Universal joints with no grease fittings

[tercel89]

I recently got a "beater" truck to use since I sold my other one to get out of debt completely doing the Dave Ramsey thing and all that . It's a 2001 Nissan Xterra and it's pretty much a truck with an SUV frame on it. It's rear wheel drive and has the driveshaft and all. It's been sitting on my mother-in-laws place for 4 years without being ran. I got it running and cleaned up. Now I am doing some preventative maintenance. It doesn't have any grease fittings on the universal joints. I have messed with a bunch of cars and trucks and most had grease fittings on the U-joints and double cardain joints. How would someone go about greasing these type joints to help them last longer ? They make no noise at all and seem fine but I want them to stay that way . I got up in there and sprayed some Ballistol in there last week until I find a proper way to grease them. I hate to wait for them to fail on the road , but I hate to go out and spend more money to buy new ones too.

[MacGyver]

I had an '06 Xterra that had the same factory U-joints.  I replaced them both around 185K miles after they started to chatter a bit.

I look at u-joints as a wear item - just know that ones that can't be greased might wear a little faster.  I say might, as they're supposed to be sealed.  But the needle bearings in mine were rusty as all get out when I pulled them.  

If it really bothers you,  new heavy duty u-joints with grease fittings are maybe $12.

[tercel89]

30 minutes ago, MacGyver said:

I had an '06 Xterra that had the same factory U-joints.  I replaced them both around 185K miles after they started to chatter a bit.

I look at u-joints as a wear item - just know that ones that can't be greased might wear a little faster.  I say might, as they're supposed to be sealed.  But the needle bearings in mine were rusty as all get out when I pulled them.  

If it really bothers you,  new heavy duty u-joints with grease fittings are maybe $12.

I guess I didn't look into that much , but you think I can get new ones with grease fittings ?

[tercel89]

Shes got 187,000 miles on her and man I swear she was terrible looking , just damn bad and rotted out. My mother-in-law owned her and she trashed her out. It took a month between my work days and days off to get her up and running. I replaced the fuel pump and fuel sending unit and lots more things. I got her running and now I have an engine code which shows a cat converter. I changed out all fluids , even the manual transmission which smoothed out shifts . It's unreal how people mistreat engines and machines. There was even moss , the green moss like carpet growing on the body and the bumpers of it. My mother-in-law smokes 4 packs a day so I had to strip the headliner out which made 80% of the smoke smell go away . Then I cleaned the rest out. I took out the seats and then now after a month it doesn't smell like cigarette smoke at all. THANK GOD ! With the headliner gone theres all kinds of mounting points for all kinds of things. Pretty neat !

Edited February 3, 2017 by tercel89

[TNWNGR]

If your set up to do it I'd go ahead and replace the U joints but insofar as greasing them I believe that there's a needle valve adapter for your grease gun to do that with. But then again I've known folks who installed zerk fittings themselves.

[tercel89]

6 minutes ago, TNWNGR said:

If your set up to do it I'd go ahead and replace the U joints but insofar as greasing them I believe that there's a needle valve adapter for your grease gun to do that with. But then again I've known folks who installed zerk fittings themselves.

Yeah I know of the needle attachment that goes on the grease gun but I just cant understand why a U-joint would be made without a grease fitting. This is a part that see's a lot of movement and action and needs a lot of lubrication.

[TNWNGR]

8 minutes ago, tercel89 said:

Yeah I know of the needle attachment that goes on the grease gun but I just cant understand why a U-joint would be made without a grease fitting. This is a part that see's a lot of movement and action and needs a lot of lubrication.

It's designed and engineered to not require the grease fittings in order to save on manufacturing expenses. Once its worn to the point of replacement then its replaced which results in factory parts replacement and billable parts and labor to the customer. The reality is that even with grease fittings drivetrain parts still wear out.

[MacGyver]

1 hour ago, tercel89 said:

I guess I didn't look into that much , but you think I can get new ones with grease fittings ?

Here's the one I used:

http://m.oreillyauto.com/h5/r/oap/site/c/detail/MPJ0/270/07127.oap?year=2006&make=Nissan&model=Xterra&vi=1433009&ck=Search_u+joints+-+rear+shaft_1433009_-1&keyword=u+joints+-+rear+shaft

 

[tercel89]

22 minutes ago, MacGyver said:

Here's the one I used:

http://m.oreillyauto.com/h5/r/oap/site/c/detail/MPJ0/270/07127.oap?year=2006&make=Nissan&model=Xterra&vi=1433009&ck=Search_u+joints+-+rear+shaft_1433009_-1&keyword=u+joints+-+rear+shaft

 

Thanks . I'll check them out with my engine and transmission configuration. I guess I just figured that if the stock one didn't have a grease fitting then the replaceable one didn't have one either.

Edited February 3, 2017 by tercel89

[tercel89]

48 minutes ago, TNWNGR said:

It's designed and engineered to not require the grease fittings in order to save on manufacturing expenses. Once its worn to the point of replacement then its replaced which results in factory parts replacement and billable parts and labor to the customer. The reality is that even with grease fittings drivetrain parts still wear out.

 yeah they still wear out but with grease fittings they still last a lot longer .

[gregintenn]

1 hour ago, tercel89 said:

 yeah they still wear out but with grease fittings they still last a lot longer .

I haven't found that to be the case. Just drive it til they need replaced and replace them.

[nightrunner]

Cars are built as cheap as possible now. And they aren't built to be fixed or worked on by the consumer. As long as it lasts past the warranty period is all that matters anymore. Sad but true.

[gregintenn]

1 minute ago, nightrunner said:

Cars are built as cheap as possible now. And they aren't built to be fixed or worked on by the consumer. As long as it lasts past the warranty period is all that matters anymore. Sad but true.

I've driven several vehicles past 250k, and have yet to experience a worn out u joint.

[bersaguy]

I was a Certified Master Mechanic for 35 years before retiring and as for U-joints, I have always considered them a maintainance part and should periodically be replaced just like brake pads and other parts that moved. That is by far the best way to be sure you never have an issue. As far as U-Joints when your warranty ends it's time for u joints. Then when the milage get close to that number again look at replacing them again...............jmho

[MacGyver]

^^

This guy is an authoritative source.

[tercel89]

1 hour ago, gregintenn said:

I haven't found that to be the case. Just drive it til they need replaced and replace them.

My Tacoma spoiled me. It has grease fittings all over the place. Every spring I would jack it up on blocks and grease all its fittings and change the transmission fluid and be good for the next year . I know that may be overdoing it but it sure makes them last long. The older Toyota I had before that one had 387,000 miles on it before a drunk destroyed it when he ran off the road and into my driveway.

[peejman]

What they said about lack of grease fittings... "permanently lubricated" is the term.  It'll out of warranty by the time the seal wears out, all the factory grease oozes out, and the joint fails, and that's all that matters. 

My advice is to ignore that catalytic converter diagnostic code. It's a fairly common problem and you can't really fix it without replacing the exhaust system and the engine. You'll know if the cat is plugged and needs replaced.  

[MacGyver]

I had a code indicating catalytic converter issues, too.  I wound up replacing all 4 to get it to finally go away now that emissions checking is smarter.  p0430 maybe?

[Erik88]

My beater 02 Corolla has the check engine light on due to catalytic converter. It's been this way for over 6 years now. I had 3 different shops look at it and they said it was fine.

[bersaguy]

The catalytic Converter light can be triggered by several different sensors in the Computer system. It does not necessarily mean your converter is bad. The Oxygen Sensor in many cases is the real culprit and replacing it will in many cases turn the light off. Believe it or not, on many auto brands a Coolant Sensor that turns your cooling fans on can trip the light if they are delayed by a few seconds allowing the engine temperature to be as little as 10 degrees to high before the fans come on. A sensor on the fuel system can be reading a rich mixture when it is not rich and also trigger the same light. Normally when your Converter is really bad your car will lose power na dyou can tell by having a flow test ran by a repair center that can tell you if your converter is really bad. The auto makers make these new vehicles almost a requirement to be repaired at the dealership. Look at how VW manipulated their Diesels computers to skirt the emmissons test when they were actually emitting twice or 3 times the legal  limit of emmissions and most recently Chrysler was caught doing the same thing. I made myself a promise back when I was working on vehicles that when they had crossed over a certain line on cars I would quit working on them and in 1992 I gave my employer my notice that in January 1993 I would be gone but had to leave a little early because of doctors orders. My son still works on cars in his shop to this day and it's funny when he gets a carburator vehicle in his shop that is having a carburator issue and he calls me and asks me if I can come down to the shop and help him out.

     Went down there about a month ago and rebuilt a Quadra-jet 4 barrel on an old Cadillac he was working on......

Edited February 3, 2017 by bersaguy

[tercel89]

2 hours ago, MacGyver said:

I had a code indicating catalytic converter issues, too.  I wound up replacing all 4 to get it to finally go away now that emissions checking is smarter.  p0430 maybe?

I think mines a P0420

[NextExit]

10 hours ago, tercel89 said:

Yeah I know of the needle attachment that goes on the grease gun but I just cant understand why a U-joint would be made without a grease fitting. This is a part that see's a lot of movement and action and needs a lot of lubrication.

I've never understood that either.  Land Rover Discovery II had only one grease fitting on the front drive shaft and that was at the u-joint by the axle.  The u-joint by the transfer case didn't have one.  One would think that's no big deal except it's about an inch from the catalytic converter!  A disaster waiting to happen.  When I bought my Rover, I found a place in Florida that had a fully greasable shaft (4 grease fittings) for $300.  Not exactly cheap but considering the OEM could snap at anytime and punch a hole thru the transmission, it was worth it.  

[MacGyver]

2 hours ago, tercel89 said:

I think mines a P0420

Same code other side.