Drive line grease zerks on 2001 PreRunner

I'm wondering how many zerks there are on my drive shafts? I took my 2001 3.4L Double cab 2WD to jiffy lube so they could grease the drive line. They could only get to 2 of the zerks, so that's all they greased!

1st question...
Are they hard to get a grease gun on the zerks?

2nd...
How many zerks are on the drive line? I've heard 6 or 7, that correct?

3rd...
Since I'm gonna get my own grease gun and grease the drive line my self, is there anything else I should/ can grease while I'm under the truck?

Last...
Is there a certain type of grease gun I should get that would make this easier? Also, is there a certain type of grease that works best or that's recommended?


Thanks!

 

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/te...ntire-drive-shaft-u-joints-5-zerks-total.html


comments in the thread should cover all the questions, but for shitz n giggz

1. very easy
2. see thread above, DC might vary iirc
3. any zerk you see in my opinion
4. personal preference, I would avoid the mini as it may look more cost effective, the tubes of lube are going to end up costing you.

 

might add, regrease with every oil change, I guarantee this will pay off into the future, I got 220,000k +, drive line still tight....

YMMV...

 

Well I greased the zerks today! I pumped grease till a decent amount of the old black grease seeped out.

I actually would recommend getting a small size grease gun w/ the trigger handle. The 14oz grease gun I got was bulky and in the way, the compact one would have done better, especially if the truck isn't jacked up or on a lift.

I did have one question... Zerk #6 (most accessible zerk closest to rear axle) grease goes where? I was able to pump grease until the old grease seeped out on all 5 of the other zerks. On zerk 6 I couldnt tell when to stop because the old grease never seeped out of anywhere?

 

May well end up in the axle possibly

 

The zerk closest to your rearend provides grease for the slip yoke. If you get too much, you should be able to see the slip yoke being pushed out of the drive shaft slightly. The truck will squash out any extra grease from the slip yoke when you flex it out going over large bumps or obstacles off road.

Just for reference, I use lucas red 'n tacky grease on my drive line and grease it every time I change the oil. Usually about 3 pumps per zerk, or until I can see it start to ooze out.

 

Maybe a no duh question but, what size are the zerks? They should be metric right, but what size exactly. The rear yoke is missing one, and I dont want to go buy a bunch that wont fit. Any info is helpful.

 

If the grease zerk fitting is missing then I would be looking at just replacing that universal joint because it's probably getting dry inside and will eventually fail sooner or later. A new joint is only $15 or $20. ymmv