Prop shaft greasing

[Mijfwb23]

Like my ft/rr diff fluid change, I figured I would post a quick write-up to help those that have never done or where too afraid to try mx on there rig.

Again this is really easy mx and anyone can accomplish it.

Toyota recommends Molybdenum disulphide lithium base chassis grease NLGI No. 2 Which you can buy at any auto parts store. I got mine local and I am sure there are tons of varieties and everyone will have their preference but this is what I used since it meet specs.

Each shaft has 3 lube fittings for a total of 6 between the rear shaft and the front shaft. Make sure you wipe down the fittings before you attach your gun so that you don't force dirt into the bearings and also so that the little ball check valve doesn't get stuck open.

Here is the 3 fittings on the rear.

And the 3 for the front. You may have to remove this shied if your gun can't reach the fittings. Just take off any pair of the 12mm bolts and the shield comes right out.

And that's it, just add grease till it starts forcing its way out but don't add too much otherwise it just makes a mess.

 

[Jaker]

Thanks for posting this.

However, I only see two zerk fittings in the pictures you posted for the front. Am I missing the 3rd?

 

[Mijfwb23]

Thanks for posting this.

However, I only see two zerk fittings in the pictures you posted for the front. Am I missing the 3rd?

Yea it is hiding under the shield, I didn't take a pic after I removed the shield.

 

[Jaker]

Yea it is hiding under the shield, I didn't take a pic after I removed the shield.

Ah ok no worries then. Thanks for the explanation.

 

[Nitewulf]

The third one is on the slip yoke, and some but not all universal joints have twin fittings in a y configuration. As a rule of thumb, you grease u-joints about once a month and they can potentially last you the lifetime of the vehicle.
To avoid over greasing them, you generally listen for a cracking sound not unlike popping bubble wrap. If no "snap" is heard, wath for a thin ring of grease to make its way past the dust ring on the cap.
Use moderation when greasing the slip yoke section of the drive or propellor shaft(on models that have a slip joint) so the new grease doesn't shove off the debris cap. Only 3-5 squeezes of a manual mini-pump(as pictured above), 2-4 on a full size gun(manual) or 1-3 'pop offs' of an air powered gun.

 

[wxxiong]

Is the Prop shaft greasing included in any of the dealer provided maintenance package such as 10,000 mile service?

 

[Froggy]

Is the Prop shaft greasing included in any of the dealer provided maintenance package such as 10,000 mile service?

A look at your WARRANTY & MAINTENANCE GUIDE should answer your question. Dealer provided maintenance packages are minimal & generally do not cover Additional Maintenance Items for Special Operating Conditions.

 

[Jaker]

I thought I might add a bit of clarification to the OP's excellent write-up.

On my Limited 4x4, the exact location of the six zerk fittings are as follows:

x1 - Rear axle inside the u-joint
x2 - Center of the truck behind the t-case (1 on the slip yoke and 1 for the u-joint)
x2 - Up behind the heat shield of the exhaust cross-over pipe (1 on the slip yoke 1 for the u-joint). You may be able to reach these depending on how small your grease gun's attachment is. It was much easier to just remove the heat shield (two 12mm bolts) and get to them that way.
x1 - Front of the of the truck inside the u-joint

A few people pm'd me with questions so I want to post up here with some additional information:

Do NOT over grease the zerk fittings on each of the slip yokes. Too much grease is a very bad thing for the slip yokes. More than likely, if it's your first time greasing these, it'll require a few pumps to fill. However, you will not see any excess grease coming out. A good way to check and potentially relieve the pressure of excess grease is to remove the zerk fitting itself (a 7mm hex bolt). Once you remove it, excess grease should ooze out. When it stops oozing, you should be okay to reinsert the zerk. That being said, if you added a $hit-ton of grease, you may need to disassemble the shaft and remove the excess grease.

 

[Jaker]

I edited my post above and thought it deserved a bump for all interested to see.

 

[mikey's2010SR5]

I should probably get on this one when I get my truck back.

 

[1000MPH]

If possible, can the OP fix the missing pics in this thread?
Then I recommend we submit the thread to [MENTION=49863]WhiskeyCop[/MENTION] for his maintenance thread.

 

[WhiskeyCop]

If possible, can the OP fix the missing pics in this thread?
Then I recommend we submit the thread to [MENTION=49863]WhiskeyCop[/MENTION] for his maintenance thread.

Most of the OP's pics are gone from his transmission thread as well.

 

[Mijfwb23]

Sorry guys not sure why the pics disappeared.

 

[Whiplash Willy]

I am confused..

The 2010 4runner FSM (that can be found here) says:

Spider (aka u-joint, universal joint, universal joint spider)
-use lithium base chassis grease NLGI #2 (non moly)

Pic of a spider/u-joint:

Slide yoke and Double Cardan Joint
-use Molybendenum disulphide lithium base chassis grease NLGI #2

Pic of a slide yoke:

Pic of a Double Cardan Joint:

Here is my confusion..

From the OPs pics of the driveshafts, I don't see a Double Cardan Joint. Do our driveshafts have these? And if not, why does the FSM say to grease it with moly under the maintenance section? (Note the FSM's diagram of the driveshafts also don't show a Double Cardan Joint)

From FSM:

Does it really matter if we use Moly, or regular MP lithium based chassis grease on the Universal/Spider Joints? I have seen many threads and arguments about using both for toyota's specified locations, and others saying it doesn't matter. Although, I went to my dealer's service department, and talked to the techs, and they just use Moly on everything (don't know if it is because they are lazy, or if it doesn't matter) I have also read it is bad to use moly grease in locations that don't call for it.

 

[ZO6_Vette]

No double cardan joint on the 4runner.
On my 13 4runner Toyota did use different greases on the drive shafts.
On the slip yokes they used a dark grey grease (moly) and in the universal joints they used a translucent tan grease (non moly).

I now own 2 grease guns.

If I had to go with one type of grease I would use the non moly on both.

 

[ReluctantNomad]

Much appreciated thread.

Wish I could find 3oz cans and grease guns on amazon - the larger ones seem so wasteful.

 

[j0sh_]

Is the Lucas marine grease suitable for this?

 

[NorthwoodsRunner]

I am planning to use two different grease types.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZmTCxFgMNQ

A nice video on how to grease spider and slide yoke.

 

[catrains]

I am planning to use two different grease types.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZmTCxFgMNQ

A nice video on how to grease spider and slide yoke.

my new 1200 mile T4R I checked out the drive shafts for lube what I found was the rear drive shaft had moly black grease in everything and the slip joint. the front drive shaft had brown lithium grease in the U joints and black moly in the slip joint.

I greased it with both types. so now the rear u joints have moly [factory] and lithium [me] in there.

front was lubed properly . as a person mentioned his dealer ship just uses moly I believe it . also if the drive shafts are with no angles those joints do not move much so they are not wearing. on the slip joints these do move much more so that is why the higher grade moly is used.

the owners manual says just use the lithium on all these fittings.

having used moly grease on other vehicles in corrosive environment I never saw any joint failures ,it is very good protection against oxidation issues and wear... resists water absorption quite well.

the slip joints had little if any grease in them. I did 3 half pumps till I fell slight resistance . after operating the vehicle I noticed now a slight amount of black grease in the slip area. before no grease .

one thing to never do is grease these fittings in cold weather . grease does not flow good and do damage .. I grease my vehicles just before the cold weather hits . then again when the warmer temps return .

 

[NorthwoodsRunner]

my new 1200 mile T4R I checked out the drive shafts for lube what I found was the rear drive shaft had moly black grease in everything and the slip joint. the front drive shaft had brown lithium grease in the U joints and black moly in the slip joint.

I greased it with both types. so now the rear u joints have moly [factory] and lithium [me] in there.

front was lubed properly . as a person mentioned his dealer ship just uses moly I believe it . also if the drive shafts are with no angles those joints do not move much so they are not wearing. on the slip joints these do move much more so that is why the higher grade moly is used.

the owners manual says just use the lithium on all these fittings.

having used moly grease on other vehicles in corrosive environment I never saw any joint failures ,it is very good protection against oxidation issues and wear... resists water absorption quite well.

the slip joints had little if any grease in them. I did 3 half pumps till I fell slight resistance . after operating the vehicle I noticed now a slight amount of black grease in the slip area. before no grease .

one thing to never do is grease these fittings in cold weather . grease does not flow good and do damage .. I grease my vehicles just before the cold weather hits . then again when the warmer temps return .

A great advice. I only have 670 miles on the truck so I will wait until next spring before greasing the zerks. The factory did a nice job so I am good until next year.