- Thread starter
- #21
Wouldn't the spline act like a piston and push out any excess grease and make its own gap when it retracts?
Maintenance interval question
- Thread starter fasteddie2015
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Grease is too thick, the spline tolerances too tight, and the system too sealed to count on that given the potential forces an effectively incompressible shaft can transmit to the transfer and diff pinion bearings.
Yes, it’ll squeeze grease out, but not quickly enough to avoid damage in the event of a hard suspension compression. It is even possible to bend a driveshaft in this scenario. That’s the risk in filling the cavity completely.
- Thread starter
- #23
Bingo. Game, set, match Bloc. Thanks for putting up with the discussion
It’s not really “putting up”, I enjoy this stuff. I admire Toyota’s engineering abilities and have spent a lot of time over the years trying to understand why they design things the way they do. Attempting to explain some of these things (without a formal engineering education) is an opportunity to put my understanding to scrutiny outside my head.. and sometimes I learn stuff in the process. Win-win.
This was great information to read along with overwhelming. I am now trying to fully grasp/picture how this is done. I saw Bloc's thread on front driveline, however I still have questions on how to do this properly, as I have never wrenched to this extent on a vehicle. Usually just oil change and brakes.
Does the grease gun push on the zerk fitting to get grease in, or are you removing that? Apologies if I've read over this and didn't catch it.
Does the grease gun push on the zerk fitting to get grease in, or are you removing that? Apologies if I've read over this and didn't catch it.
If you look at a zerk closely it has a bulged cross section.. the tip of a grease gun has tangs that snap onto this bulge, and a seal inside to keep it from just leaking around the zerk as long as things are relatively in line. The zerk also has a small ball and spring inside it that acts as a check valve, allowing grease in but not back out. That ball is visible at the very tip of the zerk.. about the size of a ball on a ball-point pen. So no the zerk typically doesn't get removed.. not unless you over-grease something and need to relieve pressure.
Best practice is to wipe down the zerk before snapping on your grease gun to avoid pushing any superficial dirt into the joint you are greasing.
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