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Possible to install zerk fittings on ball joints?

20K views 44 replies 13 participants last post by  douggro 
#1 ·
Hi, guys, I have read contradicting reports that you can install zerk fittings on the oem ball joints on the 4th generation vans. Can someone please clarify this. I have a 2006 Caravan and from what I've observed is that there is a plug type fitting underneath the ball joint where a zerk/grease fitting normally is found. Is it possible to to unscrew or pop off that fitting and replace it with a grease fitting, has anyone successfully done this. I did read somewhere that people have take those plugs out and fitted 6mm or 1/4" grease fittings in it's place. Is this possible and are the replacement grease fittings nice and tight in there? Do they screw into place? Please advise. Thanks.
 
#2 ·
Try screwing it out and see if it is threaded. Mine were.
 
#9 ·
Two reasons that they don't come like that from the factory :
1 is Cost,
2 and more importantly is that its really not necessary.
Front end components seem to last forever anymore. Technology has changed as such so they can properly load and seal the joint at the factory and have it last well past a normal life.
Adding grease to any kind of ball joint or tie rod has risks - compatabilty of the old and new greases, introduction of dirt or moisture thru the fitting and blowing out the seals from over filling the joint.
In the end, if adding grease in the old-school fashion is what you want to do, the risks I mentioned above are indeed minimal and I would continue with your quest, but if its something you are really concerned about, I would advise that you fret about something else as the sealed joints are many times superior. I would not add this to the pervasive problem list.

I'm at 200K on my 2001 GC/Sport and still have original ball joints. Tie Rods were replaced when I did the struts just for good measure but they didn't need it. , conversely I've replaced the sway bar links with both sealed and greased and none of them seem to last for very long.
 
#5 ·
I used 1/4", but I don't leave the zerk on permanently. I install an angled one for easier access and then replug after topping off the grease. The difference between 6mm and .25" is pretty substantial, but I'm not certain which size the hole is tapped for, so all I can say is the 1/4" works fine on my van.
 
#7 ·
Actually I'm not having any problems with the ball joints, it's just that last time I had the van up on the ramps, I was trying to see if there were zerk fittings below the ball joints. The passenger side ball joint looked ok, boots looked like they had grease in them, however, the driver's side ball joint boots looked a bit squished, like they could use some greasing. Upon further inspection, I found that the plug on the driver's side ball joint was a bit leaky, it was smearing grease over my hand when I touched it, I was thinking to replace that plug with a grease fitting so that I can fill the boot up with grease again and maybe keep it from going dry.

I did more search on google, and it does look like 1/4" fitting will most likely fit in place of the plugs.
 
#8 ·
Yes, the ball joints don't seem to be an issue, neither is alignment. I will put grease fittings in anyway and make sure that they don't go dry. One of my seals has a hole in it, has been that way for several years. Still passes inspections.
As to size of fitting, they likely vary. I had a bunch of miscellaneous sizes, found one that worked, and then got an angled fitting with the same thread.
 
#10 ·
What I read somewhere was that is you provided a grease fitting, the grease leaking out of an overfilled boot is only a 1/4" - 1/2" from the rotor face. So the original fitting was used to fill the ball joint at the factory and then broken off to insure against subsequent overfilling.
 
#18 ·
You are right about the boot being close to the rotor. When I fill the one that is leaking (Driver's side), I put a shop towel between the boot and the rotor to keep grease off the rotor. I then haul the shop towel through to pick up any grease that found its way out of the boot. Works for me so far (many years).
No doubt there will be a tendency to overfill by DIYers. One can always remove the fitting to relieve the pressure on the boot.
 
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#11 ·
It's true that modern sealed front end components can last a very long time without any extra maintenance, especially if they're sealed properly. My passenger side ball joint does seemed to be sealed properly, however the driver's side shows some leakage where the grease fitting oem plug is. So, as preventative maintenance I'm going to replace only the driver's side fitting with a 90degree one so that I can fill it up to proper levels and the grease will stay in and not leak anymore, prolonging the life of the ball joint.
 
#12 ·
My Jeep came with 7 front end grease fittings, from the Factory. :thumb:
 
#14 ·
Ok guys, I took of the wheels today and cleaned the area around what I thought would be plugs instead of the grease fittings and to my surprise both ball joints have grease fittings on them. These are the original ball joints from the factory, so was surprised to see that they had zerk fittings on them. I did grease them both of them until the boots felt nice and firm. Took the van for a drive and did notice that the left wheel zerk fitting had leaked some of the grease I had injected, could be from a little bit over filling. Can someone comment on this, if this is normal? Can the zerk fittings release some access grease when a bit too much might be injected or do I have a bad zerk fitting that needs to be replaced?
 
#15 ·
Likely the valve is stuck. Sometimes the fittings have to be replaced. Put a little more grease in and see if it will stay, sometimes that works. I have seen grease come back out like a piece of string. There's no automatic pressure release.
 
#16 ·
That's exactly what I observed, the grease came out like a piece of string, however, a little later when I felt the boot by hand it did seem to be a little bit firm, not as firm as when I initially lubed it, but still firm, so I'm guessing that not all the grease as leaked out, some is still in there doing it's job. I think next oil change I might change the zerk fitting to a new one. Are they easy to take off? Anyone know if they are prone to breaking off? If it's prone to breaking off then I might not want to take the risk of replacing it.
 
#17 · (Edited)
It responded to the pressure but will continue to leak as the ball joints works the grease.
That's a well greased area. Never broke one yet. Make sure you use a wrench that fits properly and you will be fine.

PS: I would replace the fittings with 90 degree bend or angled fittings so you can grease without removing the wheels.
 
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#21 ·
Only fill them if a boot is torn and leaking. Otherwise you will overfill and the boot rupturing will be your fault. I have to grease mine as both my boots are pretty gone.
 
#22 · (Edited)
That's 5 star advice andgy. Most times they don't need any grease unless the zerk or boot is leaking.
Another type of boot is the "unsealed" boot like for my aftermarket sway bar links. I can gve them all the grease I want. :thumb:
 
#23 ·
Yeah, mother nature converted my ball joints to the unsealed type. Sway bar endlinks too in record time. The boots are already cracking on the one that is 3 months old. What is with rubber quality?
 
#24 ·
Read your advice a bit too late. Today I replaced the leaking zerk on the left side with a new one and filled it up with grease, no more leaks. While I was at it, I also replace the zerk fitting with a new one on the right side as well, however, pumped the grease gun a bit too many times and the boot ruptured and grease popped out. I notice there is a little pinhole size rupture towards the control arm side of the boot. I did some search and looks like it might be repairable using self vulcanizing rubber tape, which I'll give a shot soon, just as soon as I find this rubber tape, called CT and Partsource, but they don't seem to stock it.
 
#26 ·
I think you may have to do as I do. Grease it every oil change and wait for it to start going bad. My boots both have inch long tears in them, I just grease them until the grease and water stops flowing out then go till the next time. They have been that way for awhile and are yet to start making noise or become loose.
 
#27 ·
I would just grease the leaky joint every oil change. A Mechanic told me they will last forever that way. No water gets into mine (none ever comes out). I have seen water come out of joints in past vehicles, when they were greased, and the joints stood up for years.
I don't think Magic Wrap Tape would work there as there is limited space to install it.
 
#28 ·
Ok, guys, first I wanta say that it feels good to know that others are in the same boat as me, lol. Now I feel less bad about having the boot ripped, I have to admit, it was my mistake, I should of stopped pumping in time, but something inside of me just said a little bit more grease might just be better for the joint, what do ya know. Well, you learn from your mistakes and hopefully this is the last time that I will damage a boot by over greasing. Now for the update, went to homehardware and bought some magic wrap, took the wheel off and for sure there is very limited space to wrap around the tape, plus the rupture was in such a place that it's hard to get the tape underneath there, I think it would obviously be easier if the caliper and rotor were taken off. Anyways, I didn't want to go to all that trouble because it's just so hot over here, so I did my best to wrap the tape around the boot as I could while stretching the tape, that's how it works, you have to stretch it while wrapping the object to be sealed. It did work somewhat, I greased up the joint again and did not see any grease come out, it seemed like it sealed it, however, after I went for a drive and came back and checked it again, sure enough there was some grease oozing out of the same place, but not as much as before. However, I'm thinking I can get it fixed using magic wrap, but I have to take the caliper and rotor and caliper bracket off to do it properly. I might just try that the next time the weather is good but not as hot as it was today. Otherwise greasing it at every oil change might just be the only option. Thanks for all the help and suggestion guys.
 
#29 ·
Guys, my oil changes are sometimes 6 months in between and I was just talking to my indie mechanic friend that recommends grease it every month and says that it should last forever that way, however, i think one month is maybe a bit too excessive and 6 or more months might be too long between greasings. So, what do you guys recommend going by your own experience, what's a good time interval for re-greasing a ball joint with torn boot?
 
#30 ·
Once a month does seem a little excessive but with a torn boot it will keep the dirt and water out of it. If it was me I would do it every oil change and if it wears out prematurely then just replace it. These ball joints are easy to replace.
 
#32 ·
Tear is towards the bottom, and even though the magic wrap tape hasn't stopped the leak, it has somewhat helped to cover the rip tightly, so i'll just leave it on there as it is. Ball joint is nice and tight right now, no play whatsoever, and I have some 90 degree angled fittings which I will install next time I grease it. I'm thinking a 3 month greasing interval should be fine, and if it fails it fails, as they are easy to install on these Vans. Is there a good how to on replacing the ball joint on the 4th generation Vans? It might be a good idea for me to look it over and be ready for when it needs replacing.

Also, after wrapping it with Magic Wrap I have noticed that the grease doesn't leak out immediately as it did before with the ripped boot, it only leaks out after the Van is driven, probably due to the extra pressure on the joint. Another observation I made while doing this work is that when you take the zerk fitting off and press lightly on the boot the grease does not come out, does anyone know if there is another check Valve other than the zerk fitting that keeps the grease from leaking out?
 
#33 ·
Guys, I have a suggestion, that if one is going to grease these sealed ball joints by installing grease fittings on them wouldn't it be a good idea to make a pinhole using a small pin into the boot? This way you could worry free regrease every few months without having to worry about the boot rupturing and creating a bigger tear, also this would let out some of the old grease and also you would know when to stop pumping when you see the pinhole releasing the excess grease out. What do you guys think? good idea?
 
#34 ·
Rule of thumb: Apply grease until you see or feel movement of the boot. Then stop. Don't apply greae to a full boot, doesn't need it.
Alternate method of greasing: Use a grease needle, available at auto parts stores.
Alternate boot: Use open boots like on my sway bar links. Since the boots are't sealed, grease oozes out. Fill your boots (with grease).:lol:
 
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