Non-Greaseable Ball Joints

[andrewjscott]

I'm about to replace my ball joints for the 2nd time in 2 years. All the manufacturers that I can get though work are non-greaseable. Is it possible to just drill out the bottom, and put in a self tapping grease fitting, to make them greaseable? Or are there other options?

 

[Locke]

I see no reason why you couldn't. Make sure to pull the ball from the cup first.

 

[Defiant]

Have you checked for a MOOG part? It used to be that they were more likely to either have zerks, or be plugged for them. But I'm sure all of their stuff is coming from China these days, and all bets are off.

 

[Echo5Zulu]

I havent seen greasable ones in a long time. Maybe you have another issue that you should address if your burning them up soo often.

 

[andrewjscott]

Have you checked for a MOOG part? It used to be that they were more likely to either have zerks, or be plugged for them. But I'm sure all of their stuff is coming from China these days, and all bets are off.

yeah, MOOG was the first manufacturer i checked. Not greaseable unfortunatly.

As for burning them up, i don't know what happened, but the boot was torn up on each, and then rusted pretty quickly with all the salt we had on our roads this winter.

 

[Defiant]

Ah. The boot failure and its cause are your problem.

 

[tom04841]

You can drill it and put in a grease fitting. I did this to my ball joints 2 yrs ago.....still tight.

 

[bjones18]

...replace my ball joints for the 2nd time in 2 years. ....non-greaseable. .... drill out the bottom, and put in a self tapping grease fitting....

There is a reason they make them without grease fittings.

Water & dirt intrusion are the primary cause for ball-joint failure. Greaseble joints must have a "overfill" relief which prevents the seal from exploding. Manufactures have found the "overfill" relief is a leak path which leads to the joints failure. If you squirt too much grease in a joint, and it squirts out the seal... a leak path has been established.

If you are failing ball joints that often, I would suggest getting OEM parts. This does not appear to be a common problem, so either your useage pattern, installation, environment, or parts are different from most DSM'rs.