How to Lube a New U Joint

Video Transcript

"In this clip we are going to talk about the proper service procedure for removing and replacing a rear axle U joint on a Ford Explorer. In this step we are going to talk about lubricating of your replacement U joint. What I have here is the remnants of my Ford equipment U joint. As you can see it, it's junk, and one of the things that?s missing on it is the grease fitting. This U joint is sealed and lubricated at the factory. There is no further maintenance you can do to this throughout the life of the vehicle. Your after market replacement U joint is going to come with a grease fitting. Now the U joint is already lubricated with some grease. However, what you?re going to want to do is use your grease gun and fill it up until you see grease shooting out from the U joint seals. I'm going to go ahead and pop that on right now and give it a couple shots. Alright, we are going to go ahead and give it a couple pumps until we see grease coming out of the U joint seal area. At this point in time, it's a good idea to inspect your front U joint to see if it has a fitting. Greasing it right now would be a lot easier than after installing the drive shaft on the vehicle. This particular drive shaft has the factory fitting on it and there is no grease port for it anywhere on here. If your drive shaft also has a slip joint in it, most four wheel drive front drive shafts have a slip joint, it's a good idea to go ahead and take and lubricate that at this point in time. That is the proper way to lubricate your U joints and drive shaft assembly."