lube rear drive shaft (1 Viewer)

[fcgadget]

is there an easy way to lube the universals on the rear shaft? The forward one is tight, the rear is not possible with a standard or 90 degree grease gun tip. Even tried putting a 45 or 90 on the rear, but they won't screw in without complete disassembly. Which I'm not quite ready to try just yet

 

[ferg]

Do they have zerk fittings? If so and you are not able to reach the fittings while the drive shaft is installed, drop the shaft and grease them up that way. PITA but needs to be done.

 

[middlecalf]

It helps to rotate the shaft into a better position to get the grease gun fitting in there. That's easy on the front shaft cuz you can put the TC in neutral and rotate it by hand. The rear you either have to roll the rig a little and try until you find the sweet spot, or put the rear axle on stands (good stands - you'll be crawling underneath) and tranny in neutral then spin one wheel and try. And the forward and rearward fittings have different sweet spots in the shaft rotation. PIA, but it can be done.

 

[fcgadget]

yeah, up on stands, rotating every which way, still no solid clip on for the rear uni. Even took the shaft off and replaced the zerk

 

[fcgadget]

tried a right angle fitting...not enough room
tried a needle ...couldn't get enough 'straight in' angle

Not very familiar with universal construction, but maybe it was put together wrong? The zerk just doesn't point to any opening. Maybe I should take it apart and try reversing the piece with the zerk? It would further my education, but...

Any ideas?

 

[middlecalf]

Maybe post a pic and that might trigger someone’s memory. They’re a pain to lube but not impossible, sounds like somethings not standard.

 

[Living in the Past]

Only need to use one Jack stand. With the transmission in neutral and transfer case in 2WD the driveshaft should spin. But if you use two Jack stands on the frame so the axle drops it will increase the driveshaft angle and should make it easier to find a better sweet spot.

 

[pb4ugo]

 

[Marn0]

Toyota had a little grease gun extension piece for getting into the uni's i believe. I have one and didn't know what it was until i posted a pic on mud!

 

[fcgadget]

two things..
1 Marno, can't find that pic you posted..do you still have a copy that would help me ?

2 Took the shaft off the car, still could not grease the zerk. The zerk is just pointed towards the shoulder too far.
Has anyone taken apart the universal? I have no idea what's inside and when I try, is anything going to pop out and run away?

 

[Marn0]

Im at work at the moment but I will slip down to the car and grab a pic when I can

 

[Marn0]

 

[fcgadget]

HUH! I think I might have one in a drawer...

but I don't have much hope. The zerk is "pointed" at the joint housing just a bit too much, even for a needle grease fitting. These pics almost show the angle

 

[Marn0]

I would be trying to replace those ones with angled ones

 

[fcgadget]

tried to screw in the 45 or right angles, but there wasn't enough room to do it. The zerk has to be a straight in.

Any advice on opening up a universal joint?

 

[Marn0]

You may have to undo the flange bolts and drop it down to gain access. Then when its opened up more try the 45 angle ones again

 

[fcgadget]

tried to replace the straight zerk with a 45 and a 90 while I had the shaft on the bench. They wouldn't screw in, the threaded hole is pointed too close to the 'shoulder' of the universal, so the offset zerks can't be screwed in