerk. It does require a bit of trial and error; ie: trying to hold the grease hose fitting onto the zerk while pumping the gun with your other hand. If I don't have a lift, and am lying flat on my back, I brace the grease gun against the side of my chest with the end of the gun resting on the ground, then squeeze the lever by pulling it against my chest sometimes using the opposite hand. Much easier to do when the rig is on a lift and once the hose fitting is on the zerk.

 

[Romer]

I'm going to bump this back to the top. It seems I will have to take the shaft down to grease the front U Joint on the rear shaft. I tried with the straight on and the 90 deg and just can't get it on enough to get that damn little zirc. Before I take the shaft off, thought I would check to see if there are other suggestions. Google did not return any couplers that seemed like it would work.

 

[landcruisers4ever]

thanks for the help guys

 

[corsair23]

I'm going to bump this back to the top. It seems I will have to take the shaft down to grease the front U Joint on the rear shaft. I tried with the straight on and the 90 deg and just can't get it on enough to get that damn little zirc. Before I take the shaft off, thought I would check to see if there are other suggestions. Google did not return any couplers that seemed like it would work.

Romer,

I saw a post awhile ago about using a "needle injector" on the grease gun to get at a troublesome zerk. Last time I was Checker I picked one up and planned to use it at the next oil change. Well, for whatever reason this time around I was able to get my grease gun nozzle on the fitting without need of the needle injector ...Maybe my springs have sagged enough to make the zerk accessible now?

Anyway, maybe give one of those needle injectors a try. They are cheap or I could bring mine to the next RS meeting for you to borrow to see if it works. Let me know. My other thought would be to put in an angled zerk in place of the straight one...

 

[619TOY]

Here's the one that I use. It isn't cheap but if I ever have a problem with it, my Snap-On guy will be there to take care of it.YA761, Coupler, Needle Nozzle, Locking Sleeve, 1/8"NPT(f), 2 3/4" IIRC the only one that still gives me a little grief is the one way inside of the front CV.

EDIT: if you have a dedicated gun for zerks, you could just use this as it doesn't have a quick disconnect.YA750, Nozzle, Needle, 1/8" NPT(f), 2 3/4"

 

[latinoguy]

if you turn the driveshaft so that the zerk is pointing upward (toward the floor pan) at about a 12-2 o'clock orientation.

I am bumping this to the top. Today what I tought would be an easy maintenance project turned out a bit of a pain in the you know what.

Question: how do you manually turn the drive shaft while underneath the vehicle (wheels on ground.) I thought the drive shaft would turn if you put both the tranny and center diff on Neutral. That only gave me a tinny bit of play....not what I was hopping for.

Also, I noticed one of the zirks is stripped so I could not get the socket to grip.... I may have to tear down the front drive shaft to get to the front drive shaft's spider....

Any tips appreciated ....

I have a pistol grip grease gun with a non flexible grease tip...
Now I need to go find a flexible tip for this application...

 

[619TOY]

You can't turn your driveshafts because your tires are on the ground and you would move your rig by turning the driveshaft. Lift one tire with a floor jack.

Removing the driveshaft takes less than 10 minutes; reinstallation about the same plus a little bit for using a torque wrench. You could probably get by removing only the pinion side in about half the time if you can't get to the zerks any other way.

 

[walleyefisher]

Whats with the Moly & non-Moly grease??? I have used valvolene syn for years on all the zircs (dif car) with no issues. Stuff even says for U-Joints on it.

 

[anderaa13]

It really helps to have grease gun that has a flexible hose and can be operated with one hand. Most auto parts stores should have both.

I usually have to move the truck a little to get the zerks in the right spot and the nozzle on the end of the hose has to be adjusted right. If its not it still slips on to the zerk but the grease just squirts out the sides. This is due to the fact that even with the flex hose and the zerk in the right spot you can't quite get the best angle (I think its only the front u joint of the rear shaft that is a hassle).

As far as moly/non-moly, put moly in the birfs and whatever in the rest.

aaron

 

[RiggerFJ80]

I'm going throught the truck, doing some p.m. that I don't think had been done in a long time. How do I clean old, nasty grease out without putting too much grease in?

 

[breathed]

I'm going throught the truck, doing some p.m. that I don't think had been done in a long time. How do I clean old, nasty grease out without putting too much grease in?

You can't. Just pump grease into the u-joints until it comes out clean. Don't do this with the sliding yokes, however. You'll have to remove the drive shafts if you want to thoroughly clean those. It will also now be a lot easier to clean up the u-joints after greasing.

 

[RiggerFJ80]

That's what I figured with the yokes, with everyone's dire warnings about over-greasing. Time to break out the kerosene.