How often do propellor shafts need grease?

[byez]

My manual for my 08 Tundra states that it requires it every 16,000 kilometers.

Don't take it off-roading much but I do live in Canada so it does see lots of snow & slush. I am at 27,000 kilometers right now, the mileage was put on fairly quickly and the winter has been quite cold so I haven't had a chance to do the job quite yet. Any ill effects or should it be just fine?

 

[hate2work]

If you greased it once a year you'd be ahead of the curve.

 

[PT1]

Toyotas get that annoying driveshaft clunk if you don't keep the shafts greased. I have used Valvoline Durablend grease very successfully because it has 1% moly additive so you can use it on the shaft and the ujoints. On many Toyota models they spec 2 different greases for the driveline which is a PIA. I grease them once when new (never enough in there from the factory) and then every 15,000 miles.

 

[SargeBB]

We have 2 Toyota 4x4 pickups. The 08 Tacoma regular-cab has 4 Zerks. All easy to reach & all 4 get Mystik JT-6 High Temp #2, because it is a Lith-Complex that meets Spicer wheel bearing specifications. I grease it every 5K to 7.5K miles.
The 2003 Tundra 4x4 has 1 fitting that uses Moly grease. I'm using the Valvoline Ford-spec. Moly-Lith. in that 1 fitting (ennter double-caradan) & all the others get the same grease I use on the little pickup. 5 of the Tundra Zerks are a PITA to grease. I streach out the greasing intervals to 15K (the maximum Toyota recommends on the Tundra).

 

[byez]

I pumped until i got for the most part all of the old grease out. Now I am reading that this will blow the seals. Is this true? Is really only a single pump needed?

Should I just leave it and use less grease the next time around?

 

[SargeBB]

Most u-joint mfgs. want you to pump the old grease out past the seals, until you see new grease coming out. This makes sense because if your vehicle's been in rain or forded deep water (could've been simply at a poor-draining intersection) water might've been introduced into the joint and needs to be purged.

 

[byez]

That is interesting, I have found differing thoughts on this practice in other places:
"Actually, if you pump until the grease oozes out, you have blown the seal. We had to teach the line mechanics at our plants NOT to grease bearings and joints till the grease oozes out. Took a long time to get them to do it, but the incidence of bearing failures went down significantly once they got used to it.

Just pump the grease in until you feel resistance, then STOP! "
"Actually, if the seals aren't blown, the grease should not be contaminated. At least not to the point of destruction to the joint. I know it sounds kind of crazy, and we had a lot of trouble convincing our mechanics, but the results speak for themselves. Our bearing failure rate dropped by almost 50% over the period of one year with just this change."

This coming from a Tundra specific forum. I pumped until new grease was coming out as to replace all the old grease. Are my seals fine? How can you tell if a seal is blown?

 

[Foch]

I have a 1998 4Runner that I purchased new. I grease the driveshaft zerks every oil change (5000 miles). It now has 165,000+ miles and never any problems, everything is original. Also, I always pump until grease is flowing out past the seals.

 

[swalve]

It probably depends on whether the seal is really sealed. Or if it's just a "cover" to keep the grease in.

I'd also suspect that even if the seal was blown, keeping up on greasing would render that a non-issue.