Greasing non-greasable parts

[_brian_]

What is the opinion of those here on greasing parts that do not have a zerk fitting, or other way of adding grease?

On such parts, I see three options. You can obviously treat it as disposable and not worry on grease. You start to see issues, you replace it. The other side seems to have the other two options. First, you can drill and install a zerk fitting or you can use one of those needle grease adapters to poke a small hole in the boot and insert grease.

Personally I see all three options as less than ideal. Factory under-greasing is quite common and can lead to replacing otherwise good parts. If you poke a hole in the boot, no matter how small, you are disrupting the integrity of said boot. IF you drill and tap in a zerk fitting, you risk damage from the drilling process as well as metal shavings in the joint.

Obviously buying a part with a zerk is ideal, but is not always possible. So if you are stuck with a non-greasable part for whatever reason, what is the best course of action?

 

[matt_i]

A drop of oil.

Seriously. Oil self-coats and will "find" the problem in terms of flowing, slowly, to the point of friction.

Grease will not, it just stays on the surface. Unless its extremely fluid and drippy at room temperature. If you can't inject it, then it doesn't belong in my opinion.

Here is why: I worked in a few big plants and used to see some departments greasing big roller chains (like Rc160, couple hundred pound chains). Their chains wore out constantly and mine were good for a decade and that's because I had my people oil them.

 

[sberry]

Agree about the oil. But,,, on common cars I watch the pieces, inspect it on occasion when its in for other work, replace as needed. I have seen some stuff go the long life of the car, some had a piece or 2 worn out, some needed most of it replaced. Iffn its working I leave it till it aint. I had a tie rod on a van. I spotted it and bought a part, every time I was in I looked, couldn't even spot the wear sometimes, took about 3 years before it came up again and I changed it out. Only piece I ever changed on it.

 

[ddawg16]

The problem with oil....it also attracts and holds dirt.

When looking at lubrication issues, you have to consider the dirt part. For example....leaf springs....you don't put oil between the leafs....you use teflon pads.

Case in point....in my previous job I worked with autoclaves. BIG high pressure, high temp ones. The door was a breach lock. One of the maint items was the door wedges. The actual wedge was welded to the lug and made of a softer material (sacrificial) steel. I high shear grease was used on the surface....just a thin film. But failure to keep the ring clean and perform periodic maint would result in dirt getting in there and severally gouging the wedges...in many cases requiring replacement.

We could talk about this for days..........

 

[getbent4x4]

needle greaser; i usually dont bother till the boot rips. which is usually 150k+ miles.

 

[setfocus]

The only time I use a needle greaser is on a joint that is tight but making noise/squeaking

I disagree on oil for ball and socket joints. Half the time I run into a loose inner tie rod is on a car with a steering rack leaking oil into the boot, flushes the grease out of the joint

 

[rustbucket5]

its not always a simple as "grease-able is better than non grease able" case in point clubcar uses greaseable kingpins ezgo does not, clubcar kingpins are always worn out, where the ezgo ones last forever. in most cases its about the environment and intended use. a lot of non grease able components on cars last a long time if your just driving in the city and where you live doesnt use salt on the roads

 

[MattT]

Flushing out the correct grease with that generic red **** isn't likely to improve component life any and could shorten it significantly.

 

[sberry]

The generic red is very good. In bushings sticky black bear **** may be a little better, it seems to hang around in front end parts a little better especially in filthy grime. I have club cars, old ones, ran hard, wayyyyyyy beyond life on the course and then some. I have bush's and kings in stock, never used them. Got some Yams and they are similar to EZ I think, we'll worn out. I grease the clubs, never replaced a single part.
Routine grease pushes dirt and wear out. I have some original part on some stuff, been greased in between oil change and after ruff dirty service so it's not parked full of dirt and water.

 

[bwringer]

This all depends entirely on exactly what parts we're talking about.

 

[rustbucket5]

The generic red is very good. In bushings sticky black bear **** may be a little better, it seems to hang around in front end parts a little better especially in filthy grime. I have club cars, old ones, ran hard, wayyyyyyy beyond life on the course and then some. I have bush's and kings in stock, never used them. Got some Yams and they are similar to EZ I think, we'll worn out. I grease the clubs, never replaced a single part.
Routine grease pushes dirt and wear out. I have some original part on some stuff, been greased in between oil change and after ruff dirty service so it's not parked full of dirt and water.

i literally work on thousands a year, clubcar kingpins wear out way faster even greased, yeah the yams are like the ezgo. the idea in theory is good but in the real world it doesnt always hold up, depends on the application

 

[sberry]

Maybe it's the grease? I don't work on 1000s but got 4 91s and they been awesome. I overworked and wore out a couple engines and ours really get used hard on ruff ground. I actually bought bushings thinking they would need it but they are still tight. Mostly use 3% moly, they never get dry. Sticky black bear ****.
Wonder what the difference is??? Havnt replaced any rod ends. Our ground is ruff and dirty compared to a course.

 

[rustbucket5]

Maybe it's the grease? I don't work on 1000s but got 4 91s and they been awesome. I overworked and wore out a couple engines and ours really get used hard on ruff ground. I actually bought bushings thinking they would need it but they are still tight. Mostly use 3% moly, they never get dry. Sticky black bear ****.
Wonder what the difference is??? Havnt replaced any rod ends. Our ground is ruff and dirty compared to a course.

i dont work on a course, its an independent shop so i work on everything from a 38 year old yamaha the other day to brand new(or close enough) yesterday. and every brand. i dont know what the difference is to be honest, they do last much longer when properly greased but the ezgo ones last the longest with no grease.

 

[metlmunchr]

I wonder if ezgo may be using garmax or some similar self lubricating bushings rather than the typical bronze. Ditch Witch has used garmax at the pivot points in their machinery for years and the way they hold up is unreal.

https://www.ggbearings.com/en/products/filament-wound/gar-max

We have about a dozen full size tractor backhoes ranging from Case to John Deere to Ford and a few others. 2 of them are 4 wheel drive 4 wheel steer rigs built by Ditch Witch for several years during the 80's. All garmax bushings, and not a grease fitting anywhere in sight. Both the 30 yr old DW's are as tight in all the hoe and loader joints as the newest rig we own which is a low hour 416 Cat with typical grease joints.

 

[SGKent]

I think thru whatever needs grease or oil, and choose the best solution for the need.

 

[rustbucket5]

I wonder if ezgo may be using garmax or some similar self lubricating bushings rather than the typical bronze. Ditch Witch has used garmax at the pivot points in their machinery for years and the way they hold up is unreal.

https://www.ggbearings.com/en/products/filament-wound/gar-max

We have about a dozen full size tractor backhoes ranging from Case to John Deere to Ford and a few others. 2 of them are 4 wheel drive 4 wheel steer rigs built by Ditch Witch for several years during the 80's. All garmax bushings, and not a grease fitting anywhere in sight. Both the 30 yr old DW's are as tight in all the hoe and loader joints as the newest rig we own which is a low hour 416 Cat with typical grease joints.

its not those bushings, its a thin bushing with some sort of anti friction coating on it, its orange in colour

 

[tulenutn2o]

I use a needle greaser. When you notice the rubber boot flattening, shoot some in it. You are not going to shorten the life of the boot significantly. Grease itself will seal the hole. I don’t sweat the small stuff.

 

[logical]

This all depends entirely on exactly what parts we're talking about.

We seem to have zeroed in on golf carts for no apparent reason.

Sent from my garage.

 

[sberry]

Its just suspension and steering,,, its a bit similar to cars which is where this is most likely centered for this crowd.

 

[zmotorsports]

One other thing to think about on items like u-joints for example. With a greaseable u-joint, IF care is not taken to properly clean the zirk prior to putting a grease coupler on it there is an increased risk of introducing contaminants into the joint. This is why many times a non-serviceable u-joint can last longer than a serviceable joint.

I'm a huge proponent of preventive maintenance and perform my own lubricating but I've seen too many clients vehicles with serviceable components come into the shop worn out prematurely solely because of the conditions in which they were lubricated under.

Personally, both serviceable and non-serviceable components have their place and I've use both with great success.

I like to lubricate items myself and find a way to introduce lubrication into most components but I also look at the intended use as well as how the component was designed.

In the industrial maintenance world I have seen items fail even though they were lubricated but not "properly" lubricated. This is something we try to instill into our mechanics but sometimes falls on deaf ears.