Ball Joint Question
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 1,424
Likes: 0
From: Lakeland FL
Ball Joint Question
I bought a full suspension rebuild kit from Ecklers about 5 years ago. It is a VB&P kit and all looks good. It's been sitting on the shelf all this time and I'm finally installing it.
When I got to the ball joints, I was suprised to find that I couldn't easily move the threaded rod in the ball joints around. I see a fair amount of old dried up grease in the joints and figured it was just stuck. So, I wiped out as much of the grease as I could and then added new grease.
Here's my questions. I bought a synthetic grease from Discount Auto and put it in my newly purchased grease gun. From reading the package this sounded like good stuff. Now that I've pumped it into one upper and one lower ball joint, it doesn't seem to be as good of grease as what was in my old joints. I still can't move the joints around. The upper will move but sounds like metal scraping metal and is very hard to move. The lower won't move at all.
Should the new ball joints move by hand? Did I mess up by putting this synthetic grease in my ball joints?
I appreciate any comments or suggestions.
When I got to the ball joints, I was suprised to find that I couldn't easily move the threaded rod in the ball joints around. I see a fair amount of old dried up grease in the joints and figured it was just stuck. So, I wiped out as much of the grease as I could and then added new grease.
Here's my questions. I bought a synthetic grease from Discount Auto and put it in my newly purchased grease gun. From reading the package this sounded like good stuff. Now that I've pumped it into one upper and one lower ball joint, it doesn't seem to be as good of grease as what was in my old joints. I still can't move the joints around. The upper will move but sounds like metal scraping metal and is very hard to move. The lower won't move at all.
Should the new ball joints move by hand? Did I mess up by putting this synthetic grease in my ball joints?
I appreciate any comments or suggestions.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 14,380
Likes: 6,391
From: At my Bar drinking and wrenching in Lafayette Colorado
New, good ball joints do not move easily by hand - they should be very tight, and you should almost have to smack the stud with a plastic hammer to get it to move.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 1,424
Likes: 0
From: Lakeland FL
Thanks Lars. That makes me feel much better.
Anybody have recommendations on the best grease to use in ball joints, etc? The stuff that was in the old ones seemed nice but this new synthetic stuff I bought seems thinner.
Anybody have recommendations on the best grease to use in ball joints, etc? The stuff that was in the old ones seemed nice but this new synthetic stuff I bought seems thinner.
