i've got that oh-so-common thump coming from the rear end so i'm lubing my slip joint in the drive shaft. i have the xg-8 lube from the ford house and have cleaned all the old grease out of the shaft. how much new grease should i put back in...the whole tube?

 

No! Not the whole tube.

A tube should be good for six or seven applications, so gauge it thus.

An acid brush will be helpful in getting a light coat on both the inside and outside splines.

Just a coating, not a packing.

Be sure to mark the driveshaft with chalk or something, so you can re-install it exactly as it came out.

Pop

 

Great advice as usual Pop!! Reps for you as soon as they let me!

 

Pop nailed it- very thin coat of grease. If you put too much on there, you'll basically turn the driveline into a shock absorber and when you try to slide it back together it will want to shoot back off on ya. I found when doing mine that the shaft only wanted to slide back together in the proper orientation- 1 tooth in either direction and it would only go together so far. Mark it just to be safe though. If you don't have stuck bolt in the rear yoke like I did, should be a quick and easy job.