4X4 Front Drive Shaft - Lubrication point?

[kcpolk]

So, I did my winter oil change on Saturday and I noticed the "Grease the front drive shaft" decal on the front fender. I cannot find any place on the drive shaft or U-joint to grease.... no zerk fitting, contact wear point or otherwise. The decal it not real clear. Has anyone done this? What and where to lube? To be honest, I haven't looked in the Owners manual as the decal suggests..... frankly I trust you guys a lot more than the book. Please let me know your thoughts...... THANKS!!!!

 

[SnoKing]

Takes a needle point adapter to press against button? Not a zerk! SNOKING

 

[DonFitzwater]

Search it on this site. The fitting is there, just hidden really well. You'll need a needle fitting on your grease gun. The fitting is a cup type, not a zirk.

 

[Cummins12V98]

I have not looked for mine on my 15 yet. On the 11 Dually it had the tag but there was "NO ZERK". I had this confirmed at MayMadness with the head Mechanic and Stan Gozzi form Chrysler when it was up on the rack. The Mechanic said not all have the grease point.

 

[zetatre]

Yes it is there regardless what everyone say.

You are not lubricating the U-joint. What you are lubricating is the centering ball that is between the two universal joints that make the double cardan joint that comes out of the TC. Because the front shaft is shorter than the the rear shaft, the output shaft would be at too steep of an angle compared to the two input shaft and would result in vibrations caused by it's constant change in speed (the output shaft is not at constant speed, but its speed changes sinusoidally and the amplitude of the change is dependent on the angle between input and output shaft). As a result you couple two universal joints close together and tie tham with a centering ball to ensure they stay within a certain position from each other.

Because of the lack of clearance instead of a traditional zerk fitting they use cup fittings.

I don't think there's a sealed design for a centering ball so any driveshaft with a double cardan (basicaly all front axles) will have a greasing point

It can be challenging to find it, but look around google and familiarize yourself with how the centering ball of a double cardan looks like and how the cup fittings look like. The arrow is accurate in pointing to the side where the fitting is.

You will need a needle attachment: it has a syringe tip that you push through the valve on the fitting. I push grease through it until it start oozing out the other side. If you see grease on the side where the zerk is, you are not injecting it in.

Sorry to be blunt but if a mechanic however certified tells you it's not there, he doesn't know what to look for...

 

[mmkummerfeldt]

Check this thread on Cummins Diesel. http://www.cumminsforum.com/forum/0...ing-front-drive-shaft-grease-point-video.html

 

[TRAMPLINEMAN]

These are the best pics I can get, I hope they help. If you aren't exactly sure where to look, it can be difficult to find. Regardless to what is posted above, all trucks DO NOT have the fitting. My '14 did not have the fitting. I was also told I was wrong and the mechanics I brought it to to double check were idiots. Well, it did not have it. My friend owns a junk yard and got a low mile '14 rollover in. He made a deal for an even swap if I do the work. The '14 now has the fitting.

 

[Newsa]

Look for the indent on the outer collar. That's what I look for now. It's not easy to find even though I have greased it twice.

 

[swhalen]

I stole this picture from a previous 3rd gen post a few years ago. It is probably similar if not exactly the same as the 4th gen. Even with the picture it was a challenge to find the fitting with my trifocal glasses. Once I located the fitting, it was an additional PIA actually getting grease into the fitting. If you are anything like me, have a few paper towels or a rag ready to wipe up your misses.

 

[JohnCW]

Jack up the drivers side front tire , turning the tire will rotate the drive-shaft so you can see the elusive little devil.
You have to get it just right to see it, the photo above is the best.
A shot of wd40 and a small brush to clean the area helps.

Good luck .

 

[Ozymandias]

My truck also doesn't have this fitting.
To my knowledge there are two shafts around, Spicer and AAM.
Perhaps that's why some have the grease point and others don't.

 

[AnOldBiker]

On my old 06, I couldn't find it and finally took it to the dealer for help. They put it on the hoist and the mechanic couldn't find it. But an old man came there and looked, finding a piece of metal, scratched the surface and found some form of dark brown substance covering the hole. It was hard and blended in with the surface rust. He said he didn't know what it was but had seen this a few times. The showed the other mechanics and greased the joint and turn me loose without charge. They said it was a training / learning exprance for them. I've been greasing it since. So look real close and with a bright light.

 

[kthaxton]

Jack up the drivers side front tire , turning the tire will rotate the drive-shaft so you can see the elusive little devil.
You have to get it just right to see it, the photo above is the best.

.....and if you have a CAD equipped truck (2013 or 2014+, I don't recall) then you can spin the shaft freely without jacking unless you parked it while in 4wd.

 

[ScottLewis]

As an aside, I'm sure many of these never get a shot of grease in the lifetime of the truck. The fact that so many shop techs don't even know about the lube point (I had to show those at the shop where I bought my truck) suggests that even many professionally serviced never do.

Does anyone have a guess about the failure rate of the joint due to lack of Lube?

 

[kthaxton]

As an aside, I'm sure many of these never get a shot of grease in the lifetime of the truck. The fact that so many shop techs don't even know about the lube point (I had to show those at the shop where I bought my truck) suggests that even many professionally serviced never do.

Does anyone have a guess about the failure rate of the joint due to lack of Lube?

I don't have a guess about any failure rate, but it must be reasonably important since it is mentioned in the manual and there are decals under the hood stating it needs to be done. It's such an easy thing (well, not that easy compared to most grease points, but still not that hard), and only needs to be done a couple times a year, why not do it?

I've had many 4wd trucks over the years and none of them have made such an effort to communicate to the owner that this point needs lubrication, there must be something about its design that requires the special mention.

 

[Cummins12V98]

At 65k with NO grease applied to the joint there were no issues.

The head mechanic at Satia in Pahrump, NV that has greased many could not find mine nor could the head West Coast Chrysler Rep. The truck had a few thousand miles and the joint was clean.

Nice to hear others say that their truck did not come with one.

 

[SnoKing]

I could never find a grease point on my 2001.5. I did however years ago make a point grease adapter and used it I believe on my 1993 W250 or other earlier 4x4's. SNOKING

 

[Cummins12V98]

My 98 did not have one either.

sag2, what is your experience with the illusive grease fitting?

 

[kthaxton]

At 65k with NO grease applied to the joint there were no issues.

The head mechanic at Satia in Pahrump, NV that has greased many could not find mine nor could the head West Coast Chrysler Rep. The truck had a few thousand miles and the joint was clean.

Nice to hear others say that their truck did not come with one.

Out of curiosity, does/did this truck have the decal under the hood stating it needed to be lubed?

 

[TRAMPLINEMAN]

Out of curiosity, does/did this truck have the decal under the hood stating it needed to be lubed?

My '14 has the decal, but did not have the fitting. I'm guessing every truck has the decal. Maybe, just maybe, while these trucks were being built they had two different suppliers of joints and they got mixed together in a big hopper. Maybe different assembly plants received different shafts but the trucks still required the decal. I really don't know and I don't think we'll ever find the answer on here, it's all just speculation.