Manual Transmissions Low on fluid?

Hey guys I'm new here, I'v been creeping though. Has anyone checked their MTF levels? After reading about low factory levels on the automatics it has me wondering. Seeing dry U joints on my rig left me even more skeptical.

 

My pops showed me me take the plug out when it is cold, stick your finger in and if you touch oil, your good to go. Dry U-joint? You might not be able to see the grease, until you service it and see grease come out of the bearing on your first pump.

 

That simple eh? For the Ujoints i filled them up today with mobil 1 synthetic grease and it took countless pumps before they filled up and purged a smidge of black grease before seeing my grease

 

I get cought all the time (I'm a aircraft mechanic) in a "multi-bearing-single nipple" situation looking in one spot for the grease to come out. Ill pump and pump, then a glob a grease that I was not seeing grows larger and larger. Are you sure it just did not come out one of the other 3 bearings on that U joint?

 

Im rather certain all 5 joints did not deceive me. Seeing as how i could spin the front drive shaft, the 3 bearings being within 2 inchs of the zerk and having my face be within a foot of viewing it

 

LOL, now that I have that visual, that was a dumb comment I made! Sounds like they needed it.

 

It's been pretty well documented that the u-joints come with assembly grease only. Greasing them for the first time requires so many pumps because the zerk and fill cavity are bone dry from the factory.

I haven't heard anything about low fluid in the manual. Mine was fine when I checked all fluids a week off the lot.