07 V8 4x4 Zerk Fitting Pics

Don't overfill slide yoke. If you get way-y-y-y too much grease in ther you're risking poping steel dust shield off when you drive over first bump. 30 pumps from full size grease gun is overkill.
 
Don't overfill slide yoke. If you get way-y-y-y too much grease in ther you're risking poping steel dust shield off when you drive over first bump. 30 pumps from full size grease gun is overkill.

This is the advice I followed for a long time as it seemed the safest way to go. Reading the Haynes manual got me re-thinking the issue and now I max it out. Might be worth noting, though, that the particular procedure allows for a significant grease purge before the truck gets driven.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/63518-lubricating-propeller-shafts-2.html#post698052

I am, however, less aggressive greasing the front drive shaft now since Harper7 pointed out to me how limited the movement is.
 
Is there any harm in not greasing the shaft? I have the clunking right now and am worried it is damaging my vehicle. I'm not sure when I can get around to greasing it up but I wanted to see if it was doing any harm to figure out how soon I need to get it done.

Also, would this cause a clunking noise when shifting into reverse or into drive? I get a clunk/bang noise that is very apparent when backing into a parking spot in the parking garage at my work.
 
Is there any harm in not greasing the shaft? I have the clunking right now and am worried it is damaging my vehicle. I'm not sure when I can get around to greasing it up but I wanted to see if it was doing any harm to figure out how soon I need to get it done.

Also, would this cause a clunking noise when shifting into reverse or into drive? I get a clunk/bang noise that is very apparent when backing into a parking spot in the parking garage at my work.

You may have already damaged it by letting the universal joints run dry. Worn u-joints can cause this clunk going to reverse and drive. Just crawl under there and grease it. It only takes 10 minutes to do.
 
You may have already damaged it by letting the universal joints run dry. Worn u-joints can cause this clunk going to reverse and drive. Just crawl under there and grease it. It only takes 10 minutes to do.

Good to know, I just purchased the 4runner in february and started noticing this clunk within the past month. I will have to get this taken care of then. Thank you.
 
To answer a few questions that have been asked;

How much grease do I pump into the U-Joints? If it is the 1st time you are greasing them it is very easy to know how much. There are many different colors of grease that is used. I keep pumping until I can see my new grease coming out of the joint. Doing it this way I know I am pushing out the old grease and dirt/grit. If you use the same grease the next time you will still be able to see the old grease come out. It will be a little darker and thinner.

How much grease do I put into the slip yoke? I pump the grease until I see the shiny part of the shaft ever so slightly start to move. I have followed this method along with many other techs I work with. I am on my 4th 4R, several Tacomas and other Toyota's and have never had any type of clunk.

Once I am finished greasing I will take an old tooth brush and wrap a thin cloth around it. I push the brush thru the openings on the U-Joint to remove the excess. I can't stand to have the old grease slinging on the underside.

I use a Lincoln rechargeable grease gun that is oh so nice and easy to use.
 
I picked up some Valvoline Automotive and Industrial General Multi-Purpose Grease. It says it is NLGI #2 grade EP grease. Would this work for both the U joints and slider yokes? I am in an area where selection is very limited. Here is a page that has the specs on the grease:
http://www.gemplers.com/docs/IS/198560SPECS.pdf

It sounds like you have grease number 3 from that doc, which apparently has no moly.

The manual specifies non-moly all around or you can use grease with moly on the slip yokes only.

Sounds like you're good to go.
 
Last edited:
Replacement

So greasing the zerks isnt cutting it; its still a really rough clunk.

What kinda bill would I be loooking at for parts and labor if I were to replace the u-joints and driveshaft? This would alleviate all these symptons if im not mistaken? Possibly get a heavier duty u-joints and driveshaft (if they exist)?
 
I'm going to have to pull out my flashlight one day and search for these zerks better. I just changed the front and rear diff fluid and the transfer case fluid so I greased the 3 obvious ones because they stood out and I was hurrying to get out from under the 4r because the gear oil STUNK. Still, I can't find the other three even on the pictures.
 
To answer a few questions that have been asked;

How much grease do I pump into the U-Joints? If it is the 1st time you are greasing them it is very easy to know how much. There are many different colors of grease that is used. I keep pumping until I can see my new grease coming out of the joint. Doing it this way I know I am pushing out the old grease and dirt/grit. If you use the same grease the next time you will still be able to see the old grease come out. It will be a little darker and thinner.

How much grease do I put into the slip yoke? I pump the grease until I see the shiny part of the shaft ever so slightly start to move. I have followed this method along with many other techs I work with. I am on my 4th 4R, several Tacomas and other Toyota's and have never had any type of clunk.

Once I am finished greasing I will take an old tooth brush and wrap a thin cloth around it. I push the brush thru the openings on the U-Joint to remove the excess. I can't stand to have the old grease slinging on the underside.

I use a Lincoln rechargeable grease gun that is oh so nice and easy to use.
I think I might have over-grease the slip yokes :(
Too bad i didn't find your post before i start doing the drive-shaft lube
Is there anything that can go wrong ? Can I just stick a needle into the zerk to relieve some potential pressure ?
I've done 10-12 hand pumps into the front slip yoke zerk and 15-20 pumps into the rear one
 
Last edited:
I think I might have over-grease the slip yokes :(
Too bad i didn't find your post before i start doing the drive-shaft lube
Is there anything that can go wrong ? Can I just stick a needle into the zerk to relieve some potential pressure ?
I've done 10-12 hand pumps into the front slip yoke zerk and 15-20 pumps into the rear one

If you over greased the yoke it will come out I promise. Look at the underside of the car above the slip yoke and I bet you will see where it has slung out.
 
Question - I have an '07 Sport 4WD and everything went well except for a couple of zerks. I heard the "crackling" noise on the front one but on a few others including the rear, the grease just wouldn't go in. I fitted and refitted the gun onto the zerks several times to make sure of the connection but whenever I pumped, the grease just expelled around the zerk. Does that just mean they're already full?

The dealer had to replace the 4WD actuator before delivery so I'm wondering if they lubed the driveshaft then and that's why this happened.

BTW, thanks for this thread. It was very helpful. I use lifting ramps to change my oil (it's a tight squeeze underneath for me) and that made the front shaft a snap. The rear was a royal pain 'cause I just crawled under there and could barely move. I may put the rear end on jackstands next time.
 
Question - I have an '07 Sport 4WD and everything went well except for a couple of zerks. I heard the "crackling" noise on the front one but on a few others including the rear, the grease just wouldn't go in. I fitted and refitted the gun onto the zerks several times to make sure of the connection but whenever I pumped, the grease just expelled around the zerk. Does that just mean they're already full?

The dealer had to replace the 4WD actuator before delivery so I'm wondering if they lubed the driveshaft then and that's why this happened.

BTW, thanks for this thread. It was very helpful. I use lifting ramps to change my oil (it's a tight squeeze underneath for me) and that made the front shaft a snap. The rear was a royal pain 'cause I just crawled under there and could barely move. I may put the rear end on jackstands next time.

If it came out around the zerk you didn't have it seated correctly. The fitting on the grease gun must snap onto the zerk straight on. Try rotating the shaft a bit so that you can get a better aim at it.

BTW: The first eight pages of this thread have almost as much bad information as good information.
 
If it came out around the zerk you didn't have it seated correctly. The fitting on the grease gun must snap onto the zerk straight on. Try rotating the shaft a bit so that you can get a better aim at it.

BTW: The first eight pages of this thread have almost as much bad information as good information.

This^
 
Question - I have an '07 Sport 4WD and everything went well except for a couple of zerks. I heard the "crackling" noise on the front one but on a few others including the rear, the grease just wouldn't go in. I fitted and refitted the gun onto the zerks several times to make sure of the connection but whenever I pumped, the grease just expelled around the zerk. Does that just mean they're already full?

The dealer had to replace the 4WD actuator before delivery so I'm wondering if they lubed the driveshaft then and that's why this happened.

BTW, thanks for this thread. It was very helpful. I use lifting ramps to change my oil (it's a tight squeeze underneath for me) and that made the front shaft a snap. The rear was a royal pain 'cause I just crawled under there and could barely move. I may put the rear end on jackstands next time.

No, it doesn't mean they're full.

One of the reasons I put the truck up on stands (I use 6, can't be too careful) to grease is so I can rotate the shafts to get the best angle of attack. Sometimes hand pressure is needed against the grease gun fitting to prevent what you described. Now that I've switched to Mobil 1 grease for the spiders (still use moly for the slips) I have much less of that kind of problem with them. The Mobil 1 (probably any non-moly grease) goes into the spiders much more easily.

Make sure to wipe off the zerk beforehand, especially the tip.
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
278,312
Messages
3,554,086
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Trending content

Back
Top