Greasing Driveshaft (4th Gen)

[warriorkenth]

Is my dust seal missing?

You are correct #1 and #3 take Lith No2 grease and those are Spiders and #2 is a Slider and takes MolyLith. I use Synthetic Mobil1 on spiders and regular dyno MolyLith on slider. Do not overfill slider because it can pop the dust seal at full compression (3-7 pumps is enough). As for spiders keep pumping until grease oozes out of all berings then wipe extra stuff off and it is done.

Hi there, I'm new to the forum and still getting to know my recently bought 2004 T4R. It came with some transfer case problems (I had to replace it), and no front driveshaft (propeller shaft). I found a drive shaft on a junkyard that seems to me like it fits, but after everything has been installed, the slip yoke of the drive shaft is showing some of the teeth! am I missing some kind of boot? Or is it the dust seal that is mentioned in this answer? I want to grease that slip yoke, but if I do, the grease is just going to start slinging out of that gap. Any help?

 

[<<<<]

You should not see any splines. Front shaft looks like this rear one just smaller:

 

[IRONSHIEK]

Where and how do we grease a 2wd Ujoint?

 

[VikAry]

Thump/Clunk still there after installing new drive shaft

I bought a used 2008 V8 4Runner 2 years ago and experienced the thumping/clunking issue around 1 month after purchase. The thumping would occur when coming to a stop, when accelerating from stop and when accelerating moderately or hard from ~20 mph.

My mechanic would grease the driveshaft during every oil change which would address the issue for ~500 miles. After reading many posts in this forum, I was confident that replacing the drive shaft would resolve the issue. My mechanic is very knowledgeable about Toyotas but even he was not certain that replacing the drive shaft would solve the problem.

One week after installing the new Toyota drive shaft, (not the Lexus part), I was happy to report that the thumping had gone away, or at least I thought so. While driving to work one morning, I accelerated moderately hard from ~20 mph and felt the thump/clunk again. I went reported the issue to my mechanic and went back to have him tighten the U joint bolts. I also learned that he replaced only the rear drive shaft. I asked if he should have replaced the front drive shaft as well and he responded by saying that he did not think that the front drive shaft had anything to do with the thump/clunk issue.

It has been more than 2 months since I replaced the rear drive shaft but given my state implemented stay at home orders in mid-March, I have driven my car ~300 miles with the new drive shaft. There is no issue when coming to a stop or accelerating from a stop but the issue did present itself again 3 days ago when I accelerated moderately hard from ~20mph.

My mechanic believes that there is some other issue with my transmission, perhaps with the differential. He has found a significant amount of rust (also know issue with this generation 4Runner) which we have covered with 3M rubber coating twice since I bought the vehicle.

I wanted to reach out to this forum and ask if anyone might know what is causing the thump/clunk when accelerating from ~20 mph. Is this a front drive shaft issue, differential or something else in the transmission?

I use my 4Runner as my daily driver and to trailer my race car to the track. I have installed an auxiliary transmission cooler, replaced the timing belt and done a full tune up since purchase. The truck runs beautifully, except for this one annoying issue. I want to address this issue given that I tow a heavy load (race car plus equipment and tools = ~6,000 pounds) 7-10 times per year, sometimes several hundred miles and over significant grades.

Any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Bigt5646]

you mean to say you're planning to grease the slip joint on the driveshaft at every oil change? if so, keep in mind that the grease doesnt really go anywhere or evaporate away, so eventually after not too many oil changes you will have pumped in too much grease & have an overfill situation. the slip joint isnt like a ujoint where you can flush out the grease as much as you want.

doing about 4-6 pumps is all the slip joint should need for a long time until it starts to clunk again & if its not making any noise now then a few pumps of grease is all thats needed for preventative maint.

If you don’t know whether the slip yoke has been greased at all throughout its life what would you do? I recently did mine and gave 5 pumps to both slider fittings but I didn’t see/feel the driveshaft expand. It’s possible I don’t know exactly what I’m looking for, but it’s been about a week since she got some grease and the clunk remains. It’s not as strong, but it is still there. Would you continue to do like 5 or 6 pumps a week until it disappears or just pump until expansion?

 

[<<<<]

If you see it expand - it is overfilled. Just don't do it. 5 or so pumps is plenty. Use Moly grease

 

[firebirdguy]

If you don’t know whether the slip yoke has been greased at all throughout its life what would you do? I recently did mine and gave 5 pumps to both slider fittings but I didn’t see/feel the driveshaft expand. It’s possible I don’t know exactly what I’m looking for, but it’s been about a week since she got some grease and the clunk remains. It’s not as strong, but it is still there. Would you continue to do like 5 or 6 pumps a week until it disappears or just pump until expansion?

sorry just seeing this. you dont want the d/s to expand, that indicates too much grease & the slip joint wont work as designed since the grease doesnt have anywhere to go. as stated i would stick to 5 pumps of grease or maybe try a few more pumps of grease if it has never been done, maybe the old grease is drying up, but as long as its not expanding you should be ok but dont over do it as that can damage the x-fer case.

also read the TSIB on this thread, it mentions the rear control arms contributing to the clunk noise, so you could have more going on than just the slip yoke causing the clunk. i had a 98 jeep cherokee before my 4runner & they are terrible at the clunk, i just lived with it for 10+ years & had no damage or issues, it only did it on steep hills or other rare occasions so it wasnt a big deal.

 

[SurferUK]

I just followed what was in the Haynes book and bought Shell Gadus S5 V100 2 Advanced Multipurpose Grease. It is NGLI #2.

Have I cocked up?

https://www.shell.iq/en_iq/business...e6dd9d51e6522b4/Shell_Gadus_S2_V100_2_TDS.pdf

Shell Gadus S2 V100 2 is a general purpose grease based on a new lithium hydroxystearate soap thickener fortified
with anti-oxidant, anti-wear and anti-rust additives.

 

[<<<<]

MP will be fine but if you're OCD then get NaCl#2 to be at ease.

 

[fredty]

There are different size zerk nipples.
How do we know if the grease gun will fit the zerk nipples on the 4Runner?

Do we just buy a general purpose grease gun from Harbor Frieght?

 

[AuSeeker]

There are different size zerk nipples.
How do we know if the grease gun will fit the zerk nipples on the 4Runner?

Do we just buy a general purpose grease gun from Harbor Frieght?

Most all vehicles use the same size Zerk fittings, which normal grease guns come with, when purchasing a grease gun the main thing is do you need a flexible hose to get at the fittings or will a non flexible one get at the fittings.

 

[diddly]

Hmm...I've read this thread and others pertaining to 'the dreaded clunk', very closely. My daughter has a 2005 4Runner V8 AWD with this issue, and I'd love to solve it for good without buying new parts, (if that's possible). I too have 'blindly' pumped a little grease (actually my mechanic did, at my request) into those zerks in an attempt to stop the clunk. It helped for several months, maybe a year, even(?) but when I drove the vehicle yesterday, I felt the clunk again, perhaps as strong as ever. (FYI, this 4Runner currently has ~220K miles on it.) One thing that my mechanic told me, and I trust the guy 100%...is that the correct way to fix this problem (probably), is to remove the drive shaft and clean all of the old dried grease out of the splines (I'm assuming?) and replace the shaft and grease it properly with fresh grease. So I'm more than a bit surprised that with all of the responses that I've read to threads concerning this issue, I have NOT READ A SINGLE ONE mentioning this as a possible solution(?) I'm a bit OCD with my vehicles and would love to fix this issue permanently. What do you guys think about my mechanic's idea? Waste of time? Worth a shot? I hate to keep pumping more grease into it, especially if it's already too full(?)

 

[AuSeeker]

Hmm...I've read this thread and others pertaining to 'the dreaded clunk', very closely. My daughter has a 2005 4Runner V8 AWD with this issue, and I'd love to solve it for good without buying new parts, (if that's possible). I too have 'blindly' pumped a little grease (actually my mechanic did, at my request) into those zerks in an attempt to stop the clunk. It helped for several months, maybe a year, even(?) but when I drove the vehicle yesterday, I felt the clunk again, perhaps as strong as ever. (FYI, this 4Runner currently has ~220K miles on it.) One thing that my mechanic told me, and I trust the guy 100%...is that the correct way to fix this problem (probably), is to remove the drive shaft and clean all of the old dried grease out of the splines (I'm assuming?) and replace the shaft and grease it properly with fresh grease. So I'm more than a bit surprised that with all of the responses that I've read to threads concerning this issue, I have NOT READ A SINGLE ONE mentioning this as a possible solution(?) I'm a bit OCD with my vehicles and would love to fix this issue permanently. What do you guys think about my mechanic's idea? Waste of time? Worth a shot? I hate to keep pumping more grease into it, especially if it's already too full(?)

There are few posts in some of the topics on the subject where they DO mention to clean out the old grease and then put in new grease and it seems to be the best option short of replacing the drive shaft with a new improved shaft, it would be my next choice if I were you.

 

[MrWeatherman]

Thank you everyone for this, I have that jerk when accelerating from a stop. I just got the 2 grease mentioned with grease guns so later I’ll see if it helps.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bradd D]

With regards to the grease we're using for the propeller shaft, how long is the grease in the grease gun good for? I know it doesn't take much to do the job and I'm wondering about the shelf life.

 

[fredty]

Most all vehicles use the same size Zerk fittings, which normal grease guns come with, when purchasing a grease gun the main thing is do you need a flexible hose to get at the fittings or will a non flexible one get at the fittings.

ok, thanks.

Finally decided on a grease gun made in South Africa, I think.

 

[fredty]

Hmm...I've read this thread and others pertaining to 'the dreaded clunk', very closely. My daughter has a 2005 4Runner V8 AWD with this issue, and I'd love to solve it for good without buying new parts, (if that's possible). I too have 'blindly' pumped a little grease (actually my mechanic did, at my request) into those zerks in an attempt to stop the clunk. It helped for several months, maybe a year, even(?) but when I drove the vehicle yesterday, I felt the clunk again, perhaps as strong as ever. (FYI, this 4Runner currently has ~220K miles on it.) One thing that my mechanic told me, and I trust the guy 100%...is that the correct way to fix this problem (probably), is to remove the drive shaft and clean all of the old dried grease out of the splines (I'm assuming?) and replace the shaft and grease it properly with fresh grease. So I'm more than a bit surprised that with all of the responses that I've read to threads concerning this issue, I have NOT READ A SINGLE ONE mentioning this as a possible solution(?) I'm a bit OCD with my vehicles and would love to fix this issue permanently. What do you guys think about my mechanic's idea? Waste of time? Worth a shot? I hate to keep pumping more grease into it, especially if it's already too full(?)

I could be wrong but I think I read somewhere that the clunk is a symptom of a worn driveshaft joint. Not a huge deal since that joint can be replaced, or a remanufactured driveshaft with new joints already on it. Because of such reports, I plan on using my grease gun and lubing each nipple annually. It only takes 30 minutes and a new grease gun cartridge is about $8.

 

[fredty]

With regards to the grease we're using for the propeller shaft, how long is the grease in the grease gun good for? I know it doesn't take much to do the job and I'm wondering about the shelf life.

I think my cartridge has an expiration date on it.

But it only cost $8 so even if it doesn't have a date, why not use it annually for about 3-4 years and toss it because its so cheap to buy another one.

Also, its recommended to pump in new grease into the nipples which lubricates the U-joints (not the spline which slides in and out) so that all the old grease is pumped out - you can see it ooze out. The color of the old grease will be different from the new grease, this is how you know if the old grease has been pumped out.

If you do the above annually, chances are your one grease cartridge will be empty in about 3 - 4 years.

 

[fredty]

If the problem keeps returning, I would just get a rebuilt shaft and replace it myself. It shouldn't be that difficult and there are probably Youtubes on it.
The more I read about repair shops which mess up the vehicle even more, and/or unexperienced mechanics, I prefer to do my own work these days.