grease fittings on front propeller shaft of Tundra

[pdruffin]

Uh, OK, I did as suggested and bought a needle tip for my grease gun to access the Zerks on the forward propeller shaft. Hey, I don't even have to try to know that I can't exert enough pressure through that needle (with absolutely no seal) to force grease throughout that universal joint. Anybody got any suggestions other than the needle tip? Thanks. PR

[KLS]

The needle tip works for me.


Ken

[pdruffin]

How can you exert sufficient pressure when the needle diameter is quite a bit smaller than that of the Zerk opening? Just as grease oozes out around the head of a grease gun when it is not properly seated, how can the grease do otherwise with this unsealed fitting? Granted, you can pump some grease in, but can you force the grease throughout the U-joint without a tight seal?

[redbaron224]

Originally posted by pdruffin
Uh, OK, I did as suggested and bought a needle tip for my grease gun to access the Zerks on the forward propeller shaft. Hey, I don't even have to try to know that I can't exert enough pressure through that needle (with absolutely no seal) to force grease throughout that universal joint. Anybody got any suggestions other than the needle tip? Thanks. PR

I've considered using a bench grinder to make the outside diameter of the grease tip smaller. Even two flats on it might work. I'll let you know if it works. My front shaft is way past due for grease, especially after running through the water a few weeks ago. (Check out my pics.)

Later,

[Herb]

This sure sounds familiar! I went through this just the other day.

To get the needle adapter to work it must be pushed straight in the fitting with considerable force until you feel the ball move backwards. This, I have found, is almost impossible using a grease gun with a steel tube...especially in the case of the front univeral joint. So, I put a flex hose on my gun with the needle on the end. This works quite well if you have 3 hands...I discovered.

So, I finally broke down and bought another pneumatic gun along with an adapter that amounts to a piece of pipe about 3 inches long with a needle adapter on one end and a grease fitting on the other end. The coupler on my flex hose connects to that fitting. On this device there is a sleeve that slides back over the coupler to prevent it from deflecting and popping off the fitting. Mine was made by Lube-Tech and I think I paid about 9 bucks for it. These work very well.

What you'll discover, if you haven't already, is that the grease in the U-joints up front is really stiff stuff when it's cold. Unless you live in the tropics, you might want to put off until warmer weather.

A word about grease guns. No two brands have the same discharge rate per stroke. What I want is a gun that produces the least amount of grease per stroke. As such, they are much easier to pump against the resistance offered by a new U-loint.

Here are some discharge rates (strokes per ounce output) for commonly available guns that take a 14-1/4 oz cartridge:

Legacy - 39 strokes

Lincoln - 33 strokes

Alemite - 21 strokes

Lubrimatic - 12 strokes (a real arm breaker)

So how much grease is one ounce? It's the amount needed to pack a tapered roller bearing that's 10 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick -- quite a lot of grease.

Herb

[Plumber546]

Grind down the tip alittle so it will fit in the front shaft.. Work for me..

[pdruffin]

Well, I turned my regular tip in the lathe to accommodate that small opening, but I'm still not managing a fit. I guess I can turn it some more. What do the dealerships do to grease those damned front ones? Surely they have some sort of slender tip that will snap onto the fitting. No matter how snugly you get that needle in there, the grease is going to back out past the needle just as easily as it will be forced into the recesses of the joint. There is no way to exert enough pressure to force grease out around the seals with a needle tip.

[staggarlee]

I had wondered about that myself. I went out and got the needle tip only to discover that the grease just backs right out instead of forcing it through.

[userw5]

Originally posted by KLS
The needle tip works for me.


Ken

Ditto.


pdruffin,

I thought the same thing as you did until I tried it. It does take more effort to get the grease in the fitting with the neddle tip. Trust me, you will lose some grease in the process. But once I got my technique down it worked very well and I lost little or no grease. I had a flexible hose on my grease gun, but removed that and now have the angled tube piece that can with the gun back on it.

Good Luck,
Jeff

[pdruffin]

It may be that they make a tapered needle tip that will allow a firm seat and seal against the Zerk opening, but I have not found one yet. I just cannot imagine how a straight needle tip will work. It's fine for getting grease into sealed bearings, CVJs, etc., but I can't see it working effectively in a conventional grease fitting.

[userw5]

You need one like this

http://www.legacymfg.com/asp/Ldetail.asp?ID=188


Not like this:

http://www.legacymfg.com/asp/Ldetail.asp?ID=185

Here is their entire product line of grease accessories

http://www.legacymfg.com/asp/Lresult...ductCode2=C65A

Good Luck,
Jeff

[pdruffin]

Yep, that 188 looks like it would work very well. Where can it be purchased, though? I don't see in provision on the Legacy website for purchasing that tip.

[pdruffin]

The L2120, which has the same tip as the other one but snaps right onto the regular grease gun head, looks like it might be more convenient. Still don't know whether to get these fittings.

[pdruffin]

That should have been WHERE instead of WHETHER.

[staggarlee]

Thanks userw5,

That looks like what I need. I've been using the the second one and haven't had any luck. Now to find that somewhere.