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Lubing steering components on late model trucks...

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Torque Wrench

Mechanical 8.3C Cummins.......

It's been discussed here some in the past, but worth repeating for the benefit of new members - the suspension and steering parts on our later trucks lack grease fittings, relying instead on "superior" design and materials for normal lifespan...



Yeah, SUUuuuuure! :rolleyes:



What I do on my '02, is use a hypodermic needle greasegun attachment available at most auto parts stores to carefully penetrate the rubber jackets on the various pivot points where there USED to be grease fittings, and then CAREFULLY pump in just enough grease to visibly "plump up" the sealed boot. Too much grease may rupture that boot and do more harm than good, so care is advised.



Some small amount of grease will probably slowly leak back out the penetration point, and is normal - I like to redo mine about once every year - but it depends on owner use - heavy use under heavy loads, off-road or construction use may benefit from more frequent lube. It's a good idea the remember the sliding shaft at the driveshaft center support as well as the rest of the usual points...



My old '91 that DID have greasable suspension, had 120,000 miles and 11 busy years on it when I sold it, with all OEM steering and suspension parts still in perfect operating condition - hope to get the same from the '02... :D
 
Lubing steering components on late model trucks

I have to disagree with this theory. Once you break the seal of a sealed component, it is no longer sealed, therefore contaminents can enter. If a small amount of grease can get out, water can get in, the main ingrediant for distruction. Remember when vehicles used kingpins that greased and throwout bearings. Now they use sealed bearings and sealed ball joints that last a whole lot longer. I have a 1991 D-250, with 293,000 miles on it. All original, including all greaseable components and nongreaseable components, even the u-joints. Also what type of grease is used in these sealed units? Will normal gun grease be compatable or will it set off a bad reaction, like amonia and bleach:confused: I know you like hard scientific data to back up claims, I don't have any, so I guess this is just an opinion:)





"IF IT AIN'T CUMMINS POWERED, IT AIN'T A TRUCK"





"NICK"
 
Check out the rather high numbers of fellas replacing upper/lower balljoints and tierod ends at very low mileage - they pop up here quite frequently - here's a few just from TODAY, note the year models being discussed:



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=105557



Another?



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20368&highlight=balljoints



meanwhile, I'll get back to you in 10-15 years and a couple hundred K miles and let you know if my theory works out or not... ;) :D



Oh, yeah, my old '91 still had all it's original suspension/drivetrain parts when I sold it at 120,000 miles/11 years - sorta proves that greasing moving parts DOES help extend their life... ;)
 
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I don't disagree with you about grease for items with grease zerks. They are there for a reason. However as I stated in my last post, on my 91 the non greaseable components lasted as long as the greaseable ones. As for ball joints being replaced, thats not a big deal, they are not infallible. I will say that the ones that are replaced probably still had some factory grease in them. When I put new tires on my 91 at 70,000 miles, I went to the tire shop for new ones. They advertised a free alignment with a 4 tire purchase. When they put it on the rack they told me that I needed new ball joints first. Since I know my vehicles very well I knew that was not true, so I said thanks but no thanks. The truck now has 293,000 miles with those same joints with no tire wear or abnormal movement when on a jack. Some after market off set wheels are also hard on ball joints, my truck has the factory steel 6" ones with the stainless cap and trim rings.



"NICK"
 
Thanks,Gary

As a maverick who tears down and greases the ''non-serviceable'' hub bearings, I will take my chances and get a grease needle. BTW, i just lost a rear drivetrain u-joint at 28 K
 
Originally posted by Gary - KJ6Q

meanwhile, I'll get back to you in 10-15 years and a couple hundred K miles and let you know if my theory works out or not...



I have always subscribed to the "grease it theory"...



I very rarely have had to replace truck suspension components on equipment that I have owned that was always greased.



buying used stuff where you don't know the prior history... . different bag of worms.
 
I agree absolutely that any moving parts you can get to should be lubed during routine maintenance. However, one thing I noticed on the links Gary posted to support his theory, is that all, or nearly all, (I didn't count them), of the premature ball joint failures, were on 4X4's. Are the 4X4 front suspension components the same as 4X2 parts? The 4X4 front ends are heavier, (differential, 2 more drive axles, selective hubs, etc. , all adding weight), and applying power to the front end has got to induce more mechanical forces than a front suspension that only steers and brakes. Not to mention the Bombs, possibly applying more power than the OEM components are capable of dealing with? What do you guys think? Something to consider. Or not?
 
Ain't nothin going back in that tiny hole because it isn't even a hole that's left over... it's more of a slit... and if anyone is worried about it, just take a dab of silicone and wipe it over the area.
 
Well, compared to the type seals used on greasable joints, the puncture done by the hypo type grease needles is trivial. And I might point out that having any high degree of faith in the quality/quantity of initial grease used in the original manufacturing process of these joints requires more than *I* possess! ;)



On mine, the boots were nearly totally collapsed and seemingly empty of lube - critics might claim that doesn't mean anything, but in my opinion, I would rather have considerably more indication there IS some actual lube inside there. As to the effectiveness of lube penetration fully into the joints, I make every effort to manually move steering linkage thru their full range of movement as I apply lube to as nearly as possible gain maximum dispersal - at 27,000 miles - yeah, not all that many - my tierods and balljoints are seemingly tight as new.



In any event, I plan to continue this maintenance practice unless I get clear evidence it causes a problem - OH, and I am using a water resistant, impact resistant Chevron Ultra-duty EP rated grease NLGI 2 - same as I used on my '91 truck with excellent results...
 
Grease is a very complex lubricant, and many people do not understand greases, other than perhaps a NLGI Number, which is National Lubricating Grease Institute, such as the NLGI-2 like Gary mentioned. This NLGI-2 is a "consistency" number, which means it is a fairly "soft" grease. A NLGI-4 grease would mean it is a "harder" grease.

There are other considerations as well, such as the grease "Classification". An example of this would be GC/LB located on the grease container. These letters have the significant types of duty the grease will be subjected too. In this case, the GC would mean "severe" duty, high temperature, frequent stop and go service. The LB part of the equation would mean Infrequent lubrication, high loads, water exposure.



The LB would be for chassis lubes, the GC would be for wheel bearings, so a grease with the GC/LB rating would be a good grease for the entire truck.



Grease is made up from a base oil, plus additives plus a thickener.

The thickener is a term that describes the ingredients added to the oil that thicken the oil.



Where some may go wrong in the selection of grease they use, is "what is the thickener", and is it compatible with other types of thickeners.

When greases made from different thickeners are mixed. the mixture may have poorer performance or physical properties when in service than either of the component products. It may be evident in any of several areas such as LOWER HEAT resistance, a change in CONSISTENCY (usually softening), or a DECREASE in shear stability.



An example of "incompatibility", is when a grease uses "lithium" as a thickener and then one introduces a grease that uses a "Calcium Complex" as a thickener. These two "thickeners" are not compatible, and will cause problems if they are mixed. Usually an incompatible thickener will tend to make the oil separate sooner.



Wayne

amsoilman
 
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