Check Your U-Joints

nevermind i got it. Nah the rear front zerk was no problem... the front one was like it wasn't screwed in all the way. Finally got it though. Didnt count pumps, just purged em all of the black crap. i would guess between 3-7 per ujoint.

 

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If it's the #2 zerk, I had to take out that heat shield, secured with 2 12mm bolts.

 

I thought i established it wasnt the second zerk... and yes i too took off the heat shield for the second zerk.

 

Yes, I am lazy.

Is there a diagram showing all the zerks that should be lubed up? Otherwise I will go back through 17 pages to check.

I'm too busy to deal with it myself, taking it to my guy on Monday.

 

You will need to get a grease needle adapter. It's a pointed adapter that just depresses the ball on the zerk. This is common on smaller joints. They are a pain to use but they work well. Lincoln makes one #82784.

 

Sorry the more I thought about it, see if you have the small or the big end on your gun. If you have the smaller end then you will need the needle. Other wise try changing to the smaller end.

 

$15.94 on ebay

 

Yeah, but even with the shield out of the way, the nozzle on the Lincoln is a bit thick and the angle made it awkward and a mess. Next time I think I'll have to apply more force to the nozzle to prevent that from happening.

 

That's what the needle is for. It's long and thin, goes on your gun coupler and reaches in tight places. Look it up and you'll see what it looks like.

 

It's all in the maintenance. Another member here, qynla, replaced the one by the rear diff at around 225k miles; the other four are all factory joints going on their tenth year and just passed 400k miles.

As for grease type... if you want to be technical about it, Spicer says:
NGLI #2 lithium-base E.P. (extreme pressure) grease
50 lbs / 23 kg minimum for Timken test load
operating temperature range of -10F to +325F

It's surprising how many greases on the shelf don't meet the Timken test load requirement.

 

Are you talking about

$14 Lincoln 5803 Hand-held Grease Gun Needle Nozzle with Hardened Steel Tip, 1/8" Female NPT Thread, 2.76" Length, Used for Lubrication of Flush-Type or Hard-to-Reach Hydraulic Fittings

http://www.amazon.com/Lincoln-Lubrication-5803-Grease-Needle/dp/B0002SR6XE/ ?

Does that just get inserted into the zerk?

 

Yes that is how his works. The 82784 is just a little nicer. It has a zerk on it to connect to your coupler plus a spring loaded collar that holds it on your coupler. With this one you will have remove your coupler and screw this on. They work the same, just ease of use.

 

Great to know the U joints a running that long. MY experience is mostly severe service const. equip. that spends it's time in dirt and water not highway miles. As far as the grease specs. your learning. That"s what this site is about. I have been to several oil,grease and antifreeze seminars over the years, and I'm trying to share that knowledge. Help each other, that's how we learn.

 

Just did mine today. 4-7 pumps in each of the 5 zerks

 

Did mine today. All 5 zerks and used

$11 Valvoline VV985 Valvoline Moly-Fortified Gray Full Synthetic Grease 14.1 OZ Cartridge

Valvoline VV985 SynPower Synthetic Grease and

$30 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.

Lumax LX-1152 Black Heavy Duty Deluxe Pistol Grease Gun with 18" Flex Hose. Both purchased from Amazon.. $30 delivered and seemed to work just fine.

On a separate note.. why does initial quality seem to be so low on these vehicles? Everyone touts Toyota quality but I'm failing to see it with no grease on u-joints, vibrating hood issues due to glue, weird lag when putting in drive, strange noises and vibrations. The rust issue is a whole other can of worms not specific to the 3rd gen yet. There's a thread on people touting the high value in extended warranties.. why would it be so valuable if quality was high? I would say initial quality is quite low compared to other vehicle brands I've owned. Ahem.. Ford... That said.. I do see a lot of older Tacomas on the road so that is good to see just hope mine is one still on the road 15+ years from now. </rant>

 

Heres what I use

$15 Royal Purple 01312 NLGI No. 2 High Performance Multi-Purpose Synthetic Ultra Performance Grease - 14.5 oz.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002KCWWFC...vptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=t&ref=pd_sl_6z827jpk7e_b

 

I just did mine and, like you, I heard the air gurgling sound on at least one of the 5 zerk grease points. I could only get to 4/5 of them. The front one was too tight of a fit for my grease gun tip. Luckily, it was the only one that looked like it had been hit with grease. The rear-most u joint zerk had been painted completely over with black paint. Also, for those who are trying this yourself, I have included a photo of the shield that has to be removed for access to one of the zerks.

 

Lucky to have read this thread shortly after I bought my truck. IIRC, did this around 1k +/- a few hundred miles. Went with

$10 Valvoline VV615 Valvoline Multi-Vehicle High Temperature Red Grease 14.1 OZ Cartridge

Valvoline VV615 since there was a bit of debate on grease early in this thread. Bought the grease and grease gun from Pep Boys, but they didn't have one with a flexible hose and I was able to get to all zerks but the one behind the heatshield. Bought a flexible hose from O'Reilly's and good to go now. Should've just bought the stuff from there in the first place, but usually Pep Boys has a wider selection.

 

I had that issue but it does fit. U can turn the shaft freely, so give it a twist to line it up better and you can fit it.

 

Try turning your front shaft by hand to line it up better. I didn't realize I could do this until I read it in another post.