Dealership Says No Lubricating Front Driveshaft

[KrisK]

I admire your tenacity, but Ill put down 20 bucks that the next time you go for an oil change, the grease fitting will no longer exist (again)

That is entirely possible. However, the service manager did tell me that if anyone ever tries to tell me in the future that the truck does not have a grease fitting, just to ask for him. Not ideal, but at least maybe with enough time the service advisers and technicians will learn.

 

[crazy jerry]

UPDATE! SITUATION RESOLVED!!!!

I did finally receive an e-mail back from Chrysler Customer Care on Monday 11/12/18 with the following response:

Kris,

Thank you for contacting FCA US LLC.

VIN: 3C6UR5CJ6HG5*****

2017 Ram 2500 4x4 trucks with the double cardan front driveshaft have a grease fitting (factory equipped front driveshaft), which requires maintenance at every oil change.

A quick Google Image internet search has several examples of photos, some with arrows pointing at the grease fitting.

The double cardan universal joint on the front propeller shaft near the transfer case is equipped with a flush mounted grease fitting. The grease fitting is a concave tapered hole on the shaft and can be difficult to locate. The grease fitting may be hard to spot right away and may require some searching before locating the grease fitting. The grease fitting is normally covered with dirt and can’t be seen unless cleaned really good. This fitting requires a needle nozzle for applying grease (the tip should be coned shaped >). We suggest that you have your local dealership first verify your vehicle is equipped with a double cardan universal joint front propeller shaft. Once this is confirmed and if your local dealership is unable to locate the fitting, our suggestion would be to seek a second opinion from another Ram dealership that has a technician more familiar with this model vehicle and whom has performed this type of maintenance on a like model vehicle.

Sincerely,
Joe

By the time I received this e-mail I had already received a similar response after private messaging @ramcares through this forum. I then contacted the service manager at my local dealership via e-mail and provided him with a copy of the private message I had received stating the lubrication instructions were not an error. He scheduled for me to come in this morning, and sure enough when he put it up on the lift, there was the grease fitting. He had a tech come and in about 10 seconds had it lubricated. I did ask him to provide me with a service receipt showing the front driveshaft had been lubricated, and he obliged. I wanted to have the documentation since I previously had them document on my service tickets when they stated that the truck did not have a grease fitting. This way if there is ever a problem I can show that I requested the work performed, and it wasn't until the truck had 34,000 miles that they actually performed the service.

Overall, the whole process was a headache, but at least from this point forward I know that my dealership is aware of the proper lubrication to be performed on my truck. Also, I expect this will prevent a whole bunch of other people from receiving misinformation from the dealer as well.

Hopefully anyone else who has a similar situation will be able to locate this thread in the future and it will help them out.

Thanks again everyone for your comments and feedback!

all that just to confirm theres a grease fitting on the driveshaft ? crawling under there would of solved the mystery in mere minutes. but if your not the type to get alittle garage floor dirt on your clothes, theres a sticker under the hood with a picture showing the fitting location. if your still not convinced, surely there must be some talk about it in the owners manual but who wants to look through one of those stupid things

 

[Jimmy07]

all that just to confirm theres a grease fitting on the driveshaft ? crawling under there would of solved the mystery in mere minutes. but if your not the type to get alittle garage floor dirt on your clothes, theres a sticker under the hood with a picture showing the fitting location. if your still not convinced, surely there must be some talk about it in the owners manual but who wants to look through one of those stupid things

Yes, we all know it’s easy to do and where it’s at. But, like the OP, I would have gone through all that also, just to be able to throw it in the dealers face.

 

[crazy jerry]

ill give you a tip to pass along to jiffy lube next time they grease your driveshaft. any more than 1-2 pumps and it spooges out the front and will make a mess

 

[KrisK]

all that just to confirm theres a grease fitting on the driveshaft ? crawling under there would of solved the mystery in mere minutes. but if your not the type to get alittle garage floor dirt on your clothes, theres a sticker under the hood with a picture showing the fitting location. if your still not convinced, surely there must be some talk about it in the owners manual but who wants to look through one of those stupid things

Thank you for the advice. I did in fact crawl under the truck myself and located the fitting. That, however, did nothing to prove to the dealership that they were incorrect. Now I have documentation of the situation in the event I have any trouble in the future.

I may not have handled it the same way as others, but I am satisfied with the outcome. If you’re happy to know the truth and don’t care about the dealership servicing your vehicle, then I don’t blame you for not going through the hassle of getting an answer from the manufacturer. To each his own.

Here’s a photo of the result of my crawling on the garage floor.

 

[22hemi13]

Thank you for the advice. I did in fact crawl under the truck myself and located the fitting. That, however, did nothing to prove to the dealership that they were incorrect. Now I have documentation of the situation in the event I have any trouble in the future.

I may not have handled it the same way as others, but I am satisfied with the outcome. If you’re happy to know the truth and don’t care about the dealership servicing your vehicle, then I don’t blame you for not going through the hassle of getting an answer from the manufacturer. To each his own.

Here’s a photo of the result of my crawling on the garage floor.

View attachment 146601

Man that’s clean lol. Needs greased

 

[KrisK]

Man that’s clean lol. Needs greased

LOL. That was after cleaning it up so I could get a good picture.

 

[quickster2]

You can see to the rear of the fitting on the other side of the cardan joint when you have pumped enough grease. You have to move backward a bit on the ground but you will clearly see a ring of grease around the shaft FYI. I have my wife or son pump the grease gun while I hold the needle fitting tight while holding a flashlight. 5 minute job once you do it the 1st time.

 

[wallacemf]

Not my pic but it clearly shows the fitting. I have one printed out and use it every time I go to the dealer and they tell me it's just not so

 

[shooters1380]

Hey guys. What grease is everyone using for this application?


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[U&A]

Hey guys. What grease is everyone using for this application?


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Use any grease that works for bearings. And don’t mix brands. For that application most any grease will work perfectly.




Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

 

[shooters1380]

Use any grease that works for bearings. And don’t mix brands. For that application most any grease will work perfectly.




Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

Ok you said don’t mix the grease. I have no idea what they put in there from the dealer, or if they ever even bothered to lube that. I’ve got some Lucas Red n Tacky and some Lucas red racing grease. I guess that should suffice. Just grease it until it pushes out the back? That’s gonna make a hell of a mess. Lol


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[U&A]

Ok you said don’t mix the grease. I have no idea what they put in there from the dealer, or if they ever even bothered to lube that. I’ve got some Lucas Red n Tacky and some Lucas red racing grease. I guess that should suffice. Just grease it until it pushes out the back? That’s gonna make a hell of a mess. Lol


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Red and tacky is great grease. Excellent drop point temps, 4ball wear test and timken KO load test.
Its a good choice. Not the absolute best in the world, but its a very good WIDLEY availed one. I use it to.


Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

 

[shooters1380]

Red and tacky is great grease. Excellent drop point temps, 4ball wear test and timken KO load test.
Its a good choice. Not the absolute best in the world, but its a very good WIDLEY availed one. I use it to.


Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

In your opinion what would you say “the best” is? I sir that red n tacky in the wheel bearings of my off road car


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[U&A]

And don’t worry about what was in at the manufacturer..... IF they even put any in anyway. Just pump a lot of your red-n-tacky through to “clean it out” a bit. Then continue to use the grease at every oil change (per manual) at a minimum. Just remember greasing too often is just as bad as greasing not enough.

https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/1352/grease-basics

https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/1865/grease-compatibility




Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

 

[shooters1380]

Thanks for the information sir. I appreciate it


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[U&A]

In your opinion what would you say “the best” is? I sir that red n tacky in the wheel bearings of my off road car


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Unless you’re constantly getting bearing failures just continue using what are using.

Lithium complexes are the safest way to go. When you get into different grease bases things can get pretty technical and selecting the “perfect grease” is not easy.

Use what is working well.

All JMO


Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

 

[U&A]

Thanks for the information sir. I appreciate it


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Anything i can do to help[emoji1303]


Sent while firmly grasping my redline lubed RAM [emoji231]

 

[shooters1380]

Just for ****z and giggles I sent the good folks at Amsoil an email regarding a grease that met the OEM requirements for the front diff u-joint. I received a response this morning that states: “Amsoil does not have an equivalent to the grease, thank you.”

Found that interesting.


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[Redheadhunter21]

Probably just because its not a popular use. If they dont have the research on it, they wont be able to provide an equivalent. However they have lithium based greases so you can do a little searching for one that will work.