LUBRICATION HELP

Ok, I've recently gotten my first XJ. 96 country, HO, AW4, NP231, 30 up front, 8.25 out back. I got a Haynes manual for the odds and ends. It says I need a needle adapter for my grease gun for the for the U joints and the CV joint/knuckle. I CAN NOT find the fittings on either. I've looked on youtube and all I found was a Tera-Flex video that showed the fitting, but of course everything was disassembled on a shop table. Do I have to take everything apart just to grease the u joints??? Any links and especially pics would be greatly appreciated.:shiver:

Haynes and Chilton's are full of errors and misinformation.

U-joints can be sealed, (with no grease fitting), or greasable. The original u-joints were sealed, replacement u-joints can be either type.

if it is greasable, and takes the needle type fitting, there will be a small plug screwed into the cross part of the joint (or in some cases into the end of one of the caps). As Tim stated most OEM ujoints (and some aftermarket ones from the parts stores labeled as "off road heavy duty" joints) are non-greasable and require complete disassembly to re-grease them

here is a pic of the plug you would be looking for on a needle style greasable ujoint, not the best shot but you can see the plug at the bottom of the pic:

Sorry you wasted your money on a Haynes (or Chilton).

For LEGAL licensed reprints or CD shop manuals go hear:

http://www.autobooksbishko.com/search.cgi?year=1996&make=Jeep&category=Shop+Manual

$37 + s/h gets you a full set of original factory manuals on CD.

Thanks to all. The only rigs I've ever worked on "just helping out a buddy" had serviceable u joints.

Can somebody help me understand the pros and cons of each. Are the serviceable ones more or less prone to failure? Is it a money thing? Or the fittings so hard to get to that you have to take the u joint off anyway?

Non serviceable are stronger because they don't have holes in the middle of them to let the grease in. Personally I like greasable joints. Every 6 months or so I I change the diff fluid, trans, t case, and grease the u joints. Its my opinion that my maintenance is what allows me to get the miles out of my cars that I do.

bails85 said:

Non serviceable are stronger because they don't have holes in the middle of them to let the grease in. Personally I like greasable joints. Every 6 months or so I I change the diff fluid, trans, t case, and grease the u joints. Its my opinion that my maintenance is what allows me to get the miles out of my cars that I do.

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Agree.

Unless you are a right-foot maniac the slight weakness of the serviceable u-joints is never going to be a problem, plus, with proper care, they could last the life of the vehicle.

joe_peters said:

Agree.

Unless you are a right-foot maniac the slight weakness of the serviceable u-joints is never going to be a problem, plus, with proper care, they could last the life of the vehicle.

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That's the answer I was looking for. Thanks a lot!

I much prefer the greaseable u-joints as they are easier to service. In all my vehicles that I have had over the years, I have had many wear out but I have NEVER broken one. my two vehicles that I have now are a '91 XJ that I've had just over a year and a '76 Dodge power Wagon that I've had just about 16 years now. I checked and greased the u-joints in the XJ after I got it and in the Power Wagon, I replaced all the u-joints right after I got it and I have only had to replace the front axle joints (one time) in the 16 years that I've had it. All the other joints are the same ones that I replaced when I first got it. This truck used to be my daily driver and has a BUNCH of miles on it. It is now my work truck (I haul logs out of the woods and to the mill with it) so it still gets used regularly. If you take care of something, it should take care of you. Unless you REALLY abuse it, the greaseable u-joints are just as strong as the sealed ones.

+1 on the greasable type, if nothing else it gives you a solid reason to get under there and pump some rust proofing stuff into part of the vehicle that when it gets rusty bad things happen.

Personally, I'm not actually sure I know anyone who has ever busted a u-joint doing anything. I did have a driveshaft eat itself when a u-joint went bad on a car I owned in high school. (imagine my surprise)

However, I think you're barking up the right tree... better to do maintenance than not. So if you're ever driving down a smooth road at moderate speeds (~35-40) and it feels like you're driving over a gravel road, it's your u-joints, they need to be replaced. (I had an uncomfortable vibration that made me crazy for about 2 days until I replaced the u-joints)

Thanks to everybody that responded. Now I have 2 more questions!

1. How do I order them? By application (year, make, model, etc..)???

2. Now I might be opening a huge can of worms but are there any brand preferences????