unfriendly grease fitting help!

bawrencher · Post by **bawrencher** » August 2, 2007, 1:19 pm

i have one out of the eight steering grease fittings, the left spindle top one, that won't accept grease. anybody know any tricks to make the grease flow like the other seven? i changed the zerk, no help.

Ford4jack · Post by **Ford4jack** » August 2, 2007, 2:00 pm

run into this problem some on old equipment.
In this case I would unscrew the cap (if its a twin i beam) that the zert fits into and clean out the old grease.
then put a bit of oil in there replace the cap jack up the front end and apply pressure with the grease gun while turning the spindles.
If that does not work try the same thing with a LITTLE heat from a propane torch.

If that does not work you could rig up a porta power to it and put some heavy pressure to it

Good luck

Ford4jack · Post by **Ford4jack** » August 2, 2007, 3:36 pm

Just thought I would add this

Not to be insult anybody at all but if your under a vehicle please make sure its supported in a safe manner.

ripsnorter · Post by **ripsnorter** » August 2, 2007, 4:53 pm

The only way i've ever done it is to put pressure with the grease gun, then turn whatever it is that the zerk is on, back and forth until I finally find a place where the grease will go in. Just keep moving it, keep pressure on with the gun, and if you can ever get even a LITTLE grease in there, then move it around and it should free up.

I've not always had success though. Like Jack said, usually its on old equipment.

Alan Mclennan · Post by **Alan Mclennan** » August 2, 2007, 5:06 pm

[quote="ford4jack"]Just thought I would add this

Not to be insult anybody at all but if your under a vehicle please make sure its supported in a safe manner

Thats good advice! The other day I asked one of my sons to rotate the tyres on one of the work utes, after a while I went out to see how he was going to my shock he had the front end supported by ONE floor stand under the front crossmember and the r/hand rear raised on the trolley jack from the front of the rear axle(jack under body) :shock:

.When I pointed out how dangerous his method was ,He said that it was alright it wont fall!What can you say to that

,but he`s not working on the slick thats for sure.

banjopicker66 · Post by **banjopicker66** » August 2, 2007, 7:32 pm

I have often found the zert fitting itself to be the problem; the old grease locks up the seal.
Replacing the fitting solves the problem.

cdherman · Post by **cdherman** » August 2, 2007, 7:33 pm

Might try having a friend slowly turn the tires from side to side as you are trying to grease. I have read that some spots along the arc that the spindle makes might take grease better.

fmartin_gila · Post by **fmartin_gila** » August 3, 2007, 9:24 am

I have had to knock the kingpin part way out and use a ice pick to clear the passageway on one of my upper bearings. I have a 8 lb with a handle cut off at about 16 inches that works wonders on kingpins, I have never had to resort to heat, and I have worked on kingpin front ends since the 60's.
Fred

turtle1056 · Post by **turtle1056** » August 3, 2007, 12:20 pm

You need one person turnin the steering wheel back n forth and another with a torch on the side of the king pin, and you on the grease gun

I have seen us have to work pretty hard at gettin grease into an old almost siezed kingpin, but perseverence will get it done

Ford4jack · Post by **Ford4jack** » August 4, 2007, 12:55 am

Just thought I would try to clarify what I meant about jacking the front end up and using oil.

This should allow the spindles to pull away from the position there in under a normal load. It might be just a fraction but it should allow oil to get in and soften the grease up some.

While its up you should be able to turn the spindles just by pushing on the wheels.
Not sure about that on a power steering setup though.

On heat I'm a bit paranoid using much of it on steering components myself. If you had to use it I would go with just enough to get the old grease soft and to allow the oil to creep into where it needs to be.

Patience works well sometimes. Drive it a bit and try again in a day or two (my favorite)

Geeze its the middle of the night and I'm rambling on about greased parts. Think I might have got heat damage to my brain again today.

jeepbut · Post by **jeepbut** » August 4, 2007, 7:15 am

Take the cap off where the zert screws in. Dig out as much old grease as you can. Jack up just enough so tire is off ground. Fill the cavity where you cleaned out the old grease with brake fluid. Let it sit overnight. Next day top off cavity with brake fluid and replace cap and zert. It should take grease now. Be careful as the brake fluid will damage paint. Brake fluid is by far the best penetrating oil I have ever found- too bad it takes the paint off anything it gets on. I have used this method on spindles for years and have never had it fail. One spindle it worked on had been sitting so long you coud not turn the steering wheel! Thanks, Lyman.

bawrencher · Post by **bawrencher** » August 4, 2007, 11:56 am

thanks guys, with the knowledge i picked up here & some of my own i was able to complete my quest for total lubrication of my steering components. now with a little more air in the front tires my mono-axle manual steering should require less effort on my part.

unfriendly grease fitting help!

unfriendly grease fitting help!

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