Greasing the u-joints is a quick and simple job and if it turns out one or more of them is the culprit then it could save you collateral damage if it fails completely.
If you grease them and the squeak goes away, rebuild the propshafts ASAP because squeaking means they are already damaged.

 

Looking at the current setup, the u-joints do not have zerk fittings. Is there another way to grease them if they do not have fittings? I will, of course, be replacing all of them, very soon, with the suggested geaseable u-joints. Anything that I can do in the meantime? I am thinking no.

Again, very helpful guys. I am learning a lot here. Much appreciated.

 

They are original and need replaced then. Replace them with greasable u-joints.

 

Okay, will do. Looking at getting Neapco 1-0005 U-joints. Would this be correct?

Can't say it enough; big thanks to everyone for their input.

 

Also, what is the correct oil for the swivel ball housings? Looking at using 85w140. Is this correct?

 

RAVE spec is GL5 or API rated, 90 weight. But in addition to running 85W140, some members run straight Lucas Red & Tacky grease. And some use an oil that is basically a mixture of grease and heavy weight oil. The advantage of oil is easy drain out if you go wading. The advantage of grease only is less leakage. If going grease, turn wheel to one side, so fill point is is a staright shot to bottom of cavity. I greased mine and made a small click go away. I know it will return, I'm buying time for the CV's.

 

No, they use "00" grease.
You can buy it at any lawn mower shop, buy it in the tube not the bottle.
Or you can buy this.

Swivel Housing Grease - 375ML Tube for Defender 110, Steering & Suspension Parts
One for each side.

 

Update: I actually have zerk fittings on my U-joints! Thank the Land Rover gods. I was not looking/feeling around hard enough before. So, I injected some grease into each joint. However, I could only get grease to squeeze out of 1 or 2 ends, which tells me they have not been serviced in a really long time. Any suggestions on resolving this issue other than replacing the joints?

Also, I went ahead and filled up the swivel ball housings with 85w140. But, upon draining out the old oil, I discovered that the driver’s side housing had very little oil in it. Only a couple of drops came out from the drain hole. So, I filled it back up, following the procedure in the RAVE manual. Went for a drive, hoping that the noise would have improved or gone away, but was disappointed.

So, where do I go from here? Start replacing everything? CV, bearings, seals, rotors and pads? Tomorrow, I plan on taking off the wheel to get a better look from the other side. Along with changing the motor, diff and transfer oil.

- Shawn

 

Did you read my Rebuilding propshafts thread in the write-ups section? That tells you where to tap on a u-joint to try to get it to shift and allow grease to flow. If that doesn't work the only thing to do is replace them. Well, you could take them apart and grease them, but what's the point?

FWIW my wife's '97 was exactly the same way when we bought it and I replaced all 4 u-joints (it had been converted to a u-joint at the rear diff). That's what I recommend since you know now the u-joints have been neglected.

For the swivel *****, "correct" is a subjective term. CV grease, 90w, 85w140 are all "correct" depending on your personal preference.
NAS Discoveries came with grease in the swivels, so it's not going to drain much. There's nothing wrong with using 85x140 however. The CV's in coilers started out with gear lube and the only reason Land Rover switched to grease was because people complained about oil drips on their posh drives.
If your swivel ***** and swivel ball seals are in good shape, you shouldn't get much leakage.

 

You should listen to Antichrist. If you can't get those UJ's to squirt grease out of every side replace them. And I would replace them anyway as it's not a difficult job. Then you will know they are good and can start greasing them every time you change the oil. It's cheap insurance and an hour of your time. If one of the fronts fails you could end up with more in repairs to your truck than the truck is worth. As to the swivel ***** pick one. Use the oil if you will be doing any wading. If you are somewhere dry like me use the grease. Just my $0.02