Car is a series 1 4.2 2+2 . I may have the grease fittings installed wrong on the propeller shaft. The Universal joints i purchased have the grease fitting drilled off center line so that the fitting can either point towards the driven flange or towards the shaft itself. Which is correct? both ends the same? front shaft not the axle shafts please.
I would have thought that the only way you could access them with the drive shaft installed would be to point them outwards, towards the ends of the shaft.
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I never greased the driveshaft on this car , it was not in running condition when purchased. reading the service manual that must be done by removing access plugs. As one can only install the driveshaft with engine or the IRS removed I want to be correct. I am not sure what you mean, pointing outwards towards the ends…? guess it depends on where the access hole is in relationship to the joint, , above, in front of or behind… I can only guess which is why i must ask.
How mine looks…
But I am not sure what you mean by
As mine appear to be centered. In fact I have a long Zerk which I can substitute for the original if clearance is an issue.
But if yours is off-center then I would seem that having it point toward the propshaft flange (and away form the bolts) would give you better access.
Thank you for the photo. perhaps i can put a long fitting in but mine is definitely backwards. done by a well meaning friend, i suppose i could disassemble and turn it round without telling him. another aftermarket part shortcoming i expect, if it was in the center it would not be a problem would it. where is the access plug in that photo? we dont take the cover off to grease it do we?
what do you have safety wired to the shaft???
Right, lubing is thru the access plug on the side of the tunnel - but the only photo I had handy of that does not show the Zerk and the tunnel photo did.
Magnets for cruise control speed sensor.
pretty tight there isnt it. is that an enlarged access hole 
thank you!
Yes. Like many here, my PO (or his hired gun) had hacked the original hole, probably to service the angle drive:
Hi…you can get 90deg and 45deg angle zirks so it may help access if you could replace yours with one like this…a 45 is shown above in the photo with the wired speed sensor… Steve
You can also get an attachment that lets you get at a Zerk from a 90° angle instead of straight-on.
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Cool…MOAR TOOLZ!!!
Mine ( a S1 3.8) couldn’t possibly be done through the rubber covered access port. It may be possible from below, not sure. Mine just gets greased on the occasions the center console needs to come out. As much as I’d like such an occasion to be infrequent, it realistically isn’t. I wouldn’t be inclined under any circumstance to disassemble the joint over this. There are too many options for making it work using different fittings, or a flexible grease gun extension.
Probably not an issue on our cars, but “heavy duty” Chevy joints like we use DON"T have grease fittings. The drilled hole weakens the joint in extreme stress uses.
points well taken! I don’t relish taking the joint apart and i have time to look for other grease fittings. My car is not due back from painter till next week . still a lot of work to do afterwards, install engine etc. it will be sitting all summer while i go North to our old farm in illinois. I have one of those 90 degree fittings for the Ford tractor attachments! never have needed to use it. We will get grease in there somehow. thank you all for the replies
FWIW - Harbor Freight sells what will probably be my lifetime supply for less than 8 bucks:
https://www.harborfreight.com/50-piece-grease-fitting-assortment-67570.html
I have used them and they seem fine.