U-joints Not lubed - reply from Toyota Care

I bought this off Amazon:

Valvoline VV985 SynPower Synthetic Grease

$13 Valvoline Moly-Fortified Gray Full Synthetic Grease 14.1 OZ Cartridge

http://www.amazon.com/Valvoline-VV9...&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

 

If your new Tacoma's u-joints weren't lubed properly from the factory they will fail before your warranty runs out. If you're that concerned about it, pump em full of grease and call it a day. I'm willing to bet the drive shafts come from Spicer fully assembled and ready to bolt on the truck at the Toyota plant, so lubricating the u-joints would be Spicer's responsibility during assembly.

I myself use Valvoline Crimson Grease because it's tacky, works well and is available off the shelf in most auto parts stores. If you're greasing the u-joints every 5k you will be fine with any decent NLGI-2 grease.

As for why 4WD Tacomas have grease fittings and 2WD Tacomas do not, IMHO it's because 4WD trucks are more likely to be driven off-road through mud/water and see heavier use than 2WD trucks, so they design certain parts so you can grease them and purge contaminants.

 

yep nope... not lubed my Spicer, they are sent to the manufacturing/assembly plant with assembly lube only. It's been noted by Toyota that they are in fact NOT lubed and its the responsibility of the assembly plant to be sure and lube them prior to delivering vehicles to dealers. Dealers are not going to lube the truck until the 15K (maybe 10k??) service interval - mine would have been toast long before that.

 

Yeah I saw that in your OP, so I should clarify what I posted earlier. What I meant was that Spicer wouldn't send them a completely assembled driveshaft with dry bearings, so it's unlikely that the u-joints have NO grease. As you and other people have mentioned it's likely that Spicer greases the caps when they assemble the u-joints so there may not be grease in the passages until the zerk is used for the first time.

The response you received from Toyota is vague - they only say that greasing is done during production and not by the dealer during PDI. They don't specify which stage of production, how the grease is applied and who applies it.

 

Assembly grease only was in mine, and it was WAY dark black and very little purged so just enough to put the u-joints together. I think they don't torque the caps down either with doesn't get done at assemebly plant either.

 

Regarding the question about using moly grease - here is a concise explanation based on research I've done over the years:

Moly-infused lithium grease is best suited for sliding parts and not rolling parts such as bearings, which is why regular non-moly lithium grease is usually specified for ball and roller bearings. The issue is that moly grease is too slippery and causes the bearings to slide instead of roll. CV joints generally use moly grease because they slide rather than roll, and moly grease is specified for the sliding joint in driveshafts for the same reason. Regular ball and rolling bearings should use non-moly lithium grease.

 

Going to order now - These 2 parts are all I need for the joints then?

Valvoline VV985 Synthetic Grease

$13 Valvoline Moly-Fortified Gray Full Synthetic Grease 14.1 OZ Cartridge

http://www.amazon.com/Valvoline-VV9...&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

Gun -

$26 LUMAX LX-1152 Black Heavy Duty Deluxe Pistol Grease Gun with 18" Flex Hose, Handy 3-Way Loading - Fill with Standard Cartridge, Suction or Bulk Fill. Convenient One-Hand Operation for Easy Greasing.

http://www.amazon.com/Lumax-LX-1152...263_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1JMSSB58EJ8A5W49YFR0

 

You're going to want a grease gun that has a 6" solid extension in addition to the flexible hose. The rear u-joint on the front driveshaft has a zerk fitting inside the u-joint which is hard to grease with a flexible line because, you can't get your fingers in there to push the grease gun coupler onto the zerk.

 

thx.......that and I need to find ALL of them.

 

They're not hard to find if you know where to look. I can't speak for your truck, but on mine, all three zerk fittings on the rear driveshaft line up in the same direction, so once you get the driveshaft rotated just right, all three zerks will be facing down so you can grease them. I believe it's the same deal with the front driveshaft but that one is easier because you can spin it by hand without moving the truck.

 

I should add that on the 2nd gen trucks, the rear u-joint on the front driveshaft is covered by a metal shield fastened with two 12mm bolts. It may be the same with the 3rd gen trucks. You need to remove the shield to access the zerk on the inside of the u-joint.

 

thanks man. hoping they're similar.

 

Once you do it for the first time and figure out where they are, it's a piece of cake. Shouldn't take you more than 10 minutes to do it the next time.

 

You'll also need a towel to wipe off the excess.
Usually, the seals closest to the seek will purge first; the one farthest will purge last. Until you get the last one to purge, grease just keeps coming out the other seals.
I use an old microfiber; really grabs the grease and carries it away.

 

Just checked the other thread you're in. I'm seeing both 615 & 985 grease
links posted, will either one suffice?

615 -

$10 Valvoline Multi-Vehicle High Temperature Red Grease 14.1 OZ Cartridge

http://www.amazon.com/Valvoline-VV6..._UL160_SR160,160_&refRID=0B7BE3MD9AT1VKPEBRJR

985 -

$13 Valvoline Moly-Fortified Gray Full Synthetic Grease 14.1 OZ Cartridge

http://www.amazon.com/Valvoline-VV9...263_img_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1WAMZYWXWT1XV35TA249

 

Either or...
I'd prefer the 615 myself.

 

thx, even better, half the price

ordered. just ran out to my truck, I only found 3 zerks, so I'll
look better this weekend when I fiil em. I see one in the front, middle
and end of the drivetrain, the other 2 must be hidden, those 3 were
in clear view from the middle of the truck where I was laying.

 

Yeah I'd prefer the 615 if I had to choose between the two. I'm wary of using synthetic grease because I've heard of it separating.

 

On my truck the zerks for the rear driveshaft are built into one of the bearing caps on the u-joints so they stick out. The zerks for the front driveshaft are built into the the cross piece in the middle of the u-joint. Should be the same on the newer trucks.

 

Hmmm, I've seen many here order the 985 Synthetic. I'm not familiar with
either one, just repeating what I've read here.