Greasing Front Drive Shaft

[OffroadTreks]

Mine is long long overdue. And I have spent 15 minutes staring at it, and the back. Running my finger over it, scraping dirt off it and I can't find a grease hole. I know it's small and I've seen the photo posted on here, but zlich. Anyone else with a 2015 have an idea? Did they do away with it possibly? Seems odd to suggest it and not have a port. Super frustrating and feeling stupid.

[olyelr]

I havnt looked for it yet on mine. But i did see a sticker under the hood when i was changing the oil thats stated to grease the front shaft during every oil change (nothing about the back was mentioned).

[coder]

Here's a video for the 4 Gen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1cnmg9 ... e=youtu.be

[israelstanage]

I couldn't find it. My mechanic couldn't find it. My good friend that is a farmer/mechanic couldn't find it. Dealership couldn't find it. Mechanic at 4WP found and marked it for me when I got new tires. If you've been in mud and don't know exactly where it is, happy hunting.

[nts007]

You need a 6" or so needle adaptor for your grease gun. Basically push it hard against the cup and grease away. Finding it is the hardest part but after you've done it once or twice its not so bad. For the 4th gen with the axle disconnect you should be able to just spin the driveshaft. Which is a lot easier than jacking up one wheel to spin it

[RustyPW]

You need a 6" or so needle adaptor for your grease gun. Basically push it hard against the cup and grease away. Finding it is the hardest part but after you've done it once or twice its not so bad. For the 4th gen with the axle disconnect you should be able to just spin the driveshaft. Which is a lot easier than jacking up one wheel to spin it

If you have freespin hubs. Just unlock them and turn the driveshaft.

[Low_Sky]

It's in there. Look harder. And nts007 is right, spinning the shaft helps a lot.


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[chrisjameswagner]

Its not in the u-joint knuckle that is closest to the front diff (looking towards the front of truck, it is in the knuckle down shaft from that. I believe there is a cross beam for protection under it when looking up into the truck from below. You need to be looking in the direction of the back of the truck at that next knuckle. I finally marked the area with a paint pen so I wouldn't keep forgetting. I've got to show mechanics each time. You're looking for a little silver dot. Its there. I bought a cheap needle adapter from pep boys its maybe 2 inches. Works with the grease guns with the hose attachments.

[nts007]

It's between the ujoints in the double Cardon that comes right off the tcase. Between them. When you find it you will smack your head because as hard as it is to find once you do it's easy.

[adeluca73]

Yes it's there. I had to show my f'ng dealer who was doing my oil change/rotation where it was after their oil/lube express dip-shit mechanic kept telling me there was no such zerk & then told me to stop being an Internet mechanic & let the pros do their job.

I asked to speak with the person in charge of the entire MX dept, I showed him the zerk & then asked how many HD trucks he services a week & how much liability he was carrying for drive line failures if his employees weren't servicing trucks per the manufacturers service bulletins. He was severely embarrassed & looked super pissed. My service that day's was gratis.

[waldo]

It's a PITA to get to on my 3 gen because of the skidplate and I haven't looked for it on the 16. It's just a little spot with a ball detent in it. Last time I tried to get the dealership to grease it they sprayed it with something and called it good. I was not amused. You can get the needle fitting at most parts stores.

[Will]

To help describe it, it does not stick up, it's not a zerk fitting, it one of those that looks like you started to drill a hole with a drill bit and then stopped, just a dimple. Haha, good luck, like said above, hard to find, until you find it. Haha

[Colibri]

Truck clitorus

[waldo]

LOL.

[FirerescuePW]

Now that was funny.

Its best to completely clean the whole area first. Get in there with a toothbrush-sized wire brush to clean the surfaces. Maybe use some degreaser. Once the dirt and scale is gone, it becomes much more visible. With a layer of dirt over it, you will never see it. Will's description is perfect.

[nts007]

Here it is!!!

[walc]

When I scheduled an appointment, at my local dealership, for the 8,000 mile oil change and lube, I pointed out that the front drive shaft needed to be lubed. I even brought a printout of the relevant pages of the owner manual.
The service writer said she didn't know how much it would cost.
I told her that all Ram 2500/3500 4X4's are supposed to have it done at every oil change.
It is really frustrating dealing with dealership service people who know little, or nothing, about the vehicles they service.

[verdesardog]

Been there, done that. The dealer's lube guy told me he lubed it. He didn't! I asked him to show me what he lubed....it was the carli ball joints, he didn't have a clue about the cardon joint. I asked to talk to the service manager, he told me it was too difficult to lube but at least he did know about it. I told him about using a needle, hope it gets done on all future lube jobs there but my truck will never go there again!

[dodgeman324]

On the topic of greasing, very recently, I took my truck to my friends little oil change and lube shop to get my joints greased after a big mudding event that coated my whole truck. Well, I know they didn't grease the driveshafts, or axle joints, and said there weren't fittings to grease. I normally do this myself but I moved to an apartment and can't work on my truck in parking lot (BOOOO). However, I think I'm going to go over to a friends house tomorrow, buy some good synthetic grease, that needle adapter, and attempt to grease every possible spot. Oh, lost track before typing that last sentence. Ever since having that shop grease my control arms, and whatever else they did, my truck is SUPER SQUEEKY and noisy while rolling, and weirdest part is it squeeks in and out based on wheel. So, for example, if rolling super slowly, it squeeks, then stops, then squeeks, stops, etc, and as you speed up that speeds up, as if something is rubbing, either on joints or at the wheels. It blows my mind....Now, back to tomorrow. I plan to jack all four wheels off the ground, and start truck and let it idle, with my friend modulating brakes so it doesn't start spinning too fast, and pinpoint the squeaks. Additionally, my question to yall. On a 3rd Gen, 2005, ARE there grease spots at the left and right front axle u-joints, front driveshaft at differential AND transfer case, and rear driveshaft at front by transfer AND rear by differential? Just wanting to make sure I don't miss any spots to grease. I am super embarrassed with my squeaky truck right now, and don't even wanna drive it in public, lol. Oh, and I know I'll need to clean many spots with toothbrush or wire brushes, would brake cleaner or degreaser be better at scraping off dried mud and other road grime? Oh, and I've decided I'm never going mudding again, too much headache.

[OffroadTreks]

You need a 6" or so needle adaptor for your grease gun.

Yup, I used the part # from the other thread to order one already.

Its not in the u-joint knuckle that is closest to the front diff (looking towards the front of truck, it is in the knuckle down shaft from that. I believe there is a cross beam for protection under it when looking up into the truck from below. You need to be looking in the direction of the back of the truck at that next knuckle. I finally marked the area with a paint pen so I wouldn't keep forgetting. I've got to show mechanics each time. You're looking for a little silver dot. Its there. I bought a cheap needle adapter from pep boys its maybe 2 inches. Works with the grease guns with the hose attachments.

Here's a video for the 4 Gen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1cnmg9 ... e=youtu.be

Ok thanks, I was looking at the wrong part, I was looking towards the front, going into the front axle, not back by the transfer case. The video helped. Now I feel dumb. Awesomesauce though. I do appreciate it.

Ram could of used a better indication of where the F that was.

[nts007]

On the topic of greasing, very recently, I took my truck to my friends little oil change and lube shop to get my joints greased after a big mudding event that coated my whole truck. Well, I know they didn't grease the driveshafts, or axle joints, and said there weren't fittings to grease. I normally do this myself but I moved to an apartment and can't work on my truck in parking lot (BOOOO). However, I think I'm going to go over to a friends house tomorrow, buy some good synthetic grease, that needle adapter, and attempt to grease every possible spot. Oh, lost track before typing that last sentence. Ever since having that shop grease my control arms, and whatever else they did, my truck is SUPER SQUEEKY and noisy while rolling, and weirdest part is it squeeks in and out based on wheel. So, for example, if rolling super slowly, it squeeks, then stops, then squeeks, stops, etc, and as you speed up that speeds up, as if something is rubbing, either on joints or at the wheels. It blows my mind....Now, back to tomorrow. I plan to jack all four wheels off the ground, and start truck and let it idle, with my friend modulating brakes so it doesn't start spinning too fast, and pinpoint the squeaks. Additionally, my question to yall. On a 3rd Gen, 2005, ARE there grease spots at the left and right front axle u-joints, front driveshaft at differential AND transfer case, and rear driveshaft at front by transfer AND rear by differential? Just wanting to make sure I don't miss any spots to grease. I am super embarrassed with my squeaky truck right now, and don't even wanna drive it in public, lol. Oh, and I know I'll need to clean many spots with toothbrush or wire brushes, would brake cleaner or degreaser be better at scraping off dried mud and other road grime? Oh, and I've decided I'm never going mudding again, too much headache.

That squeak sounds like a rear driveshaft u joint. The factory u joints are not greasable. None of them. The only greasable joint is the double Cardon that needs the needle attachment. That's the zerk that's up for information in this thread. Aftermarket ones are. And some aren't. Usually a front joint will not squeak. They just go to clunk as they are not being twisted as often. Rear joints on our trucks especially the one closest to the axle tend to go fairly quickly. I'd start there. It's 4 bolts to remove the rear driveshaft. Pull it off.
Twist the ujoints. If they are loose and freely pivot on the cross then they are ok.
If they are really tight or just plain stuck they are bad. Good condition u joints will move freely. On the verge of flopping around.

[dodgeman324]

Thanks nts. I was hoping it was gonna be an easy grease to make the noise go away, but may not be. I'll know soon enough where the squeak is.

[dodgeman324]

Well, found the squeak. It's in the rear driveshaft. I made a video so I'll put it in another thread and explain my findings. But hey, in regards to this topic, I did find the double cardon grease nipple so shot some grease in there.

[nts007]

Good job!!!

[fbenross]

I pull the skid plate...then pull the D/S I put it on the work bench and clean things, then lube it. It's the only way I feel good about getting a good load of grease in it.