Grease nipples (1 article)


Useful procedure....

There are six u-joints in the drive train - one on each end of the propellor shaft, and one on each end of each drive shaft (half-shaft). With the rear wheels off ground you can do five of the six (please... use jackstands for safety! I roll a 2-1/2 or 3 ton hydraulic floor jack under the diff, then set jack stands under there just in case. Wipe the tip of the zirc off first, then pump grease in until some old stuff exudes from the four cap seals.

I don't have a rack (yet). These are my driveway tricks.

For the front joint *and* the tranny (at the same time) I jack the right side up - under the right side where the footwell meets the wheel arch (I use a short plank to pad the cup of the jack) the glass is strong there). You will discover that jacking the right front also lifts the right rear wheel off the ground. Let the exhaust cool off - the front joint is right next to the pipe. Get a small mirror (an old blush "compact" will do fine).

For this trick, never mind the parking brakes - and leave the tranny in neutral so you can rotate things. I lay on my back, reach under with my right arm, find the opening with the mirror, use my foot to gently rotate the back tire until the zirc is accessible (pointing down and just slightly toward me - since the exhaust is on the far side of the frame opening). The tranny is easy from this side.

"...and Bob's your uncle!" (as the Brits like to say). Something like "...a piece of cake!" in our own slang.

By the way the owner's manual and workshop notebook recommend 5,000 mile intervals on all the lube stuff.

EP 80 for tranny and EP 90 Hypoid for the diff. (EP=Extreme pressure). GL-5 rating covers all. (At least a GL-4 for tranny, and GL-5 for the diff.)


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