lubrication front axle

[Paul Hemmings]

Hi , I think i must be missing something ,I have been under the lorry but i still cannot see where you lubricate the 4wd tracta units i know it is possible but as i say i must be looking in the wrong place , Phil did tell me where but i am still lost i have put some pictures of the axle on .

[Bob Carriere]

Clean up the old grease and you will find a small pipe plug..... take it out and temporarily replace with a grease fitting and start pumping....... don't over do it or it will sh*t all over as soon as it gets hot while driving. I would not give it more than 1/4 grease tube if you are doing it regularly.

HAve fun.....

Cheers
Do not forget to remove the grease fitting and replace the plug when finished

[Paul Hemmings]

Thanks for that Bob , I am at a local show tomorrow so it will be Monday afternoon before i can have a look you have been a great help , Paul.

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Paul

Here are some photos to show what Bob is talking about. The little plugs are hidden under the grease. Removing the grease fittings is optional after pumping new grease in. If the truck is only driven on the road the grease fittings will not cause a problem. If you drive off road or through tall brush they can get caught on stuff. One of my trucks has grease fittings as it never goes off road anymore and I lost the little plugs.



Bigger issue on putting grease in at this location is do you want to put the new grease at the outside of the old grease or in the center of the joint.

On my web site I have this comment-

"Another simple lubricating tool is for adding fresh grease to the front end universal drive balls. These according to the manual are suppost to be disassemble every 5000 miles cleaned and relocated with a couple of pounds of grease. Every thousand miles you are supposed to remove the plug in the axle balls and add grease. If you just put a grease fitting in and pump away the new grease is added at the outside of a 6" ball of grease. Instead take a length of 3/8ths copper tubing crimp a grease fitting in one end. Then with the wheel jack up insert the tub until you hit the universal joint in the middle then give it 5-10 squirts with the grease gun. Then withdraw the tool rotate the wheel 180 and reinsert the grease tube and shot away again. This gets the newgrease directly into the center of the ball."

Cheers Phil

[Paul Hemmings]

Thanks for that Phil now i can see what i am looking for , I will try to grease bit tomorrow Monday afternoon, I had seen a strip down picture of the universal joint so i see where you are coming from with the pipe ,

[Jacques Reed]

Just had a look at my 4-7/8" steering ends on my F-15A. I could not remember seeing plugs in the lower part of the ball sockets. A quick look confirmed that there are no plugs in them.
I then had a look at a couple of ball socket spares and they were drilled and tapped for plugs so at some time the plugs were added or removed during production. Which came first though?

I also noted that there is an identical plug that fits my tapped ball socket in the end of the CV joints. Could that be a lubrication point for the CV joint as it goes all the way through to the balls and cage in the CV? The pilot pin which fits in the end of that CV joint hole has three grooves in it which may be to let grease pass under pressure into the innards of the CV joint. There is nothing in the Maintenance Manual regarding this but perhaps it was just common practice.

As suggested here, filling the ball with grease causes more problems than it solves unless it is accurately directed to where it is required which is inside the CV joint.

Perhaps the plug in the ball housing is more for draining water after front axle immersion than for lubrication?

Cheers,

[Jacques Reed]

Originally Posted by Jacques Reed

I then had a look at a couple of ball socket spares and they were drilled and tapped for plugs so at some time the plugs were added or removed during production. Which came first though?

Just looked through my records and remembered I wrote down the dates cast into the inside halves of the diffs when I had them apart.
Interestingly the diff with the plugs in the ball sockets was dated 4-42 and the one without the plugs was dated 3-44.
Assuming the steering ends were not replaced in service, it seems to indicate the plugs were an earlier fitment on those ends and later they were deleted during production. If that is so, I wonder why?

Cheers,

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Jacques

I was wondering if this was going to be a Chevy thing vs Ford. As to when it came in and went out or was an if we have time thing? My 1941 Pat 12 has them as does my June 1945 HUP.

Given how my truck get driven the service manual interval to tear down, clean, clean and repack just doesn't make sense. I've been shutting 10-20 shots of modern CV joint grease into center of the ball unit each spring now for years. Went with a copper tube over steel figuring it would be less likely to damage anything. You can really feel when you have the ball in the correct position to insert.

Years ago after having the HUP on a particularly muddy trail ride, mud up to the running board and water up to mid wheel, for several hours, I did tear everything down to check for mud and water. Brakes were well gummed with mud but there was no sign of water getting beyond the ball or hub seals.

Cheers Phil