83

Hey, I haven't greased my front u-joint since it was rebuilt, mostly because I don't have the right grease gun attachment to fit into that joint. When I go to the store, what am I looking for? I've got an 83.

Thanks.

83

Nobody on this site lubes their own driveshaft? Or is my question unclear? Let me know...

On the rear shaft, just the normal grease gun fitting works. But on the front, it won't fit in that joint to even reach the actual fittings on the joint.

BMcEL

Nope.

There's a round hole in the double cardan to access the zirk fitting in the middle of the joint...are you saying that your grease gun won't fit through that hole? Or did whoever rebuilt it forget to line that zirk up with the access hole?

BMcEL

83

Hmm...well I haven't looked under there for a long time, I'll admit. I just know that as of a year or so ago, I had it in my head that a special, smaller, longer attachment was needed for the front. I could be wrong! It happens to me quite often on this truck...

Ok, thanks a lot. I will check.

slacker

iTrader: (1)

there is .. you are correct .
the front zerk is a 90* and does use a special "needle" accessory to grease it . (I was looking for a picture yesterday when you posted , and got side tracked ) grease gun attachment is found in the OE tool kit


.

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

i use the needle attachment...have to hold it on and it kind of makes a mess but gets the job done

83

Thank you! So I should have bought that needle attachment I saw in the store yesterday...I thought maybe it rang a bell. Ok, thanks a lot. I'll pick one up.

83pingpong

I have not touched the grease fittings on the "propeller shaft" since I bought the truck a year and a half ago, and so I bought a needle adapter to reach the ridiculously deep set zerks on the driveshaft. I tried to pump while pushing the grease gun (lever style), and the needle bent (and leaked grease before it bent). I tried to unbend it, and it snapped off.

So I took the 8 bolts off and removed the driveshaft and will take it by a shop to let them wrestle with it. Why? The only time I need to turn over my keys to the Yota is when I need an inspection, and it takes 15 minutes to remove the driveshaft.

DOES ANYONE KNOW IF REPLACEMENT UNIs HAVE ZERKS THAT CAN BE GREASED WITH A STANDARD GREASE GUN?

Auto zone has this one that comes with the zerk, but the question is... can you get to the stupid zerk with a regular grease gun?
This product is a fit for your:
1983 Toyota Truck Pickup 4WD 2.4L 2BL 4cyl
Part Number: 1-1612DL
Alternate Part Number: 387
Warranty: 2 YR

NOTE: that part number 387 matches FEDERATED Part # and MOOG/PRECISION Part # (Auto zone rebrands major parts "duralast", and identical quality since that is the actual manufacturer!).

83Toyota88

iTrader: (1)

This is what the factory grease fitting looks like

MudHippy

Nope. Not once the u-joint is installed. Reason #1 not to buy Duralast u-joints.
LMFAO!!!

What brain-dead moron told you that? Because it's a million miles away from the truth. Reason #2 not to buy Duralast u-joints.

Now where's that dumbest things someone's told you about cars thread? I've got a new post for it...

83pingpong

I don't know where to buy the Toyota grease fitting adapter, but I found this coupler at SAE products. This looks much better than the cheap needle fitting I bent on first use, and looks like it would work OK, but SAE also sells metric zerks on angled mounting posts that might be accessible by standard grease fitting.



By the way... rebranding by subcontract is a common market/aftermarket strategy for retailers. The Duralast engine mount I just bought and installed had the source manufacturer's logo on it, but it was in a duralast box. Believe whatever you want. Sears does it all the time by contract with MTD (lawn mowers). Happens all the time. Even Chevy has sold Toyotas with their badge (Nova). Geo sold at GM dealers were ALL made by Suzuki (Geo Tracker, Suzuki Samarai). And ever see a Pontiac Vibe (Toyota matrix)? Wake up and smell the coffee dude.

MudHippy

That's what you need right there. Since the "cheap" needle fitting you bought was not meant to grease zerks. It's a hypodermic type needle meant to pierce rubber boots and inject grease into them. How you thought that would work for greasing a u-joint, much less any zerk fitting, is beyond me.

You're making a very broad and unsubstantiated generalization to claim that Duralast products are made by well known manufacturers. And then, and even worse, to say that they are equal in quality too. This might be the case in some instances. But I assure you it's not the case for all Duralast parts. And I can guarantee you it's not the case for their POS u-joints. Duralast parts are cheap for a reason. Their quality generally sucks. Of all the "house" brands, they are BY FAR the worst. Their reputation is terrible.

How would I know that's actually true in the case of Duralast u-joints? Because I screwed up and bought one of them. Before I even tried to install it I realized that, with all the bearing caps on, a standard grease gun fitting will not reach the zerk. Lovely. So now I need to buy some additional part(s) just to be able to grease the thing once it's installed. What a PITA. But whatever, I'll just grease it up real good and throw it on there. NOT!!! The stupid fricken thing did not even fit correctly. Too loose. I would have needed thicker c clips, than those provided, just to make the thing work as it should. Reason #3 not to buy Duralast u-joints. That was the final straw. Not having it. Gone directly to the scrap metal pile. Maybe I'll get a few cents of my money back at some point. Autozone can go...

So I went to NAPA and bought a REAL Precision u-joint. NOT AT ALL THE SAME THING. Way higher quality with zero fitment issues. Which I knew would be the case. Since it was like the 4th or 5th Precision u-joint I'd bought for my truck. Like I said, I screwed up on the Duralast crap. I was only in Autozone because I'd given my brother a ride there to pick up something he needed. I thought, what the heck, I'll grab a u-joint while I'm here. Bad idea.

BTW, I'm not an idiot. I just do dumb things sometimes. This is how I learn not to do them. Not by the teachings of those who don't really know what they're talking about. I usually know better than that already. And if you think you've taught me anything here, don't flatter yourself.

83

Yeah it sometimes take a lot of research to learn who makes what, so experience counts. I've bought parts from NAPA that, once out of the NAPA box, had Toyota stamped on them. Ordered parts from Rock Auto that were Aisin. OEM quality comes in all different packages, sometimes rebranded, and Toyota has switched who they contract with for "OEM" many times.

You just gotta learn from experience and those who know, which is which. I think most of us know that rebranding is happening. Toyota does it with nearly 100% of their parts. Does anyone here think Toyota is making spark plugs, oil filters etc? Or even timing chains, water pumps? It's all contracted, often to "toyota specifications", and stamped with Toyota, but often just a general part Toyota has deemed "good enough", slipped into a Toyota box.

Autozone general sells crap. That's something you can count on.

83pingpong

This is what I bent. It was a cheap one. I stopped by with my driveshaft (15 minutes to remove) and a mechanic at a local autoshop got a better version out and greased the unis right in front of me. Worked fine.
It is the right tool for recessed zerk (or one option), but I got a cheap one and abused it because I did not have a simple trigger pneumatic drive and it bent (holding it on tight enough, and pumping the lever from under neath...pushed too hard -ouch!).


Maybe some parts ARE exactly the same, and others are not.

The real truth on this is probably in the grey area. Lighten up dude.

I'd like to find compatible universals with this type of zerk mount! This is a 4 Runner.

83

Yeah why they can't just have all one type grease fitting on the same vehicle is beyond me.

But I'm no engineer.