Which Slipjoint Grease?

[TooCoolTwo]

What are you all using these days to grease your slipjoints? I have used the recommend speciality Ford blue grease in the past, but it does not seem to last long.

I was thinking there might be some new synthetic greases on the market these days that would work better.

Mike

[silvermullet]

i was told thats why theres a thump on take , off from a dead stop . the slip yok needs greased . theres no zerk on my truck , so im wondering whats the correct way to grease it . just slap it on every surface of the splines , and let it fly all over the bottom of my truck ? do they make a grease able one on the aftermarket ?

[robertth]

There is supposed to be a black rubber tube/cuff about 6" long which is covers the splines to contain the grease.

[TooCoolTwo]

Yes, on a 2WD truck like mine, the "thump" on take off is lack of lubrication of the slip joint splines. But eventually the grease wears off again, requiring it to be lubricated again.

I was hoping someone had a better grease than that which is recommended by Ford so that I can put more time and distance between doing the job again.

[robertth]

I would be interested in an alternative as well. At 120k I did mine. I now have 193k and need to do it again.

The grease from Motorcraft is called XG-8 and comes in a 3 oz tube. It is called PTFE (Teflon) grease and is a light blue color. At the time I did it last, in 2007, I used about half the tube, so I think one tube is good for two applications. I have been remiss in doing mine as frequently as I should, but I think one application is good for at least 60k miles.

[lone_star_dsl]

I used some cheap Napa multi-purpose grease. It has lasted for 150k miles and the driveline shows no sign of thumping.

[mims73]

I had the same thump issue in another vehicle and i used Reese Hitch grease....like for putting it on your towing hitches..I tried this grease cause it had teflon in it...I dont know how long it actually lasted because i sold the vehicle before it acted up again....This is just another idea...

[bigb]

Last time I had mine apart I put a zerk on it and cut a groove in the splines to let the grease make it's way all the way around.





I installed the zerk so it would be at my distribution groove when unloaded.

[silvermullet]

using a zerk there . i been wanting to do that ever since i found out thats what causes thump . its been too cold out and the truck wont fit in the garage . im just gathering up all the parts i need , and waiting for the weather .

[TooCoolTwo]

I have always thought that Mobil 1 or Chevron fully synthetic grease would work well in this application.

While these greases do not have teflon in them, their cold weather performance capabilities are much better than petroleum based greases.

I do not know if Ford's recommended lubricant for this application is synthetic or petroleum based.

[TooCoolTwo]

Any more recommendations?

[brotherxb]

I put a zerk fitting and use that synthetic green grease. It won't run out when it gets hot.

[handsome]

the blue teflon grease only lasted me 6 month before it would start making noise and feel like slack being taken up. I went to the parts store and bought permetex anti seize compound in a jar with a brush. That lasted 1 1/2 years before problem again. So finally I got hold of a spare slip yolk . I had a 1/4" wide groove machine in it past the splines. I went .005" to the side past the splines. I had two grease fittings installed 180 degrees apart. So in case their was a out of balance problem . That would take care of it. Now when I grease the front end . I shoot some grease in the slip yolk. I am a happy camper now.

[klhansen]

You guys with the zerk fittings in the spline need to be careful about overfilling them. If you over grease and get the space between the end of the spline shaft and the socket filled with grease, it essentially becomes solid, so if you hit a big bump, the slip can't do its job of shortening the driveshaft, because of the "hydrolock" that the grease causes. That could easily damage the t-case or driveshaft as the axle tries to compress the driveshaft.

[robertth]

It is tempting to fill the grooves in the spline with grease (XG-8, etc) but it makes for a real air tight seal and makes it difficult to push the axle over the spline and to pull back off. I know that for a reason.

I'm just wondering: the jerk that we get at take off is caused by the yoke not slipping or slipping too much?

It is amazing what an easy thing this is to fix. For the time and cost involved, this is a great way to improve the drive and protect the transfer case and differential from being jarred at take off.

If you feel a jerk a split second after take off from a dead stop...regreasing the slip yoke with something like XG-8 will (probably) fix it.