Lubing Universal Joints & Slide Yoke. Did I put to much it?
- Thread starter CameraCruiser
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- Thread starter
- #22
Not home yet, but that is it.
So Shotts, what happenend is that I did normal lube stuff and saw the grease come out of the fittiings as expected, but when I did the yoke part, which I guess is attached to the shaft, I noticed that I could see more and more of the shaft coming out of the yoke? I thought that I would see grease coming out from around the shaft.
I assumed that I would see the grease since there was about an inch to inch and a half of shiney smooth shaft extending from the yoke. So it made since that this was the part that needed lubing since it was going in and out (I am glad my wife does not read this, if she did, she might understand why we love our crusers) of the yoke.
So as an explanation, I started to see more and more of the shaft as I kept putting lube in the zerk. I stopped because part of me said, Hmmm a little bit of grease is moving big metal part connected to other big honkin parts.
So, is there anything spooky like this I should know about changing the gear oil? I am flat scared of even thinking about re-packing the bearings.
For what it is worth, I now have a greater respect for good mechanics and the dealers that hire them. If I could only find one.
Argggggh,
Rob
At least on the 80 (and I assume on the 100 as well) there are zerks on the shaft (slip joint). If he hit one of those, and enough grease was going in to actually fill the tube and cause the shaft to extend, then it is too full and will not be able to compress adequately with suspension travel, causing possible catastrophic shock load to the T-case under the right circumstances.
Yes.....that clears it up even more!
- Thread starter
- #25
I hate the word catastrophic......
Here is an attached picture so that everyone knows what is going on. As you can see, I indicated the area that grew as I added lube to the Slip Yoke zerk fitting.
After getting home, I managed to get the cruiser up on ramps before the
saw me and take off the rear zerk fitting. Luckily, I think, only about 1/2 of an inch of lube came back out. I will leave the fitting off and drive it tomorrow to express more lube. I will do the front too. The caught me under the cruiser before I could get the plastic skid plate off.I had to do family time, which is not bad, but I really wanted to do the front drive shaft before it got dark. So tomorrow am for that.
Thanks for everyones input. I hope you like the picture. Maybe this whole thing about greasing the cruiser should be added to the FAQ, newbie guide, whatever you want to call it.
Rob
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Grease is more compressable than steel. and it is more maleable. What you put in will go the same way the old grease went.
I did this the first time, no the sky did not fall. I learned and have only done 1-2 pumps of grease eversince.
I did this the first time, no the sky did not fall. I learned and have only done 1-2 pumps of grease eversince.
I hate the word catastrophic......
Here is an attached picture so that everyone knows what is going on. As you can see, I indicated the area that grew as I added lube to the Slip Yoke zerk fitting.
After getting home, I managed to get the cruiser up on ramps before the
I had to do family time, which is not bad, but I really wanted to do the front drive shaft before it got dark. So tomorrow am for that.
Thanks for everyones input. I hope you like the picture. Maybe this whole thing about greasing the cruiser should be added to the FAQ, newbie guide, whatever you want to call it.
Rob
That's a nice and helpful picture. I did exactly the same as you the first time I greased the shafts. Kept pumping grease and watching the shaft extend, thinking the old grease would come out somewhere as it did in the u-joint. That was before reading in some thread that it was bad practice. Anyway, nothing has blown apart since that, but then one day I got a very small leak in the center diff. No way to tell if it's direcly related, but it could be.
From what I remember of my old college chemistry and physics classes, greases are considered non-compressible liquids, like water. It is possible to have some (compressible) air trapped in the grease holding matrix, but the amount will be so minuscule as to be insignificant for this argument. So if you think about what happens to your engine when it sucks in water and then attempts its compression stroke, then you have some idea of what might happen to your drive-line with non-compressible grease blocking things up. Basically, lots of very expensive metal could get bent.
Exactly, liquids are virtually as incompressible as the hardest solid, the main difference is that they can flow and adapt to the container shape. That's why hydraulic systems and machinery work, and they do so in a different way than pneumatic systems (which are based on the compressability of gases).
Yes! The inside of the d-shaft fills with grease, won't compress anymore so your t-case takes all the compression pressure...not good. Once you see the driveshaft start to expand, you've put in too much. I typically put in about 4-6 pumps every 15K mi. I made the mistake of putting in too much grease in my 4runner d-shaft. Just remove the zerk and drive up some speed bumps/curbs, reinstall zerk.
For the U-joints, I just pump until I just see the old grease just start to ooze out, maybe 6 pumps. I've been doing this for 100K mi on my old 4runner, and it's 21 yrs old and doesn't have issues, lubed initially every 30K mi, now every 15K for the past 100K mi since I've owned it.
removing the excess is one thing, good!
you may still want to address the cause, though, cuz you want the grease to come out some to lube the whole splines. Probably crudded up splines now. Some threads on this in the 80 section. Need to take DS apart (with reference markers) and clean. (May be possible to remove the cover too and avoid disassembly of DS?)
you may still want to address the cause, though, cuz you want the grease to come out some to lube the whole splines. Probably crudded up splines now. Some threads on this in the 80 section. Need to take DS apart (with reference markers) and clean. (May be possible to remove the cover too and avoid disassembly of DS?)
I didn't see much to clean when I had mine apart on the 80. There's not much to taking one end down and pulling the tube apart. It's not heavy, and there are only four bolts.
Set a couple chocks down to limit how far the truck can roll
Put the truck in neutral (or transfer case which is easier)
Mark the driveshaft & flange so you can get it back together the same
Loosen four bolts with 14mm box-end wrench
-Turn the driveshaft/roll the truck to get at all four bolts
Lower the driveshaft end and pull it apart
Set a couple chocks down to limit how far the truck can roll
Put the truck in neutral (or transfer case which is easier)
Mark the driveshaft & flange so you can get it back together the same
Loosen four bolts with 14mm box-end wrench
-Turn the driveshaft/roll the truck to get at all four bolts
Lower the driveshaft end and pull it apart
- Thread starter
- #36
I took the zerk off of the front this morning and no worm of grease came out! So I consider that good.
I then drove around to hit speed bumps, dips and a few curbs to squish some back out. Got home and I had pretty good trail of red Mobil 1 grease as evidence.
Put new zerks back on and added just one squirt of grease to get it in the zerk.
So I will see how it goes.
Thanks for everything, and this should be added to the FAQ so that no other newbie has to go through this too.
Rob
I then drove around to hit speed bumps, dips and a few curbs to squish some back out. Got home and I had pretty good trail of red Mobil 1 grease as evidence.
Put new zerks back on and added just one squirt of grease to get it in the zerk.
So I will see how it goes.
Thanks for everything, and this should be added to the FAQ so that no other newbie has to go through this too.
Rob
Glad you guys got it sorted. As an aside, if you think you're overfilled removing the grease fitting and a short drive before replacing is the right thing to do. The tolerances are awfully tight on these seals and I think even a hand pump can generate shockingly high PSI. Add the weight of the truck compressing it further over a bump and damage could result. Other driveshafts I've lubed let grease simply squirt right out with little telescoping of the shaft, so not sure what Toyota had in mind other than excellent sealing for harsh environments.
DougM
DougM
How does the rear ds not get water in it? When it extends, air must suck in through the seal, and the seal is facing forward. The outer shaft is pointing down to the rear axle, water wouldn't run out like the front could. Grease wouldn't likely run uphill from the zirc to lube the splines either. I'll have to drop & lube my rear ds before winter, I'm wondering what I'll find.
My 2006 is shiny in the area you say yours was extended and always has been. Does anyone know how much travel the yoke has? I had the "driveline clunk" and greased it a while back, but it never moved.
Sorry, If the previous picture doesn't show up. I'm not sure how to do that with quote.
As to water intrusion, the splines are long and if they're full of grease only the front inch or so will get water intrusion which I agree would happen if you're in a water crossing. That's of course why Toyota recommend daily shaft greasing if you're doing crossings. If the splines are full of grease properly then the water can't really progress too far. With grease in there, water damage is unlikely as I think the splines are unlikely to sieze or rust in place even with casual greasing. When merely driving on a trail or street, the spinning of the shaft would likely be tossing water off as quickly as it arrived, so again water intrusion limited a bit.
It's a proven design, but I've often wondered why there is no blow off grease port like a lot of other shaft designs have. Other than people twisting them with larger tires and lower gears these shafts last. My bro in law's got the original shafts on his at 320,000 casually maintained miles.
DougM
It's a proven design, but I've often wondered why there is no blow off grease port like a lot of other shaft designs have. Other than people twisting them with larger tires and lower gears these shafts last. My bro in law's got the original shafts on his at 320,000 casually maintained miles.
DougM