mr. ed
Madison, SD (currently traveling the US)
Senior Member
Joined: 02/06/2002
View Profile
 Offline
|
That's what a Dodge dealer service dep't manager told me today. According to him, some trucks were supplied with cardan joints w/o the fitting. The fitting I'm talking about is supposed to be on the cardan joint that attaches the front driveshaft to the transfer case (pictured below).
It's no wonder I haven't found anyone, be it a dealer, lube shop or even myself who has been able to locate this fitting. Evidently I own one of those trucks with a cardan joint w/o the fitting. According to the service mgr the only recourse I have is to drive the vehicle until the joint wears out, then replace it. That sounds pretty dumb to me.
Any other Dodge 4X4 owners out there with a similar situation?
Mr. Ed (fulltiming since 1987)
2007 Hitchhiker II LS Model 29.5 LKTG
2007 Dodge Ram 3500/6.7 CTD/QC/4X4/SB/SRW/6-speed man/Big Horn edition
|
troll3193
SouthWest, MI USA
Senior Member
Joined: 07/07/2004
View Profile
Offline
|
I have an 06 and mine is there...
I have a sticker under the hood that mentions greasing it... If you have the sticker, but not the fitting, I would get them to put in writing that they will replace the cardan joint regardless of miles if it fails...
the sticker I refer to looks like this and is near the drivers side of the radiator.
funny thing about this is that when they started putting the fitting on in 06, apparently they did not teach the dealers about it... I have been under the lift at the dealer several times, showing the lube guy of the day where it is... Also they have had to run several times to the parts place to get a tip for the grease gun...
Bryan
* This post was
edited 08/28/08 09:04am by troll3193 *
2006 RAM 3500 MegaCab w/Cummins Turbo Diesel
Mopar Exhaust Brake
2004 Dutchemen 31BK
|
BenK
SF BayArea
Senior Member
Joined: 04/18/2002
View Profile
|
Your last post and this one
Cardan grease gun fitting
-Ben Picture of my rig
1996 GMC SLT Suburban 3/4 ton K3500/7.4L/4:1/+150Kmiles orig owner...
1980 Chevy Silverado C10/long bed/"BUILT" 5.7L/3:73/1 ton helper springs/+329Kmiles, bought it from dad...
1998 Mazda B2500 (1/2 ton) pickup, 2nd owner...
Praise Dyno Brake equiped and all have "nose bleed" braking!
Previous trucks/offroaders: 40's Jeep restored in mid 60's / 69 DuneBuggy (approx +1K lb: VW pan/200hpCorvair: eng, cam, dual carb'w velocity stacks'n 18" runners, 4spd transaxle) made myself from ground up / 1970 Toyota FJ40 / 1973 K5 Blazer (2dr Tahoe, 1 ton axles front/rear, +255K miles when sold it)...
Sold the boat (looking for another): Trophy with twin 150's...
51 cylinders in household, what's yours?...
|
mr. ed
Madison, SD (currently traveling the US)
Senior Member
Joined: 02/06/2002
View Profile
Offline
|
Thanks for the replies, gents. That was a good idea, troll3193: have the dealer put it in writing that no fitting exists. The only problem is I don't think they'll be liable when the fitting fails, since they're not designed to be greased in the first place.
BenK: I've already purchased a grease gun and needle fitting for use just in case the grease fitting is located someday. I haven't opened the package yet since I do have doubts of ever finding it but I'll remain hopeful for a while. I did check that previous forum you mentioned and one poster did say that some of the newer trucks don't have the fitting. I'm going to try one more lube shop and direct them to check real carefully for this fitting. I have the picture posted above already printed so they can see exactly where to look.
EDIT: I DO have the sticker on the radiator stating that the Cardan joint should be greased (I believe it's every 7500 miles).
|
mowermech
Billings, MT
Senior Member
Joined: 06/28/2003
View Profile
Offline
|
I had a 4X4 many years ago that had that Constant Velocity Joint in the front driveshaft. When it went bad, I had a machine shop make a new driveshaft without the CV joint. It had a slight vibration at over 65 MPH, but other than that it worked fine. I never drove that fast with the hubs locked in much anyway.
It worked for me, but if your truck is still under warranty you probably shouldn't mess with it.
CM1, USN (RET)
'94 Dodge 3500 4X2 CTD, Std. cab, LB, 5 speed, 4.10 LS diff., Jacobs Rambrake, 273,000 Miles
'99 Monaco McKenzie 32' triple slide
'95 Tioga 29H Ford-based Class C
Daily driver: '06 Jeep Liberty CRD
Towed: '06 Jeep Rubicon Unlimited
|
|
|
ib516
Up here!
Senior Member
Joined: 04/18/2003
View Profile
Offline
|
My 2007 has the fitting and the sticker.
2004 Cougar 301 BHS 6580# Dry, 9000# wet, 9600# GVWR)
2007 Dodge/5.9L Cummins 3500 SRW Megacab 4x4/3.73
Hypertech Max Energy
"MEGACASPER" 10100# GVWR, 5200# FGAWR, 6200# RGAWR
PICTURES
ELIM 3000 Gen (still going )
Collision Reconstructionist
ScanGauge2
|
mr. ed
Madison, SD (currently traveling the US)
Senior Member
Joined: 02/06/2002
View Profile
Offline
|
UPDATE! I just brought my truck to a local lube place that I've used before and believe the personnel to be knowledgeable and honest. I positioned my truck over the "dugout" and THREE techs got under the vehicle and very carefully inspected the Cardan joint while I slowly pushed the vehicle in order to rotate the driveshaft. They told me to stop pushing when each quadrant of the fitting came in view and then proceeded to use a flashlite to closely inspect the area where the fitting is supposed to be (I gave them the picture I posted above so they knew exactly where to look).
The results were that none of the three techs could locate any fitting there. I'm pretty much convinced now that the dealer was right: some trucks were assembled with cardan joints having no fittings (yes, I do have the sticker n the radiator that reminds you to grease that fitting at each oil change). As I stated above, I've had many people in different parts of the country look for this fitting, without results. I suppose when the thing finally wears out from lack of grease I'll have one installed that does have a fitting. I don't know why manufacturers skimp in this area (save money?). I'd much rather apply grease where it's needed rather than just wait for the thing to wear out.
|
skeetshooter25
kc
Full Member
Joined: 08/14/2005
View Profile
Offline
|
my 2005 has the sticker and the fitting, i marked the drive shaft with a yellow grease pen, it helps me find the fitting during service
2005 Ram 3500 dual wheels open exhaust,
2006 Cambridge 361 rls on board onan gold 6500,
full home hook up
|
Capt Skup
Southern Maryland/Nantucket
Senior Member
Joined: 05/14/2004
View Profile
|
A happy day for me was when I crawled under my truck to see, to my delight, all the grease fittings my truck came equipped with. Upper and lower ball joints, u-joints on the front axle, steering gear. But, no grease fittings on the u-joints on the driveshafts. I know, greased for life. But, when the joint fails due to lack of lubrication and the shaft knockes a hole in the oil pan or flips the truck over on it's back, who is going to pay? I am lucky that my front drive shaft is not constantly rotating as I drive down the highway but that rear shaft is. I sure would feel better if at every oil change I could insert a pump or two of grease into the joints. How much are the manufacturers saving by not installing a joints with the fitting? A nickle?
Capt Skup
AD-1(AW)USN Ret.
Wonderful Wife, 3 beautiful Daughters
"Never get in a battle of wits with an unarmed man"
2008 F-450 Lariat 4x4
2008 Honda Odyssey EX-L
SunlineF281SR
SeaRay215EC
http://community.webshots.com/user/CaptSkup?vhost=community
|
mr. ed
Madison, SD (currently traveling the US)
Senior Member
Joined: 02/06/2002
View Profile
Offline
|
Capt Skup wrote:A happy day for me was when I crawled under my truck to see, to my delight, all the grease fittings my truck came equipped with. Upper and lower ball joints, u-joints on the front axle, steering gear. But, no grease fittings on the u-joints on the driveshafts. I know, greased for life. But, when the joint fails due to lack of lubrication and the shaft knockes a hole in the oil pan or flips the truck over on it's back, who is going to pay? I am lucky that my front drive shaft is not constantly rotating as I drive down the highway but that rear shaft is. I sure would feel better if at every oil change I could insert a pump or two of grease into the joints. How much are the manufacturers saving by not installing a joints with the fitting? A nickle?
Capt Skup, you claim that your front drive shaft doesn't rotate constantly while driving. It's my understanding that it does rotate all the time, regardless of whether you're in 4WD or not. Please elucidate.....Ed
|
|
|
