No grease zerks after ujoint recall

ok so while my Tacoma was getting the leaf spring recall done about a month ago they replaced my front and rear ujoints as some sort of warranty enhancement. I now have no grease zerks. The mid zerks is still there I just regreased it. I have done this before and had no issue finding them. They are no longer there. I turned the shaft and felt every little corner. Is this a new model that’s “greased for life”?

 

Zerk not Zert.

 

Zerk not Zirk

 

Yes; seems "zerk" fittings have disappeared from some 3rd gens. YMMV

 

Fixed to zerks haha

 

That sucks, i'd not be too pleased.

 

The new trend, use then replace when they fail.

 

What's the expected lifespan of an unservicable u-joint?

Had a u-joint fail while away from tools/shop so took it into a toyota dealership in NW ontario, bill was close to $300cad to replace a single joint... Burnt that bridge pretty good, but 2.5 hours for a toyota tech in a toyota garage to do a job that took me 45 minutes with carpenters tool first try, I was pissed, and told them so.. I hope this was just miserable people trying to make a buck, but I'd be concerned if they're trying to make the drivelines unserviceable..
Might be worth noting that they did replace it with a normal u-joint, with a zerk.

 

They were free and replaced for free. If he wanted the greasable u-joints, he could do it himself. Non greasable u-joints are very common these days.

That said, if the dealer just decided to replace parts which I didn't authorize him to replace, I wouldn't be pleased.

 

This isn’t a new trend. It’s a sealed joint. Some people prefer them as they tend to keep grease and water out better. I prefer zerks on OE quality joints. You can always drill a hole in the cap and screw a fitting in.

 

I prefer the non-zerk u-joints. I put non-zerk

$25 Spicer 5-1330X U-Joint Kit 1330/SPL25 Series (OSR)

Spicer 5-1330X all around.

 

What's your maintenance schedule for them, just swap 'em when they're toast? How long do they last?

 

Logic behind this is?

 

Disposable

 

One of many reasons why I just don't let those monkeys touch my truck. They are always finding creative ways to short you. If your truck came equipped with greasable joints, you should expect to get the same. If they are going to make a substitution, they need to get your approval. I would take it back to them and get the right joints.

One great part of greasing ujoints is that it gives you the chance every 5,000 -10,000 miles to detect a bearing going bad. I have carried a ujoint press and spare ujoints with me since the 70's, because I spend a lot of time in the back country. So far I have never had to replace one, but I have helped many others! I can't tell you how many were just filled with dry dust. My truck is coming up on 168,000 miles and still has the original joints,...all are still good as of 160,000. I'll be back under there in a week or so because my center bearing is toast.

 

Non zerk joints are preferred by some because they are stronger; they are solid steel. Zerk joints have grease passages to all four bearing cups which makes them more susceptible to failure under extreme loading.

 

That doesn't make any sense. None at all.

With grease fittings you can maintain them and they will last a very long time. Without fresh grease the old grease will degrade or get washed out from water and the joint will fail sooner than later.

 

No. Not even close. It sounds good in theory, but in the real world it isn't going to happen. If you are loading a universal joint with grease fittings to the point that it breaks then you are doing it wrong.
If loading that much you will probably rip out the differential first, many have done just that.

 

Also the non jerk joints are a lot stronger (beafer)due too not being drilled out for jerks,ask any driveline shop if you don't believe me

 

Primarily, I'm too lazy to grease them. I also prefer non-greaseable BJ's. I have cross-threaded zerk fittings before and had one break off while off-roading, which I will admit is highly unlikely to happen again, but it can happen - I don't drive over thick bushes as much as I used to.

From my experience, the non-greaseable last as long as the greaseable. I usually replace every 100K as preventive maintenance anyways.