new u-joints - do I need to see grease come out of all four caps?

[timbehnen]

I'm changing the ujoints on my 1998 5.0 Volvo Penta SX outdrive. I have the new ones installed but when I went to fill them with grease I only get grease coming out of 1 or 2 caps on each u-joint, no matter how much I pump into the zirk fitting. How do I know the other 3 caps are full? Have I done something wrong?
Thank you for your assistance.

 

[tpenfield]

It would be nice to see grease coming out of all 4 caps, but often when one of the seals 'pop' the grease tends not to put enough pressure on the other caps.

Perhaps a bit late for your situation, but in the future. . . I recommend 'priming' the grease journal and fill the cap with grease during the installation of the u-joint (while you have the caps apart). That way you know for sure that grease got into each cap and you can just give the finished assembly a pump or 2 with the grease gun.

 

[timbehnen]

It would be nice to see grease coming out of all 4 caps, but often when one of the seals 'pop' the grease tends not to put enough pressure on the other caps.

Perhaps a bit late for your situation, but in the future. . . I recommend 'priming' the grease journal and fill the cap with grease during the installation of the u-joint (while you have the caps apart). That way you know for sure that grease got into each cap and you can just give the finished assembly a pump or 2 with the grease gun.

Thank you Ted. Since I have not yet re-installed the outdrive yet, I may remove one of the ujoints and check the caps to see if the ones that did not show grease do in fact have grease.

 

[harringtondav]

Perhaps a bit late for your situation, but in the future. . . I recommend 'priming' the grease journal.

Agree. New unis typically come with a choice of grease fittings, or a plug. On the bench, I finger-tight a Zerk, and pump grease until all four caps raise. If one or two come up first, I hold them until all raise. Then I remove the grease fitting and squeeze the caps back until the seals sets in theirs groove. Wipe off the excess from the pipe tap and reinstall either a plug or a Zerk.

I reinstall a grease fitting so I can get that warm, fuzzy when I give them that 1/4-1/2 pump during maintenance. Too much will blow the seals out of their groove, and that's not good.