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?
Oh, I know, I have always done it but I cannot get to a few of them with my fitting, and I cant find a smaller one, so its aggrivating me, I thought maybe you had to have a special 90 degree grease fitting or something, I am trying to find a fitting tha will work, I cannot get 2 of the zerks on my wifes Sequoia. Thats what I meant....that question was vague and made me look like a bigger idiot than I am (haha)
MSJ.....I just greased my 2011 and the drive shafts and zerks are all identical except the zerk on the rear u-joint attached to the diff. Now it has a zerk with a 90 degree angle. It used to be a short stubbie which always was at the wrong angle to access. Now I just reached it even in the wrong position because of the new fitting. Hard to believe Toyota actually cared about us DIY'ers or even their technicians but it is much easier now. Not much room back there anyway due to the gas tank. Easy on the grease to the yokes. They need to slide in and out slightly as you drive and too much grease will prevent that.
Does any one know what the size and thread pitch of the zerks are? I am going to buy some for other projects. I figured might as well get get them all the same, so if I need to replace some on the FJ I will have them.
Don't remember off of the top of my head, but there are only a couple of standard sizes of metric zerks and they are cheap to buy - just get a handfull of each next time you are at VatoZone or wherever.
re-post here from my post in the "grease fittings" thread which resulted in no advice :mecry:
OK, so I think I messed up. I was hitting the slip yokes with every oil change (along with u-joints). I knew enough to not pump it until it came out so I was only giving a few squirts. Problem is, I didn't pay attention to the fact that since I hardly ever drive in 4 wheel drive, the front drive shaft was never really turning, and therefore never really expelling any grease (rear flings grease out and seems to be working great). So even though I was only doing a few pumps every oil change, the front drive shaft is now loaded with grease(likely?). Even if it is not spinning (4 wheel drive) I assume the slip yoke still "slips" in and out, and at least some grease should lube the shaft where it would be visible? It is completely dry! So.... I need undo the front drive shaft from either the transfer case or front dif end and get some grease out. Problem is I have no idea what to do once I unbolt one of the ends? How do I get grease out? Do the two pieces of drive shaft come completely apart and I "scoop" out grease? Do I remove the zerk and try to compact the two together and "squeeze" the grease out? Which end is better to un bolt? If they do come completely apart what is on the inside? Are there parts that fall out, etc.? Are the two shafts easy to get back together? Help... Any pics would be a huge help of what it look like when the two parts of the shaft (if they come apart) look like and how they fit back together. Thanks!
Even if it is not spinning (4 wheel drive) I assume the slip yoke still "slips" in and out, and at least some grease should lube the shaft where it would be visible?
Problem is I have no idea what to do once I unbolt one of the ends? How do I get grease out? Do the two pieces of drive shaft come completely apart and I "scoop" out grease? Do I remove the zerk and try to compact the two together and "squeeze" the grease out?
That is the easiest way by far; remove the zerk and push the slip yoke in by pushing on the loose end of the drive shaft. Grease will shoot out of the zerk hole. Have some rags handy!
The two halves of the drive shaft will come all the way apart, but DO NOT do that, they are in phase and balanced so you don't want to mess that up by taking them apart.
Yes, but as above if you take them apart (not recommended) you MUST put them back together on exactly the same splines as the came off of, or you will get a nasty vibration. If you insist on taking them apart against all advice to the contrary, then mark both halves with a grease pencil or a sharpie or score them with something while they are still together so you can re-assemble them exactly as they came apart.
Help... Any pics would be a huge help of what it look like when the two parts of the shaft (if they come apart) look like and how they fit back together. Thanks!
You are over-analyzing this. There are two halves of the shaft, one with male splines and one with matching female splines. There is nothing inside except for empty space and some grease. From what you have told me, it doesn't sound like they are over-full anyway. Use your 4WD every now and then (the owner's manual suggests once a month), and don't grease the front u-joints and slip yoke every oil change IF you never use 4WD. I don't think you have a problem as they are.
Greased the zerks on my 2011 (7.5k mi) about a month ago. After reading through this thread, I'm paranoid/scared I may have over-greased one of the slip yokes as it sounds like many others have done. I probably put 12-20 pumps into it (similar to awood's post above).
Today (approx 1k later), I removed the zerk and drove around the block a few times. I also jumped on the rear bumper a few times and no grease at all came out. So - is it safe to assume that the slip yoke isn't over-greased? Do I need to remove one end of the drive shaft and compress it further to be sure?
Thanks in advance for any advice - I know this topic has been discussed several times, but after reading for a couple hours, it is still unclear to me what I need to do. :rocker:
I think you'll be ok. I did the same thing on my '07 when it was brand new and it didn't cause any problems. As long as you didn't pump until you couldn't pump any more in there...
On the topic of zerks, i always have trouble with removing the grease pump from the zerk. Attaching it is easy, but removing it is so much more difficult!!!
Was greasing up my UCAs today...gave up for a bit.. the pump is still stuck on the UCA...will go at it again later tonight..:mecry:
On the topic of zerks, i always have trouble with removing the grease pump from the zerk. Attaching it is easy, but removing it is so much more difficult!!!
Loosen the coupler (the part snapped onto the zerk fitting) and it should come off. Grab both ends and twist, sometimes it is on tight and you need 2 pairs of pliers to rotate them.
So I was recently thinking about greasing up the zerks and thankfully found this sticky. Still not sure what type of grease to buy, some people are saying the yolk zerks need a different grease? Which specific grease or greases should I pick up at the local store or order online?
Also, I know this was done about 30k miles ago, but now I'm not sure it's been done every time I've gotten it serviced (generally every 10k). I'm approaching 70k and curious how much damage could be done; any way I can check? Should I just grease them and keep on it rom now on?
Hopefully Toyota or whoever was doing your oil changes hit those zerks too. I have always bought good quality chassis grease (Valvoline or whatever) is being sold at the auto parts store. As this thread suggests, grease the zerks on the u-joints til the grease sneaks out from the rubber seals. Those bearings in there are roller bearings (thin metal elongated bearings around the stub of the u-joint). Once you see the grease sneak out of the rubber boots you can be assured it is greased adequately. Sometimes you can actually see moisture come out if there is no grease in there at all. If thats the case your probably gonna have to replace them soon. But if you dont hear any noise or clanking when you go from drive to reverse you may have saved them in time. Once those bearings wear, you get play.
DO NOT over grease the slide/slip yolk on the drive shaft. That just needs a few pumps from the grease gun, thats it. It just has to slide and doesnt need that much grease. Too much grease and it cant slide in and out.
No matter who does your oil changes get under there yourself and make sure they get ALL the zerks, not just the easy ones.
JosHearl:
But if you dont hear any noise or clanking when you go from drive to reverse you may have saved them in time. Once those bearings wear, you get play.
At auto store you'll see good quality high temp grease. Valvoline and Quaker State is usually carried. Just out of superstition (sp?) I would probably stay away from Target or Wal-mart brand but thats my OCD acting up again. Also hit those zerks every 5K.
I had to buy a detachable hose and really pich it inside the yoke to get it to hold. Wasnt easy. I found them all by jacking the FJ up and having the front and rear on jack stands. This way I could roll the wheels to get the zerks to rotate to a better spot. 1st time- I would start, roll an inch, turn off then climb back under... took way to long.
One of them was in a weird location I believe it was the front drive shaft near the TC(?) sorry been awhile- could be wrong...
Just greased my 6 zerks on the 07 MT with red Lucas grease :rocker:
Flexi hose is critical, at least on MT. It would have been impossible otherwise.
The 4 u-joint zerks were bone dry and took about 15 pumps each before grease came out of the dust covers!
The 2 slip yoke zerks only got 4 pumps each as instructed. I definitely had to roll the truck a few times to get them all, and some dirt in the face and eyes that was resting on the shields :rocker: No floor jack or ramps either. My skinny ass fit under there with my floor dolly, light, and grease gun.
I actually use the same one that you have (first one). Its a PITA but if the zerk is facing downwards towards the ground at say a 4:30 position I push the grease gun hose up and force it to snap onto the head. The I would use some long reach pliers to remove it. I could have sworn I had only 6- maybe the 7th is a MT only deal??
Where is the 3rd on the front drive shaft at the TC?- seem nuts they wouldnt be the same at both ends??
Know what, you're right. There should only be TWO Zerks at the front of the Center Differential, and ONE Zerk at the Front Differential. Makes no sense to have different kinds of joints at the rear and front of the Center Differential.
I think I misread TCao's post. He drives a 6M/T as well. He mentioned
"One of the three fittings for the front propeller shaft (center differential side)"
while not having a photo for the last Zerk, probably referring to the entire front propeller shaft having 3 Zerks in total.
I still show the scar from my last zeroing expedition, where I had to yank so hard on the damn gun to get it off the nipple, and bumped right into some heat shield or something…
That was lying on the ground underneath in the dark, with a headlight to illuminate the scene. I hate mechanics :cowfrown:
It'll be great if you guys who've already done this could share some info...
Hm. Deja vu.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Toyota FJ Cruiser Forum
3.7M posts
122.6K members
Since 2005
A forum community dedicated to Toyota FJ owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, accessories, mods, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!