Adding Grease Zerks

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I recently received several TDR back issues and have been enjoying them immensely. One issue a member mentioned drilling, tapping and adding zerks to his front ball joint, tie rod end and steering bushings which are dubbed "Lubed for life. " Anyone hear of this? Sounds like a good plan, but I wouldn't take a drill to my front suspension without knowing exactly what I was doing. The member said it was easy but gave no details. The front ends on these trucks can use all the help they can get. Rebuilds are not cheap, so might as well make what you have last as long as possible by shooting some fresh grease in there occasionally! The truck in question was 2wd, but this certainly applies to 4x4 as well.

Vaughn

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2001 Ram 2500 QC SWB 2wd, Patriot Blue/Driftwood, HO Cummins & 6-speed, 3. 54LSD, Cab & Fog lamps, Camper & Tow Pkg.
BOMBings: K&N RE0880, straight piped, debadged body, AutoMeter Sport Comp Boost & Pyro gauges
Performance: 245rwHP on BD Dyno, 0-60@ 11. 5 sec 17/22 mpg city/hiway
8255 miles (6/21/00)

 

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It was probably in the classifieds on this site. I have this installed on the "quad-a-saurus" now for over two years and/or 56,000 miles. You will note I live in Utah and travel extensively through the west. The system has seen everything except sage brush which is reserved for the SL models... . Thats my opinion. I did not have to drill and tap but did make some modifications. The system is $59. 00 and takes a couple of hours to install. The only draw back is that I do not recommend using air driven grease guns do too the high psi. If you are interested let me know and I will e-mail photos.

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98. 5 ISB 2500HD 4X4 SLT QC, 3. 54 forest green/camel leather, 5 spd. hood weather bra, cobra CB, Westech boost & pyro, Geno "A" pod, Dee Zee brds. Grover air horns, toaster LED's, HD light lens covers, bug deflector, J&J mud flaps, back up alarm, K&N, Guidon fiberglass tonneau, Ventvisors, Fuel door LED's, X-mission fltr. Fosgate/Clarion system, ABS, trailer tow, Aux rear suspension, factory clearance lamps, sliding rear window, Michelin LT265/75R16 LTX AT, RamZerks, 24' Reinell with tandem trailer. Ring removed.
"Quad-a-Saurus"

 

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I drill and tap ball joints for tractors all the time no problem. At $300 a pop for a John Deere ball joint our Dodge parts are cheap. It seems to me that my 4X4 has zerks every where it needs one,but I did replace a few with the 90 degree type to make them easier to get at.

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95' 25004X4,Driftwood,Banks,Warn fender flairs and running boards(Play truck)95 3500,driftwood,Banks&phscotty,30,000 GVW apple and tractor hauler(work truck)

 

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Is there enough room to get to the ball joints and rod ends to drill? I seem to remember it being pretty tight on my 98 so I never tried it. When I serviced my 01 I think there was only one fitting. The ones on the tie rod ends are gone.

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2001 ETH DEE 2500, 4. 10 LSD, Towing Package, PYRO/Boost Gauges
Real Backup Lights

 

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Vaughn, it's real easy to drill these things.
Just choose the proper size drill bit for the zerk that you want and pack the drill bit with axle grease, this will catch the metal when you drill the hole. I would still inspect the hole to make sure you got all the metal shavings. Screw the zerk in and pump it full of fresh grease and your frontend will love you long time #ad


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John W. - Indiana - Black 99 4x4 QC Sport LB 24V AT 4. 10 Gears Loaded Including Leather and cab lights,285 BFG A/Ts , 16x8 American Racing Baja Wheels,Bed cover, Bushwacker flares, Ventvisors, Rancho RS5000 Steering Stabilizer, Cobra 148GTL CB mounted on a custom cb bracket by "JOHN", Walker #21468 straight thru muffler... and my Halo light still works!! Bomb My truck?? No way!!(Wink Wink) More to come ...

 

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Thanks for the tips guys. I think I'll pick up several zerks tonight and install them at the NW BOMBers get together this Sunday at Rob Hanson's. That way I'll have several guys looking over my shoulder giving advice so I can blame them if I screw up somehow #ad


Vaughn

 

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Where exactly do you drill?? Side or bottom or where?? Thanks; Don

 

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Drill through the steel cap. Bottom on the lower joint. Can't get to the upper. #ad


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'94 3500 4x4, 196,000 miles, Auto w/shift kit,3. 54 Gears, TST #5 plate, 235-85-16s, Rancho 9000s w/remote, Isspro gauges inplace of cupholder & Amsoil Bumper to Bumper. NRA member.

 

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Uh, Oh!

I pilot drilled my lower ball joint to tap and install a zerk fitting but I ran into a big problem. After drilling through the case of the ball joint, the drill only went about 3/8" deep total before it hit REAL HARD metal (the ball part of the joint?). After experimenting with the tap in some scrap metal, it looks like I can only tap deep enough to have 1-1/2 to 2 threads of engagement with the Zerk fitting. Is this enough? Are there special 1/8-NPT taps that don't require as much clearance (depth-wise) to achieve full thread depth? Wahhhhhhh!!!!

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1996 Dodge 2500 SC, SLT, Cummins 12V, 5-spd. , 4X4, JRE 4" exhaust (somebody stole my kitty and my muffler fell off!), TST 280 HP/685 Ft-Lb Uprate Kit, AFC Spring Kit, Horton Fan Clutch, Jacobs/Ram Exhaust Brake, MagHytec Differential Cover, Combo Gauge, K&N Filter, Brite-Box, no turbo silencer ring, full-time fog lights. Prime-Loc and Rancho 9000 shocks coming soon!

 

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I use a needle fitting on my grease gun, lift the edge of the rubber cup fill it up, move to the next one. So far everythings looking good. regards Pete

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99'3500,quad cab,4X4,a/t
3:54,all the right packages!PROPER VALVEMENT

 

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troutlips:
I've been eyeballing the Ramzerks for a few weeks. I know they use a system like that on heavy equipment/machinery. But, how do you know when you've got enough grease in the joint if you're up top with the gun? I can see it now, squirt, squirt, down on your knees, take a look, stand up, squirt some more, take another look. #ad
Also what about catching all those blobs of old grease? I usually go through half a roll of paper towels every time I grease the front end. Or do you just let the blobs fall on the floor? What's your system?

radixr:
You're gonna love those Rancho 9000's. That is if they're still in the budget now that it looks like you screwed up the front end with the drill. #ad
You could always just fill that hole with some Pyro-Putty available from Aremco Products. 914-268-0039, 914-268-0041 (fax). www.aremco.com [thx to latest issue 4-Wheeler] BTW, where's Waterford anyway? Don't tell me you're a Steelers fan.

Tom

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96 2500 E-Cab, 4x4, 5sp/3. 54, NRA sticker, etc.

 

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I grind some of the end of the tap away so the tap will bottum out better, use a good tap to start the hole then finish with the ground off tap. May be a good idea to practice on an old ball joint first. Delbert

 

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I've found that most times you don't need to tap the hole. The metal on the top of the joint is thin enough to tap it with the zerk. Just drill a hole large enough to get the threads started then screw it in. Use a high quality zerk(not Chinese)that has tappered threads. Zerk fittings that are made to be driven in are also available.

 

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RT66DOC: In answer to your questions: The lines are prefilled with grease, no air pockets. So I only pump twice and only when changing oil or if I have been off road fishing. The extra grease will sometimes hang and/or drip, but I usually power wash the zerk area when washing the truck. I am also using moly grease which is a superior lubricant in my opinion. Adding zerks is a plus if you can clean the hole completely. I would think metal flakes would shorten the life of the ball joint.

 

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Troutlips, thanks for the info. Sounds like a bargain for 59 bucks.
Tom

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96 2500 E-Cab, 4x4, 5sp/3. 54, NRA sticker, etc.

 

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radixr - they make a special tap called a bottoming tap for holes that don't go all the way through metal. illflem has a good idea - don't tap it - just screw the zerk in and grease it up.

 

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On the 01 I can get to the top one but can't get to the bottom one. These are the new bolt on (factory is riveted on). My 98 were pressed in. Where do you look at the Ramzerks?

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2001 ETH DEE 2500, 4. 10 LSD, Towing Package, Electric Brakes, EGT/Boost Gauges, Running Boards,
Real Backup Lights

 

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I noticed the package of zerks I bought recommends a drill bit size, and then says to screw the zerks in without tapping, just like illflem said. I wish I would have noticed that and commented on it before Radixr jumped into doing his and saved him some grief! #ad
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Radixr I hope you come up with a fix for yours. I would consider the next size up and try the self-tapping trick. I saw a larger size when I picked mine up the other day. Good luck and let us know how you come out on it. I won't get mine done for at least a week--headed to California Thursday to spend a few days.

 

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Thanks to an email suggestion from a forum browser, I was able to get out of my jam. I had only pilot drilled a small hole and was able to tap with a 1/4-28 tap and use a zerk with that thread size instead of the 1/8-27 NPT zerk.

I did both lower ball joints (one original and one a lifetime replacement joint). Neither joint had any noticable lubricant in it! How could a lifetime ball joint come with no grease? I don't get it. #ad
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I "impregnated" both of them with gobs of Amsoil grease. Hopefully they will last longer than had I not added the zerks. #ad


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1996 Dodge 2500 SC, SLT, Cummins 12V, 5-spd. , 4X4, JRE 4" exhaust (my kitty ran off into the woods and the muffler fell off!), TST 280 HP/685 Ft-Lb Uprate Kit, AFC Spring Kit, Horton Fan Clutch, Jacobs/Ram Exhaust Brake, MagHytec Differential Cover, Combo Gauge, K&N Filter, Brite-Box, no turbo silencer ring, full-time fog lights. Prime-Loc and Rancho 9000 shocks coming soon!

 

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radixr,I've run into some "lifetime" joints while putting in zerks that are lined with nylon(or some other form of plastic)I grease them anyway-no problems. One thing I've learned is that on ball & U-joints is that the grease you adds' main function is to push out dirt. Also over greaseing these joints will tear the rubber dust caps witch causes rapid wear,just a couple shots is enough,the grease doesn't need to come out and make a mess. Whenever posible replace joints with greaseable ones,they will last much longer than "lifetime" ones.