Hey guys, after reading in the forums about greasing the driveshaft to take care of the infamous "clunk" i went to kragen and bought a grease gun and grease, well i loaded it up and tried to attach it to the zerks (nipples) and i have not had any luck, the grease just comes out around the fitting.

am i missing something, do i need to buy an attachment, or do grease guns come ready to grease nipples? i feel like an idiot, but hey, ive never used one before so im looking to you guys for some help. thanks, steve

 

Well, it could be "full" of grease already, which would explain why nothing is going in.

If not, just make sure the attachment is on the zerk fitting correctly. It should work.

 

Several possibilities here:

-You have to REALLY push the gun against the Zerk to make a seal while you pump. There should be a palpable "click" when the Zerk is captured by the gun nozzle, and the nipple on the Zerk fitting should end up inside the gun nozzle. Are you doing that?

-Zerk fittings have a tiny spring-loaded ball check valve which can freeze shut. You can either remove the Zerks, soak them in solvent (like carb cleaner) and check them by pushing on the ball to make sure it'll open and admit grease, or simply replace the fitting.

-Less likely unless your truck is really old and has never been serviced, the grease within the u-joints has hardened and is blocking the entry of new grease. As a last resort, try GENTLY heating the joint with a propane torch and pumping grease into the fitting while the joint is still warm.

For the u-joints, you should expect grease to ooze out of the cross-pin seals after one or two (at the very most) pumps of the grease gun. For the slip yokes, you won't see grease come out anywhere. 5-6 pumps of the gun should do the trick for them. The slip yokes are the things that dry out, bind and cause the clunk.

Good luck

P.S.: Toyota recommends NGLI 2 spec grease with Moly Disulfide added for the slip yokes.

 

thanks, your posts were helpfull. the truck spent 5 yrs on the east coast and has some surface rust, im pushed really hard but never felt it click in there. i think the fittings might be froze/rusted stuck. where would i get a new one? harware store? auto parts? Thanks, Steve

 

Understand that the Zerk's check valve being stuck shut won't have any effect on the fitting's nipple engaging the gun nozzle. You should still be able to feel the soft snap/click when the nipple is seated in the nozzle. When you push, be sure the nozzle is lined up with the axis of the nipple.

You can get new fittings at an auto parts store. I believe Toyota uses a metric-threaded fitting.

 

Don't go replacing the zerks just yet....I doubt that is the issue.

1) get a wire brush and use that to remove all rust/gunk/debris from around the zerk so the gun has something to grab on to. Used something made of wood or plastic to check if the check ball on the zerk will move.

Clean the zerk off:


Check the movement on the ball:


2) make sure that when you pump the gun (when not attached), grease does come out

3) make sure the end on the grease gun is screwed in (you turn the end in to make it tighter around the zerk fitting

Turn the end clockwise to tighten:


4) make sure to apply enough pressure that you don't allow grease to escape out the sides


I would bet one or a few of these are to blame. You'll know right away when the grease does go in (you'll hear all sorts of popping and crackling and on the driveshaft you'll see the slipjoint begin to move).

 

This should also be helpful...

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76371

 

nice trouble shooting there mtl....mine is having same problem!

 

is it necessary to use the two different types of grease or can one be used for all ( for a 99 Runner, i know the manual says both) also off topic the 3rd gen balljoints are non greaseable right? thank ya kindly.