How to grease the half shafts?

lf-tp2511Member

My Spicer half shafts are fitted with a Zerk fitting to allow the internal splines to be properly greased.

My question is how much grease is proper?

In order for grease to actually overflow into the spline area there is a very large void near the zerk fitting that would first have to be completely filled.

Previously I've always applied generous amounts of grease to the male and female splines but I am now wondering if I should hook up the grease gun to that zerk fitting and fill the entire void and shaft area.

What does the collective wisdom have to offer?

Larry

5/1/158:37 PM

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1Rocketship (Guest)

quote:
Originally posted by LF - TP 2511:
My Spicer half shafts are fitted with a Zerk fitting to allow the internal splines to be properly greased.

My question is how much grease is proper?

In order for grease to actually overflow into the spline area there is a very large void near the zerk fitting that would first have to be completely filled.

Previously I've always applied generous amounts of grease to the male and female splines but I am now wondering if I should hook up the grease gun to that zerk fitting and fill the entire void and shaft area.

What does the collective wisdom have to offer?

Larry

I don't know about "collective wisdom", seemingly I personally fill the half shafts till the grease has completely filled any & all voids ( voids are BAD, as they can collect moisture) & the grease can be visibly seen exiting.

I would state with a very HIGH degree of certainty & reassurance that 99.7777777352% of problems occur due to "lack of grease" vs "an abundance of grease".

In addition, insert enough NEW grease till you visibly see ALL the old grease exiting & the NEW grease appearing.

"1" trick I use is to alternate the color of the lubrication grease...use for example black, then subsequently red...thus you know when ALL the OLD black grease is removed as evidenced by the visual emergence of the NEW red grease...Mark

5/1/159:18 PM

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thrillriderMember

Is Moly or Lithium Grease recommended for Spicer 1/2 shafts ?

6/12/204:07 PM

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timsterenMember

I have always been afraid of putting too much grease into the universal joint area and damaging it with too much pressure, so I have been pretty careful and greased them gently each year even though it doesn't see many miles. I can understand from your comments that the more grease the merrier, and that I am unduly concerned? I have Spicers too.

6/12/2010:32 PM

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lf-tp2511Member

Not directly applicable to the original question but because we have also added universal joints to the discussion, I would like to again share something I found many years ago.

The problem of excess grease splattering in the engine bay can be avoided by installing a more heavy duty version of the correct universal joint.

That version has rigid grease seals (not rubber) and no zerk grease fitting. It is permanently lubricated from the factory and serves here in the very hot California central valley for many, many years in agricultural water pump applications, where the motor, driveshaft and pump are often directly exposed to the elements or sheltered by the bare minimum of a protective shed.

I do not know if a version of the stock universal joint is available with this rigid seal design.

Larry

6/13/2010:14 AM

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bosswrenchMember

Be very sure those non-zerk-fitting u-joints are actually greased. Some u-joints ship with only protective shelf-storage grease and the installer is expected to add grease to the four end caps before pressing them in.

6/13/209:52 PM

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