Here is the low down. Modern Auto manufactures have created the idea that our Ball joints and other important parts need to be a closed system.
Why did they do this? Because of Global market Green Peace avocation. The idea being that if you have less open grease parts that when you drive through the water you will not contaminate the environment. Yet there is a hidden meaning behind this change from old reliable technology to what they have now.
What is the Meaning? The meaning is that when you buy your brand new car you have about 4 years or less depending on the amount you drive, to use your ball joints before the grease dries out and you prematurely wear out your ball joints, THUS costing you hundreds of dollars to replace them!
Why would they do this? MONEY! money money, and to look good. They sell you on the idea of "no maintenance needed" you will never have to crawl under your car to grease your joints every 6 months. But by going under your car or getting someone else to do it every 6 months you are saving your self $2000 or more in the first few years of your car. Their idea is that you can pop out the worn out one and put a new one in. I say nay!! I don't want to spend any money.
First off if you have Grease parts go here to learn how to Grease your joints
so here is the plan, and it is a article I just finished reading. Add Grease points to your ball joints!
the steps are easy.
1. find your joints on your car most of the time you will not need to remove the part, and can do it quite quickly.
2. Get the parts! you will need 4-8 nipples found at auto shops, you may need 90 Degree ones so do some homework on how your car works. Get extras you never know! Also figure out the Thread Diameter and get a appropriate drill.
3. Grease up your drill and go slowly on the joint at first to catch all the metal pieces. Once through be sure to get all the little metal pieces.
4. AHH THERE IS A HOLE IN MY CAR! no worries, this is where your parts come into play, you just need to install the fitting. [ask your auto parts store about special tools] once the fitting is in your good to go!
5. Grab your grease gun and start squeezing. Your done greasing when the grease starts to come out around the end of your grease gun. Once that is done wipe if off, and put on a Cap that came with the parts.
6. Repeat!
The cool thing about this whole adventure is your doing it yourself. The Scary part is that your doing it yourself!! but you don't have to do them all at once. In fact you can do one, one day, the others next. It is not one of those jobs you have to rip your car apart for, and then be left with no car if you don't finish!
Stay tuned and I will have a more comprehensive report on the duties involved!
From "Popular Mechanics - Sealed for life"
Question: I read in one of your old coums that it's possible to add a grease fitting to the destned-for-falure "sealed" Balljoints on the new cars. How can I do this?
Answer: This is one of my favorie complaints about new cars SPecifically, that manufactureres exclude a 10 cent zerk fitting on th eball joints and steering tir-rod ends of their vehicles. That way, when the grease dries out in a couple of years, the joint quickly wears out, and you have to replace the part. Pumping in a nickels' worth of grease twice a year would save hundreds of dollars of parts and labor when they fail prematurly.
So, I just thumb my nose at planned obsolence and add the fittins. (surprisingly, virtually all replacement fittings- even the ones made by the OEM suppliers as exact replacements- have the proper grease fitting in the box when you buy them at the parts store. Go figure!) It's easy to do.
Start by drilling a 3/16-inch hole in the sheet metal cap on the bottom of the joint. Odds are you can do this without removing the part from the car, although for some tie-rod ends, you might need to unhook them to get clearance for the drill to run straight. Coat the drill with grease and go slowly at the end to capture most of the chips. Now use a small pipe tap that matches your pitting to thread the hole. Again, pack the flutes on the tap with grease to catch most of the chips.
Now you can just thread in the fitting. Be aware there are several syles of zerk fittings. You may need a straight, 45- or 90-degree zerk to allow the grease gun to hook onto the end of the fitting. Don't foget the little rubber cap to keep the end of the fitting clean. Now all you have to do is pump some grease into the fitting every 6 moths or so. Add grease until the boot is turgid, and grease is leaking out of th eseams. Your front suspension will thatnk you!
so now you can tell your car dealer to stick it! you won't pay when you can play!
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