How to Grease prop shaft UJ's properly???

I asked the same question a while back and asked if a long drive to warm things up would help, some people thought it might.

I think the problem is with blockage in the UJ and therefore it needs to be warm (in the hope that the grease+dirt mixture that blocks up the grease channel might become softer), and not the grease you put in.

Pieter

There was a thread here with the subject "greasing uj's" in mid September. If you can't find it ask again and I'll repeat my suggestions.

If the grease gun is pumping grease out of one of the bearings, then the grease gun is mating properly. If you squeeze the grease gun until the grease pours out of one of the bearings, you will burst the seal. This then lets dirt and water into the bearing causing premature failure.If you connect the grease gun and watch closely for any weeping of grease from the seals, that is when you stop squeezing.There is nothing you can do about the path of the grease, it will go where it has space to go. I have had my Land Rover for 9 years and 110000 of its 197000 and it has never needed a new UJ yet. Many will disagree with the above, so listen and decide. Yours Gmacz

Pieter,

Many thanks, found your previous post. Easy when you know what to search for!

Thanks, I'll give some of the suggestions a go.

Jon

I'm one of those that disagrees!

The purpose of greasing the joints is not only to get fresh grease into the joints, but also to expel the old, dirty grease. You should keep greasing until clean grease is seen to come out of all 4 sides of the joint. The seal is there to keep dirt out, and the lip of the seal will be pointing outward, so the pressure of the grease coming from the inside will lift the lip, and allow the grease out without doing the seal any damage, when the pressure is off, the lip will go back onto the shaft of the joint, preventing the ingress of dirt.

I maintain trucks for a living, so have greased a propshaft or two!, and have never had any problems yet with that method.

The new grease will flow fine, it is the old grease already in the joint that needs heating as it will possibly have gone hard.

How often are you greasing the joints, problems with greasing usually only occur when it isn't done often enough, which gives the old grease time to set in the joint. I would say monthly greasing should be OK.

If you cant get the grease to flow out of all sides of the joint, try heating it with a hot air gun. (we use the oxy/ac on stubborn joints at work, but you have to be careful where you point it!)

I'll join you, Simon.

These seals will not be damaged by allowing the 'old' grease to be expelled. The only thing to watch is that the seal is not dislodged from the groove in the outside of the cup.

This may be the problem, an indeed was my next question - how often. I think I will start doing it more regularly to see if that makes a difference - I suspect it might.

Jon wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

Haynes says every 12,000 miles. If the grease ceases to work by not getting to where it is needed, there will be friction and the production of heat which should in turn melt hard grease.

I think I'd check play in the shaft central sliding joint if UJs were having to be replaced too often. Excessive movement in the shaft will put extra strain on the joints. Check for sideways movement in the shaft.

Derry

Also using right gease helps a lot. An EP2 "High Pressure" Lithium grease is best. I've seen a lot of people using those cheap cartridges you see at boot fairs/cheap tool shops - the contents of which will give Araldite a run for it's money after a few weeks.....

Richard

I am embarrassed to admit but this may also be my problem. Not that I have specifically gone to a boot fair to buy cheapo grease, more a case of using whatever was in the gun...

Time to go and buy some Lithium grease I think and keep on top of the job....

Also, as suggested by Derry, I will check the lateral movement across the splines. From memory though these felt OK last time I checked.

Thanks Jon

I would tend to believe that, but at they explicitly say you should push grease out.

Fred

P.S. As ever, never a one solution ;-)