Greasing the ball joints

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Haven't had time to try to tap the ball joints and other lube points on my 01 so I went by NAPA and picked up the needle adapters. Used the smallest one and greased all the steering components. Except for the first one where I put in too much grease, they all sealed good after the needle was removed. Truck drives and steers better. I guess those lifetime seals would be great if they had grease in them to start with.

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2001 HO 6 spd 2500, 4. 10 LSD, Towing Package, Electric Brakes, SPA EGT/Boost Gauges, Running Boards, Fog Lights, Real Backup Lights, Running Boards

 

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Hey Alan- That's a good idea! Thanks!

 

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Alan,that will work for the first time. A major function of greasing anything is pushing the old dirty grease out,you can only do that by greasing from the top of the ball joint.

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95' 25004X4,AT,Driftwood,Banks Stinger,Warn fender flairs and running boards(work truck)
95 3500,5 speed 3:54,Driftwood,Banks&Psycotty,34,000 GCVW apple and tractor hauler(works harder truck)

 

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Alan, I got some zerks and drilled & zekred the outer tie rod ends and upper ball joints. Boy there was almost no grease in there.

I could not bring myself to drill though the cast iron and zerk the lower ball joints, those look expensive and didn't want to plunge into that without really knowing what I was doing. Any advice anyone?

Vaughn

 

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You are right Illflem on the push out of the old grease. I may still put zerks in these when it warms up. I guarantee you, the next joints that go on this baby will have them before they are installed even if I have to put them in myself. I talked to the guy at NAPA and he said all of their replacements now have zerks but I haven't seen them yet for the Dodge.

 

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Vaughn,

I drilled and tapped my lower ball joints. I used 1/4-28 zerks but I read on the forum somewhere that all you need to do is drill the correct size hole and the 1/8 NPT zerks will self tap.

How did you do your upper ball joints? Which zerks did you use?

[This message has been edited by radixr (edited 01-03-2001). ]

 

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radixr, did you drill into the side or the top of the conical piece? Did you bottom out with the drill bit? Was the casting very thick? I was going to drill the side since you can't really get to the top with a drill. I used the same zerks you're talking about, 1/4" 28 pitch.

On the uppers I removed the tires and drilled exactly in the center of the cap.

Thanks, Vaughn

 

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radixer,you have it backwards the 1/4-28 self tap in thin material, the 1/8 NPT don't. The uppers on my '95s came with zerks,I had to put 90° type on there to make them easy to get at though. But if you don't have them I know there is no room to drill in from the top unless you remove the whole mess,but you could drill in from the side. When you go into the harder,thicker metal on the side you will also have to tap the hole,but not very deep. All of the greaseless type ball joints I've drilled into have a white nylon liner that goes around the socket of the joint, when you see white coming out with your drill shavings it's time to stop,don't worry about drilling into the ball,it is very hard steel and you can't penetrate it easily with a regular drill bit. If you have air or an aerosol type cleaner try to remove the shavings,they come out easy since there is no grease for them to get stuck in. Screw in your 1/4-28 zerk and you're set. Don't over grease,when you see the rubber dust cover start to swell stop,usually only two pumps. If you over do it you can tear the dust cover plus you have grease oozing out making a mess for quite some time.

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95' 25004X4,AT,Driftwood,Banks Stinger,Warn fender flairs and running boards(work truck)
95 3500,5 speed 3:54,Driftwood,Banks&Psycotty,34,000 GCVW apple and tractor hauler(works harder truck)

[This message has been edited by illflem (edited 01-03-2001). ]

 

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illflem- Thanks for the detailed explanation, I used the syringe method today and shot some grease into the boots, but, I will need those zurks soon. I think DC needs some good ol' farmboys on their design panel, at least then the zerks would not be forgotten.

 

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You're welcome Dash. DC has a very good reason they forgot to put zerks on the ball & U-joints,they want your money from the service dept. While they have your truck there they'll find something else to break on your truck so you have to come back.

Actually greaseless joints on a passenger car are a good idea,the nylon friction points are what is supposed to lube them. They will last the 100k or so that the rig is designed to live.
They're not a good idea on a truck that you want to get 500k out of though. If you grease them at every oil change there is no reason they won't go 500k or longer.

 

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I was under my 2500 4x 4 today lubing and changing oil and looked at things closer,I'm not real sure which zerks the newer trucks were shorted on,but on mine it looked like you could drill into the tops of the two outer steering rod ends from the bottom,the upper pass. side one by turning the wheel right with the tire removed. The only hard one to get at is the one at the pitman arm,if mine didn't have one there already I'd remove that ball joint,then it looks like the whole rod would drop down far enough to drill into the top. Here's the trick to get that balljoint off easily,center the tires,remove the cotter pin and nut,then use a hammer in each hand to strike each side of the arm where the ball joint bolt goes thru at the same time,one or two good whacks will usually make the joint removeable by hand.

[This message has been edited by illflem (edited 01-04-2001). ]

 

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Hey guys, on zerks... they are a pipe thread, (1/16-27). 1/4-28 will work but ONLY allow the lead of the tap to cut, as you want it to seal. Also on drilling, poke a nail or wire in the hole and use a set collar on the drill secured short of this depth... . you don't have to worry about it going too deep. Or you can slip a piece of tube (metal) over the drill butted up to the chuck allowing only the needed drill length to stick through. #ad
Yes, believe it or not there is a 1/16" pipe thread. . used mostly in instruments.

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9535hundred

 

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Great thread!

My truck spends most of it's life on dirt roads. One can only imagine how much garbage is working into those 'lifetime' joints... .

Now if I can work up the guts to start drilling...

 

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The ball joints that DC puts on the trucks AFTER they have gone bad have zerks in them. All of them. Trust me on this one. Been there, done that. Cost me nothing.

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99 2500 QC 4X4 AUTO SB 24V LARAMIE SLT 3. 5 LSD 285-75-16'S

 

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Thanks LSmith. I have a great dealer and since mine was driving so stiff, I'm going to have them check the ball joints. I didn't realize they were making them with zerks for the Ram. I wasn't able to find them for my 98.

 

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Alan, Napa also carries the ball joints with the fittings in them. My dad bought them for his '95 12v and a guy he works with bought them for his '98 V10. The Napa parts look to be identical parts for a lot less money.

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99 2500 QC 4X4 AUTO SB 24V LARAMIE SLT 3. 5 LSD 285-75-16'S

 

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Is the 1/4-28 zerk what would be used for the upper and lower ball joint. For a 95 model.

 

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Steve,the 1/4 28 zerk seems to have the most taper to it which makes it best for self tapping. It's also the smallest size and requires the smallest hole to be drilled= easier drilling.

 

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illflem
Lets make sure I Understand . Drill hole just large enough to get the zert started in the center of the top and bottom. Being careful not to go in to far. put the self tapping zert in and fill it full of beutiful red Amsoil grease.
Thanks, Steve

 

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Steve,you got it. The only other thing that may help is if you use a socket or nutdriver that lets you push the zerk downward as you turn,mainly to get it started. Don't over tighten the zerk,you are basically tapping into sheet metal,it doesn't take much.