How to grease my zerk fittings (tie rod ends)?

[gnet158]

How exactly do I grease my tie rod ends? My truck only has these two zerk fittings. Do I need to take something apart? Or is there a rubber boot or something easily moved?

I'm going to buy a grease gun but never greased any zerks before.

Thanks!

 

[Chris142]

Clean off the zerk. Pump grease into it untill you see the rubber boot start to swell. Then stop. Your done.

 

[gnet158]

How do I pump grease into it? Meaning is there a adapter on top zerk that I mount the grease gun to?

 

[mstrjon32]

The grease gun should come with the appropriate adapter. Get a gun with the flexible hose, it's much less of a pain. As soon as you see the boot start to swell, stop pumping. The fittings wear out/break over time and replacement, too. Looks like your truck is an '08, so you should be good for a while.

 

[JHZR2]

Yeah, the grease gun will have an adapter. I agree with the flexible hose. The other suggestion Ill make is to consider a 90 degree adapter of some sort, if they are tough. You might want to actually buy 90 degree fittings though, as some of the adapters dont work that well.

 

[gnet158]

Thanks for the replies and helping out a noob.

 

[Drew99GT]

Whatever you do, don't overfill. You'll bust the rubber seal and it'll be downhill from there. A 2008 is probably just fine. Squish the rubber boot lightly. If there's some resistance, it's full of grease.

I think most places are so nit picky about chassis lubrication is every place will fill them and bust the rubber seal and then you constantly have to keep greasing them since all the grease gets out.

 

[Eddie]

Use the recomeded grease and as said before pump grease untill you just notice the rubber start to swell. Usually one or two pumps is enough. All you need to do is cover the ball. Another thought is you should unload the joint by jacking up the car before greasing.

 

[jldcol]

Depending on how long since last grease up the zerk may have corrosion/old grease in it and might not allow any new grease thru. You may have to unscrew them and confirm that grease will go thru them, if do so go ahead and replace withe new zerks.

 

[UncleRunkle]

I would also like to add...BE GENTLE...nothing more frustraing than breaking one of the fittings off, they are usually in places that are hard to access.

 

[mstrjon32]

What's more frustrating than that is having the little ball inside the fitting break so it won't retain grease, and you're at the garage and you're working on the car you drove there.

 

[andyd]

I have had a high rate of success fixing clogged fittings by removing them and forcing grease into them by holding it tight to the gun. and pumping. Usually it is just a plug of hardened grease that has to be pushed through.

 

[eljefino]

Once you've used your gun a couple times the little bit you tighten will get... hopelessly greasy, yes you should wipe it off but it can get hard to tighten it on the zerk and it'll pop off with the grease pressure. At least mine does. If you get a straight shot at your zerks and go with the stiff straight pipe on the gun you may be able to hold/force the grease on/in there when the going gets tough.

Also consider the mini-guns they sell at harbor freight for $6 or so, you can reload them with bulk grease, you don't need the prefilled tubes, and they fit in tighter spots.

 

[ChiTDI]

Originally Posted By: andyd
I have had a high rate of success fixing clogged fittings by removing them and forcing grease into them by holding it tight to the gun. and pumping. Usually it is just a plug of hardened grease that has to be pushed through.


True enough. And if that fails, have it "lubed" at a gas station where the compressor provides the power. Then use your hand pump or grease gun on the fittings when you get home, get the routine, and you'll never have to go back.

 

[mechtech2]

The fitting on the hose will kind of snap on, but you should hold it square and tight.

 

[jldcol]

I try to advise to confirm that grease goes thru zerks, because otherwise if you pump until grease leaks at fitting maybe a false sense of grease fill since none went into ball joint only bounced off clog and stayed outside.