Check Your U-Joints

I mean... that works... but you can also move the truck a few inches and the zerks all align downward. I got lucky in that mine were properly aligned when I squeezed my truck into my undersized garage. I'm just not a fan of jack stands if you can avoid them. I'm just paranoid, though.

 

Just chock one rear wheel and put your jack under the other side of the axle, u-bolts. Put the truck in neutral and lift that wheel off the ground. Spin that tire and you've got access to all the
zerks. Totally safe.

 

Pelfreybilt

 

"Just chock one rear wheel and put your jack under the other side of the axle, u-bolts. Put the truck in neutral and lift that wheel off the ground. Spin that tire and you've got access to all the
zerks. Totally safe."

Seems simple, easy and safe. Thanks for this....................... Frank

 

What exactly do you mean by purged?

 

I believe in this case "purged" is defined as the grease pushing out of the u-joint to show that it's fully greased.

 

I stopped by Toyota of Irving (TX) to see if they would shoot some grease in the u-joints for me since it was on the way home. After 20 minutes at the service desk while the representative called to see if the service mgr could get me in, I was told the service mgr said that the 2016 tacomas 4X4s do not have grease fittings on the u-joints. Having seen them myself, I told the rep they were incorrect. He just shrugged his shoulders and said I must be mistaken....WTF?? I am not sure what's more embarrassing...the customer service or the fact they have no clue about my truck. Obviously it was useless to argue with a stiff so I stopped by Auto Zone and picked up a tube of Green Grease NLGI #2 and shot some grease in with a pneumatic gun. I stopped counting after 10 shots on each....sheesh!!

 

Well, at least now you know which dealership to avoid

 

finally got under there. i had a bitch of a time finding the zerk behind the heat shield, but eventually got it. all 5 zerks took a good 6-7 pumps.

 

Did all 5. All took about 2-3 pumps. 1 hand pressed on the zerk and another pumped the grease. What purged was orangish color grease, not black grease that was injected into.

For #2, just loosened the cover with adjustable wrench, couldnt get socket to fit there.

Thank you.

 

Yelp the story so more people are aware that this dealership sucks.

 

Mine were all pretty good, only 2 pumps before starting to purge.

 

As long as you can get all 4 seals to purge.

Nice and slow when pumping grease.
You're not supposed to exceed 60 psi.

 

any suggestions on a Mobile 1 compatible grease?

 

Greased mine at about 2,600 km (1,600 miles) with Lucas oil red n tacky #2.

They definitely seemed dry, some black substance came out but not to the extend you would expect at all - basically just enough to dirty the first bit if my grease to purge. Took well over 8 pumps for each joint.

A good point I saw in an earlier post, the front shaft will rotate freely for better access if needed.

 

I would say, Mobil 1 Synthetic Grease.
Certified to the NLGI GC-LB specifications and is NLGI Grade 2.

 

Greased mine today, same story as others, several pumps.

Also, for those of us who hate crawling back out from under your truck to grab a wrench/ratchet, you don't need to remove the shield to get to the joint on the t case side front drive shaft. Just reach from the top, or slightly bend the shield down towards you and it'll open enough to get the grease gun in there.


I used Lucas heavy duty (green). Meets the same standards but is a little more water resistant.

 

Also, I've never had a truck with a carrier bearing/center bearing... Do we grease these or are the sealed units?

 

All the ones I've ever seen are sealed

 

They are sealed; non-servicable.