Zerks!

nineeight9898 · 05-23-2008, 09:56 AM

Ok, I will admit that I'm not the most saavy mechanic. But this forum has taught me how to change out the rear diff, oil, etc. Yesterday I bought a grease gun and slid under the car to grease the zerks. Well, from what I've read there are 6....I found 4.

Also, I know there are a couple that you shouldn't pump grease into until the old stuff comes out and some that you should. I looked at 1911's service manual pages as well, but am still a bit lost. Any chance somebody can lay it all out for all of us novice's? Maybe pictures or just a step by step?

Thanks again guys!

nineeight9898 · 05-23-2008, 10:47 AM

bump?

kokopelli · 05-23-2008, 10:54 AM

It's on here somewhere. I remember reading and looking at the pics.. Ron

Quote:

nineeight9898 previously said:

Ok, I will admit that I'm not the most saavy mechanic. But this forum has taught me how to change out the rear diff, oil, etc. Yesterday I bought a grease gun and slid under the car to grease the zerks. Well, from what I've read there are 6....I found 4.

Also, I know there are a couple that you shouldn't pump grease into until the old stuff comes out and some that you should. I looked at 1911's service manual pages as well, but am still a bit lost. Any chance somebody can lay it all out for all of us novice's? Maybe pictures or just a step by step?

Thanks again guys!

RadoRoo · 05-23-2008, 10:56 AM

I only found 5 when I did it and called it good. I did manage to cut my hand up pretty good on the muffler heat shield. I had a really hard time removing the grease gun from the zerks.

All of them that I found are where the drive shafts and u joints are. You might have to give them a turn to spot them. I would love to see some pics though detailing it all out.

**FJ FunJunkie** · 05-23-2008, 10:57 AM

search for a post by me called WHERE ARE THE GREASE FITTINGS???
It has everthing there. A couple are hard to get to but just roll the truck forward or aft to get em.

nineeight9898 · 05-23-2008, 11:02 AM

thanks guys...

so are the slip yokes the one you don't want to over grease? how many pumps?

i'm guessing the u joints are the ones you pump until new grease starts coming out?

**FJ FunJunkie** · 05-23-2008, 11:21 AM

Quote:

nineeight9898 previously said:

thanks guys...

so are the slip yokes the one you don't want to over grease? how many pumps?

i'm guessing the u joints are the ones you pump until new grease starts coming out?

correct, just pump the slips a bunch of times the first time, toyota left them bone dry. but when the inner shaft starts to extend out about an 1/8 inch you are good. and I always pump the U's until clean grease comes out. Make sure you wipe up ur it'll be stinky for about 2 days burning on the exh pipe

**1911** · 05-23-2008, 04:45 PM

Quote:

nineeight9898 previously said:

Any chance somebody can lay it all out for all of us novice's? Maybe pictures or just a step by step?

There are two driveshafts ("propeller shafts" in the service manual) on a 4WD FJC, front and rear. Each of the two driveshafts has two universal joints, one on each end of the driveshaft. The grease zerks are right in the middle of the u-joint spider, and are angled so that you can get a grease gun fitting on them - but because they are angled, the u-joint must be rotated in the right direction so that the zerk is accessible. This is done by turning the driveshaft.

Crawl under the truck with your grease gun and a good work light. A grease gun with a flexible hose rather than a rigid tube is easier to use for this purpose. Using the light, find the zerk and see which way it is pointing. The best place for the zerk to point (IMO) is about horizontal, towards the passenger side of the truck. If you're lucky and the zerk is already pointed that way, push the nozzle end of the grease gun firmly on the zerk as straight as possible until you feel it engage the zerk, and pump until you see grease start to weep out of the dust covers/seals of the needle bearings in the u-joint. If the zerk is not pointing the right way, you'll have to turn the driveshaft (and the u-joints with it) until it is. On the front driveshaft of an auto tranny FJC, you can turn it with your hand while you're under there. For this reason, do the front driveshaft first if you have an auto tranny. For the rear driveshaft of an AT5 truck and both driveshafts of an MT6, you'll have to get out from under the truck, put it in neutral, and roll it forward or back about 6" and try again (don't forget to put it back in gear or "park" and set the parking brake before you get back under the truck). You may have to do this more than once to get the optimal position. the zerks in both u-joints point the same way, so if one has assumed the (right) position

then the other will have too.

Each driveshaft also has one slip yoke each, located on the transmission end or transfer case end of a given drive shaft. The slip yoke is just a splined shaft within a matching-splined tube, that allows extension and contraction of the length of the driveshaft while maintaining torsional rigidity (the driveshaft always turns, no matter if it is extended or contracted). There is one grease zerk on each slip yoke. The zerk is easy to find, as it on the outside of the u-joint. Because it is on the outside, it is much easier to get to and more forgiving of the angle needed to get the grease gun nozzle on it. If the zerks inside the u-joints are aligned, then the slip yoke zerk will be too. DO NOT grease the slip yokes until grease comes out between the shaft and the tube, or you risk hydraulically locking the slip yoke which would not allow any contraction and can be hard on the bearings and seals. Three or four pumps of the grease gun is plenty - it's not a bearing surface, it just needs a little lube.

When you're all done, you should have greased four u-joints and two slip yokes for six zerks total. The service manual also says to check the torque on the u-joint flange bolts while you're down there greasing, but mine have never been loose yet. The torque spec is 65 ft.lbs.

kokopelli · 05-23-2008, 05:15 PM

Very nice post.. Ron

Quote:

1911 previously said:

There are two driveshafts ("propeller shafts" in the service manual) on a 4WD FJC, front and rear. Each of the two driveshafts has two universal joints, one on each end of the driveshaft. The grease zerks are right in the middle of the u-joint spider, and are angled so that you can get a grease gun fitting on them - but because they are angled, the u-joint must be rotated in the right direction so that the zerk is accessible. This is done by turning the driveshaft.

Crawl under the truck with your grease gun and a good work light. A grease gun with a flexible hose rather than a rigid tube is easier to use for this purpose. Using the light, find the zerk and see which way it is pointing. The best place for the zerk to point (IMO) is about horizontal, towards the passenger side of the truck. If you're lucky and the zerk is already pointed that way, push the nozzle end of the grease gun firmly on the zerk as straight as possible until you feel it engage the zerk, and pump until you see grease start to weep out of the dust covers/seals of the needle bearings in the u-joint. If the zerk is not pointing the right way, you'll have to turn the driveshaft (and the u-joints with it) until it is. On the front driveshaft of an auto tranny FJC, you can turn it with your hand while you're under there. For this reason, do the front driveshaft first if you have an auto tranny. For the rear driveshaft of an AT5 truck and both driveshafts of an MT6, you'll have to get out from under the truck, put it in neutral, and roll it forward or back about 6" and try again (don't forget to put it back in gear or "park" and set the parking brake before you get back under thre truck). You may have to do this more than once to get the optimal position. the zerks in both u-joints point the same way, so if one has assumed the (right) position

then the other will have too.

Each driveshaft also has one slip yoke each, located on the transmission end or transfer case end of a given drive shaft. The slip yoke is just a splined shaft within a matching-splined tube, that allows extension and contraction of the length of the driveshaft while maintaining torsional rigidity (the driveshaft always turns, no matter if it is extended or contracted). There is one grease zerk on each slip yoke. The zerk is easy to find, as it on the outside of the u-joint. Because it is on the outside, it is much easier to get to and more forgiving of the angle needed to get the grease gun nozzle on it. If the zerks inside the u-joints are aligned, then the slip yoke zerk will be too. DO NOT grease the slip yokes until grease comes out between the shaft and the tube, or you risk hydraulically locking the slip yoke which would not allow any contraction and can be hard on the bearings and seals. Three or four pumps of the grease gun is plenty - it's not a bearing surface, it just needs a little lube.

When you're all done, you should have greased four u-joints and two slip yokes for six zerks total. The service manual also says to check the torque on the u-joint flange bolts while you're down there greasing, but mine have never been loose yet. The torque spec is 65 ft.lbs.

**TCao** · 05-26-2008, 08:05 PM

I was doing my 40,000-mile service this past weekend and snapped a few photos of the grease fittings. For reference, I have an MT6; the center differential would look different on the AT5 transmission.

Rear propeller shaft zerk fitting (rear differential side)

Rear propeller shaft zerk fittings (center differential side)

Different view of the two zerk fittings (shown above)

One of the three fittings for the front propeller shaft (center differential side)

I had reinstalled the IFS skid plate already so I don't have pics of the front (front differential side) of the front propeller shaft.