I was wondering if anyone knows if a new OEM rear drive shaft comes pre-greased or not. The yokes/zerks were covered in plastic and you can see some grease on the zerk. The FSM mentions greasing them after re-installation of an old one, but there isnt a mention of a new install. Yes I searched, but obviously, the terms "grease" "new" "driveshaft" came up with a million hits, and none of what I could find. My biggest concern is overfilling the spline, so I figured I would ask before I install instead of after.
New Rear Driveshaft Pregreased? Or grease after install (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter i4gotmyid
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They come with some grease, but you will want to add grease after installation. The slip joint will take a substantial amount of grease since the driveshaft is shipped compressed. Since the slip joint seals are new and soft, fill the slip joint until a little grease seeps past the seal to make sure it is full.
I installed both front and rear OEM shafts about 2 weeks ago. It has some grease, but be careful NOT to fill the slip joint full. There should be room for the joint to compress, if not, you'll crack/damage the transfercase housing. After adding grease to slip joint, remove the filler nipple with a 8mm and bump the rear of the cruiser several times. Again, keep in mind, if you hit a ditch at speed, the slip joint will press more than what you get at bumping the rear of the LC. May be it's good to drive with the nipple removed and hit few bumps at speed and then install the nipple.
On a side note: the play at the slip joint in the front and on the OEM New Unit are identical. rear had VERY faint play and again, hard to feel when compared with the OEM new slip joint. I had a bit worn rear most U-joint in the rear, rest were good, but after installing OEM shafts, the ride is quite smooth now.
@nissanh - Grease gets past the slip joint seal easily when new and if continually maintained. I dropped in a new rear driveshaft 90k miles ago and continue to fill the slip joint with grease every 10k miles until it oozes past the seal with a thinner molly grease. I know the manner in which the rear slip joint is greased is debated a lot here on mud, so I am just stating how I have done it with success and no damage to the t-case.
jLB
Another one followed me home. Can we keep it?
I’m chasing a rather severe 65-75mph vibration on our ~250k mile 99 LX470 is why I asked. Below 65, or above 75 it’s fine.
Imbalance properller shaft can cause a vibration that can felt over the body of the vehicle. For example, you'll feel seats are vibration etc. My 3rd gen 4runner has the same vibration and after replacing a worn U joint with an oem U joint, vibration went away. Yes, I experienced it around 60 to 70 MPH. If installing U joints, stay with OEM. The GMB brand is junk!
The key words I want to highlight are "when the seal is new" and "thinner molly grease" if neither is met, the damage is significant.
