Hey guys, are there any grease zerks or nipples that you guys hit with your grease gun underneath the body, or anywhere on the truck as far as regualr maintenance?

Im not sure if they even exist, if they do ive never done them before.

If so, please let me know the locations.
Thanks

99 4.6L 2WD

 

Ford, to go along with all their other great ideas *sarcasm there*, decided greaze zerks are stupid and didnt put any on.

Unless you have replaced some of the steering or suspension components, there isnt anything to grease. I cant remember if the stock idler and pitman arm have zerks or not. Tie rods, ball joints...that type of stuff....if its factory Ford its a no go with the grease gun.

Every once in awhile I will take a screwdriver and hold the boot up on those components to squirt a little grease in.

 

On your 99, there may be a couple on the steering control arms. Other than that, there are none.

 

Thanks guys, i guess thats Fords way of replacing parts quicker

 

needle nose grease gun adapter

 

Ford, along with the rest of the industry, realized that pumping grease into a Zerk carries in so much dirt & water that the new grease is dirtier than the old, making the entire process counterproductive. They also realized that a seal, stretched by grease constantly being pumped thru & out of it, doesn't seal. Furthermore, they realized that any component with a grease journal drilled thru it is 1) WEAKER than a solid component, 2) more expensive to produce because of the additional machining & Zerks, 3) more expensive to maintain than a similar sealed component, & 4) dirtier for the environment because of all the grease being spewed out.What were you saying about "stupid"? Your profile says your truck was built in 1999. It's now 2009. Ask your father or grandfather if he got 10 years out of ANY ONE of his truck's greasable components.

 

One thing that is stupid is this thread in an engine forum, I'm moving it.

 

I think what you meant to say is that it lowers the cost of ownership and makes Ford look good.

You really believe that NOT greasing something is GOOD for it?

But Im just a mechanic,so what would I know about vehicles?

I guess Ford is doing it right. I mean....my old 99 with 108 thousand miles on it...and the balljoints were shot-when I bought it. The 97 F150 I just acquired with 38K...goddam those non greasable joints are so good that all four had to be replaced or they would have fallen apart driving.
Chevy...those dumb@sses with their grease zerks. If only they were like Ford I could be replacing their ball joints and steering components at 100 thousand miles instead of 200 thousand.

 

You know what??? F it...Ill keep going with this since you think your so damn right and think you have a right to call me stupid...all because I actually perform some maintenance on my vehicle.

1. Your right. New grease is so much dirtier than old. And full of water. Im sorry you cant wipe your grease zerk off before you grease it.

2. I can agree with that easily... over the span of 100k miles say you grease it every 5k miles. Thats 20 whole times that it will flex/expand. Hard to see it happening, but sure it could. It can also happen if you pump 20 shots into a fitting too.....don't do that and your usually fine. The seal will usually fail due too the elements before it will from putting a couple shots of grease in it.

3. Weaker? Yes, that 3/16ths hole in a solid piece of (insert whatever your component is made of here) is going to make it so weak. Im just always replacing idler arms, pitman arms, ball joints, and tie rod ends because they cracked right inhalf at the hole drilled for the fitting.

4. The more expensive to manufacture and more expensive to maintain, thats EXACTLY why Ford does it. It saves them money, and it makes them look that much better because their cost of ownership price can be lower.

5. Dirtier for the environment. I spose, but Im not talking about saving the polar bears here, Im talking about my suspension and steering components lasting. And spewing out? Come on, serious?

Save for one or two of your points....sorry; I would rather take care of my stuff and have it last twice as long, instead of playing Fords 'cheap' game.

 

When I've replaced suspension/steering parts on my 97, i've made sure they had zerks or I wouldn't buy them. If greasing your movable parts for your suspension is so bad, why do you change your oil??? It saves ford money and that is it PERIOD. Just like not putting a trans dip stick on my 02 mountaineer, that saved ford around $1.25 per vehicle.

 

Oh, and by the way, the grease comes ready to use, you don't have to add water.