danmm7

My 2005 GX with 108k miles on it has a very slight clunk/thump from the rear when i do a complete stop from higher speed. Nothing really major, my wife can't even feel it, but i know this is the famous GX470 driveshaft issue that i read about on these forums.

I know there is a TSB about it, but since my SUV is out of warranty and i do not want to spend crazy $$$ at the dealer to get a new drive shaft, i decided to try the method with the grease gun and lubricate the driveshaft. Not sure if the previous owner ever did it.

My questions are:

1. What is the best grease/lube to use for the driveshaft? Brand? Type? I am not worried about the cost, as long as it works well.
2. How much grease/lube do i need to buy? I am not sure how much the driveshaft will take for all three locations that need lubrication.
2. Do i need a special grease gun with special connector on it, or a $15 grease gun from AutoZone will do the job?

Thanks!

Aron9000

Sorry, couldn't resist.

I'd imagine bearing grease/balljoint grease would work fine. Just use the stuff that is rated for high temperatures.

ALAN553

I used royal purples synthetic grease, about 5 squeezes into each of the 6 zerks. Just may want to get a grease gun with a hose and some angled adapters. Other wise you may have to move the car a couple of times to get to all fittings. Or lift the rear axle off the ground so you can spin the wheels. I do the rear shaft every 5k and the front 10k. No clunk, it's a 2004

snhrph

I use anything that is already loaded into the grease gun at the shop.

aljodoro

I am on the road without the car otherwise I would look tomorrow. My question is i don't remeber six zerks. I believe there were only four. can you name where the six are/ thanks, al

snhrph

There is 1 fitting on every U-joint and 1 fitting on each spline joint. You will need a grease gun with flex-tube and you don't need to remove the skid plates.

Be careful when greasing the U-joints - you don't want to damage the seals.

Splines will take a LOT of grease.

Repeat with every oil change.

Kaspr00

this is an old thread but in hopes someone can reply, I have a tube of Royal Purple Synthetic and I was getting ready to grease my 2004 GX470 drive shaft. Is it safe to use on both the slip joints and the U joints?

ALAN553

your quoting my post from years ago...yup

dblshock

there's a spec (moly lithium chassis grease) WalMart's SuperTech has it

link

glenn2623

2007 91K miles GX. Recently purchased. Resurrecting an old thread to add some additional experience. First the disclaimer, this is amature hour. First attempt at lubricating a drive shaft. I used no jacks or jack stands. Just crawled under the beast, at 6'1" on a good day and 260 its tight but doable.

To get the zerks in the best position I simply turned the key to on, hand on the brake, shifter to neutral and pushed the vehicle forward about 8-10". Of course you would be best served on a flat driveway. I would hate to see it get away on a slope. It took (3) 8-10" moves to get to all the drive shaft zerks in the right position to fill. A bit time consuming to repeatedly crawl under but worth it to me vs trusting my ability with jack stands.

Bought a one handed grease gun from HF, Holt Pistol Grip Professional, about $26. I have no connection to HF. I connected the fitting using plumber's tape. This got me into a bit of trouble. I got it good and stuck on one of the zerks. Researched the problem and found that if you remove the extension tube from the fitting it will release the pressure and then it comes off easily. I will probably just go finger tight in the future to prevent that problem. A quick release fitting, sleeve-type, would work better getting it securely on and easily off.

It took a couple of hours this time around. I could probably knock off 30-40 mins the next time. One down side is that I could not see if I had old grease escaping so kept it to 4 pumps. I'll probably have my shop guys repeat the process get me to baseline and then I'll just top off every 6 months or so. All in all glad I did it.