4X4 Front Drive Shaft - Lubrication point?

[SnoKing]

Sorry about the picture quality, but here is my 2015 with CAD. It is in just behind the front cross(large shinny silver part in picture) and easily seen on my truck. It is however deep into the joint, almost to the center of the cross in front of it. This one is very similar to what the 93 W250 had and appears to be a button grease fitting with spring a check ball pressed into a hole on a milled flat spot, and is meant to be greased with a pointed tip grease adapter not a needle. The drive line turns quite freely by hand with the CAD. Because the drive shaft is on the drivers side of the engine, this is viewed and greased better from the passengers side. Snoking

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This is the adapter I made years ago.

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[gsbrockman]

A couple of better images for those interested.......

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If your truck has the decal instructing you to grease it....it's there. They are a booger to find though.....just takes some time & patience.

 

[TRAMPLINEMAN]

If your truck has the decal instructing you to grease it....it's there. They are a booger to find though.....just takes some time & patience.

Sorry, but, you're wrong.

Those are really good pics of the fitting tho.

 

[Cummins12V98]

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

Yes it did. I was told by the mechanic they all do.

 

[Cummins12V98]

A couple of better images for those interested.......

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If your truck has the decal instructing you to grease it....it's there. They are a booger to find though.....just takes some time & patience.

If my 11 looked anything like that I would have seen it!!!

 

[JohnCW]

Trust me, it is there .

 

[sag2]

Apparently there were some trucks built without them. I know where they are and have found them on other trucks, so if it was there I would have seen it. It makes sense that a supplier changed.

 

[kcpolk]

Thanks everyone for the info. I'll take a REAL close look at mine this weekend. I have a grease gun, but not the needle adapter (I like the homemade one SNOKING showed)..... anyway, I went to Harbor Freight last night..... they have a grease gun adapter "kit" that includes 7 or 8 pieces in a nice plastic case... of the assorted tips one is a rubber tip needle and one is a steel needle. Either should work. The only issue.... the kit is $32 BUCKS! Dah! An entire grease gun is only 10. Anyway, I got it but didn't take it out of the wrapper yet, just in case I need to return it. Stay tuned! Thanks again everyone.

 

[mwilson]

I use this, it frees up your hand as it locks onto the grease gun end.

http://www.amazon.com/Lincoln-Lubrication-82784-Extension-Locking/dp/B0002SR7QA

 

[sag2]

The rubber tip one will not work. You are better off just buying one that fits. Note there are different tip angles, some are very pointed, some more blunt. Mine looks like the one above.

 

[SnoKing]

The rubber tip one will not work. You are better off just buying one that fits. Note there are different tip angles, some are very pointed, some more blunt. Mine looks like the one above.

Curious why the rubber tip one will not work? SNOKING

 

[mwilson]

Not shaped right, plus it is not strong enough to depress the center button in the little zerk. Works great if you want grease everywhere except for in the fitting itself....

 

[Cummins12V98]

Apparently there were some trucks built without them. I know where they are and have found them on other trucks, so if it was there I would have seen it. It makes sense that a supplier changed.

Thank you!

Three different professionals confirming I am NOT blind. :-laf

 

[ScottLewis]

All this discussion brings me back to my question. With the thousands of members on this forum, has anyone experienced failure of the Cardan joint due to lack of proper lubrication?

I had one go bad on a 1988 Broncho and I'm fairly sure some on Ram 4x4's have also failed but I haven't seen anyone who said "this happened to me". That makes me think the actual problem is very rare.

 

[SnoKing]

Wear and tear will be much higher on trucks without CADs or locking hubs. I think I remember working on my 76 Chevy 3.4T 4x4 years ago. IT had been an OEM full time 4x4 which I converted wit a Milemaker kit. One of the cross in the Cardan was bad and they are a ***** to work on. I think that is when I made the grease adapter. Snoking

 

[Newsa]

If my 11 looked anything like that I would have seen it!!!

Mine looks a lot different than that. But I've found mine and I grease it annually.

Mine is alot harder to see than that.

 

[gsbrockman]

All this discussion brings me back to my question. With the thousands of members on this forum, has anyone experienced failure of the Cardan joint due to lack of proper lubrication?

I worked at a retail tire store in Lexington, KY from 1999 through 2010. A good commercial customer of mine had 5 or 6 RAM 2500 CTD trucks, probably '04.5's through '09's. One of the older trucks (2005???) experienced a failure of that joint.....it took out some hard fuel lines and wiring harness and may have even done some damage to the fuel tank due to it flopping around like a fish in a frying pan.

 

[Newsa]

Would the front axle disconnect on the newer Rams reduce the amount of spinning? My 2013 doesn't have the front axle disconnect. That appeared in either 2014 or 2015.

I will continue to lube mine annually.

 

[woody72]

I always have my truck serviced at the dealer, but since some techs do not know or can not find the fitting, I will have a discussion with him after reading this thread. I do not feel the need to worry as my front shaft does not turn. Thanks fellows for a very informative piece.

 

[Ozymandias]

I worked at a retail tire store in Lexington, KY from 1999 through 2010. A good commercial customer of mine had 5 or 6 RAM 2500 CTD trucks, probably '04.5's through '09's. One of the older trucks (2005???) experienced a failure of that joint.....it took out some hard fuel lines and wiring harness and may have even done some damage to the fuel tank due to it flopping around like a fish in a frying pan.

Ram updatet the DS anyway, OEM was 1330 Ujoints in 2004 and then (dont know when) they changed it to 1350 Ujoint, my truck also has one of these newer shaft, so someday in the past the OEM shaft failed on my truck.