Greasing Drive Shafts (2 Viewers)

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MidMan

MidMan

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Dec 27, 2018
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After how long you grease the drive shaft?
NGLI-3 is ok or should go for NGLI-2 or NGLI GC-LB ?
 
Yeah, I grease at oil changes too.
I use Valvoline Palladium moly grease everywhere but in the wheel bearings, where I use Valvoline synthetic.
I grease the shafts until they extend about 1/4". If you think your drive shafts have not been greased in years you may be surprised at how much they take.
Don't forget to lube your Birfs and U joints too, I do all of them at each oil change. (Not the wheel bearings obviously. )
 
bicycleagent003 said:
I grease the shafts until they extend about 1/4".
Click to expand...
That is NOT a good idea. You have now impeded the slip yolks ability to contract which places a ridiculous amount of load on the bearings in the transfer case.
 
Grease at oil change or yearly and don’t over grease the slip yoke. If you do see movement at slip yoke due to too much grease then take off the nipple and hit the biggest speed bump you can find to bottom out the suspension which will push out the extra grease.

Also when greasing u joints chuck the wheels and put transfer case in nutral or better yet put it on a lift.
 
I use Green Grease for ujoints and slip yokes as it seems to last the longest in the heat of AZ. Over greasing the slip yoke can cause big problems if over greased. I do extreme driveline service once a year but grease my ujoints many times a year. To avoid over greasing your slip yokes you will want to apply grease until you see the slip yoke start to move. Now remove the zerk and the yoke end of the drive line and compress. You can see looking at your slip yoke how far it will compress under flex when wheeling. You want to compress to that point letting all the extra grease via the zerk hole. Now reinstall you driveline and finally your zerk. You can now wheel it like you stole without worries of overgreasing associated failures.
 
For curiosity, can anyone say what actually happens to the driveshaft (not u-joints) if you never greased it? I am willing to bet that outside of the fastidious world of Mud maintenance, greasing driveshafts is not on most people's minds for potentially the entire time they own a vehicle, unless it is roped in with some X miles maintenance thing at their mechanical.
 
pawnthatdude said:
For curiosity, can anyone say what actually happens to the driveshaft (not u-joints) if you never greased it? I am willing to bet that outside of the fastidious world of Mud maintenance, greasing driveshafts is not on most people's minds for potentially the entire time they own a vehicle, unless it is roped in with some X miles maintenance thing at their mechanical.
Click to expand...

Yep! The splines wear out and the yoke starts to wobble sideways and you get a hell of a vibration. It will smooth out when at highway sped, but as soon as you back out of the throttle, it vibrates hard, then straightens out again as it switches phase from acceleration to deceleration.

I've driven many old rear-wheel drive cars and pickups that have been neglected and worn out (poor farmers) and old Studebakers and Chevy trucks.

Many street-driven cars never have the problem with the slip yoke because they are sold or wrecked before it ever becomes an issue. But when you live on a gravel / dirt road, the dirt gets in there and wears it faster.

During the 80's, some manufacturers experimented with teflon spline coatings to eliminate the need for regular greasing. It worked for autos, but not trucks.

ALWAYS better to grease than NOT grease. Just make sure you do it with the driveline UNLOADED so the grease gets where it NEEDS to be instead of on the opposite side.

Do NOT over-grease it to act like a hydraulic ram because it WILL wreck bearings.
 
I think the slip joint lube point is a joke, therefor, I remove my drivelines for servicing. Clean splines and a light application of V. Palladium happy butter lets me sleep soundly. :D
 
pawnthatdude said:
For curiosity, can anyone say what actually happens to the driveshaft (not u-joints) if you never greased it? I am willing to bet that outside of the fastidious world of Mud maintenance, greasing driveshafts is not on most people's minds for potentially the entire time they own a vehicle, unless it is roped in with some X miles maintenance thing at their mechanical.
Click to expand...

Let's see. 2.5t landcruiser with open slip joints in the driveline, that sees dirt and mud, and big heavy wheel/tire combo, so high torque load due to vehicle weight, wheel weight, wheel height etc
vs
1.5t front wheel drive family sedan the has CV shafts with closed rubber boots and sees extreme mall duty.

Yep, no differences here. Feel free to never grease your driveline.
 
mudgudgeon said:
Let's see. 2.5t landcruiser with open slip joints in the driveline, that sees dirt and mud, and big heavy wheel/tire combo, so high torque load due to vehicle weight, wheel weight, wheel height etc
vs
1.5t front wheel drive family sedan the has CV shafts with closed rubber boots and sees extreme mall duty.

Yep, no differences here. Feel free to never grease your driveline.
Click to expand...

I never implied that greasing your driveshaft was unnecessary.
 
baldilocks said:
I think the slip joint lube point is a joke, therefor, I remove my drivelines for servicing. Clean splines and a light application of V. Palladium happy butter lets me sleep soundly. :D
Click to expand...


I think this just means you are EXTREEEEEEEEEM OCD......
 
BILT4ME said:
I think this just means you are EXTREEEEEEEEEM OCD......
Click to expand...
haha... I just don't think the single point lube method provided by one tiny zerk on a non-rotating, splined shaft is optimal maintenance for a driveline that actually see's dirt and slop while simultaneously telescoping as it propels my pig over terra firma. Besides, this ultra lube operation only happens once per year pretty much like my oil changes unlike the truly OCD who change oil every 3k or 6 mo. which ever feels best - :flipoff2:
 
I grease with each oil change also. But haven't had to worry about 'over-greasing' the slip joint. My driveshafts will move a bit at a certain point of 'fill' but the seals around mine let any extra seep out when under compression. IF your seals do not...then it could be an issue.

I have over 300K on my rig (original U-Joints and driveshafts) and don't see any indication that I have been pounding the bearings in my T-case or Diffs.

Not saying it isn't possible...but I doubt it happens very often. I think it is a good idea to pull the two halves apart every now and then, clean the splines and check for slop. Especially if you wheel your rig very often, make water crossings or live in the rust belt.
 
Anyone?? Looking for advice on specific grease (as in where to get it) and a decent grease gun to get the job done. I have a a small one I use on my riding mower but doubt its good enough for (the grease that is) for my LC.
 
 
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