Maybe a dumb question here, but wouldn't piercing the rubber boot of a sealed suspension component simply allow the possibility for dirt, moisture, and other contaminents to enter the area you are trying to protect?

My '05 F-150 and the wife's '05 Escape are the first vehicles I've owned that haven't had zerk fittings on the undercarriage components, so this will be my first experience with "lifetime" sealed grease fittings.

 

That's a good question.
The guys that make the needles say that since it is a small hole the rubber pulls back and closes the hole.
I have noticed a small grease stain on the fittings after the use of these (not on my vehicles but back when I was actually working on these things). The 'holes' were pretty small.
You don't want to bother doing this on a regular basis. This is something you do after about 30k miles. It might extend the life of the joint or knuckle by another couple years.
If you just drive the freeways on good roads, you probably would not need to do this till well over 80k. This is something for guys that work the truck hard, or live in very adverse conditions.
Chris

 

I guess we'll see over time if the "lifetime" seals are what they are cracked up to be. I'm a little suspicious of "lifetime" anything when it comes to vehicles -- the last experience I've had in this regard was the "lifetime" coolant GM was touting a few years back. Let's just say it hasn't lived up to original expectations.

Zerks have pretty much stood the test of time, and it only takes an extra minute or two to hit the fittings with a shot of grease everytime you change the oil, so I'm kind of disappointed to see the manufacturers move away from this "tried and true" system.

 

Hey guys....they got this new machine out now.

You put your clothes in it, hook up the water hose, and it washes your clothes for you.

No more running down to the creek bed, and slamming your clothes onto a rock to get them clean.

Ain't technology great?

Welcome to the 21 Century.

 

You mean you wash your clothes? Why not just throw them away?

 

This isn't something new to the truck world with the advent of the '04s. The '97 4x4 I had before this one only had two zirks on the entire front suspension of it.

I used the grease needle method on it once at about 60k and got rid of it at 127k... frontend still as tight as new and no popping or creaking anywhere. After I got paranoid and did it at 60k and watched the grease shoot back out the "tiny hole", I was wishing I hadn't done it then. Just introducing a leak path for water and dirt IMO.

 

If you use a needle to puncture the boot, just put a small piece of duct tape over the hole until the next time.

 

If you can find some duct tape that will stay on a rubber boot through mud, water and 20 to 30k miles of driving, I want to buy some of that stuff.

 

Back when the greaseless fittings first appeared I remember people talking about drilling and tapping a hole a putting in a zerk. Anyone ever tried this?

 

I've done the needle thing on everything I got. My dad's '97 F250 LD has 171K-something on the original suspension with a shot of grease here and there with the needle. The lower ball joints are a little loose, but otherwise everything's fine.

 

One potential issue with zerks is that if they aren't cleaned well enough, or if the grease gun tip has been allowed to drag in the dirt, you can introduce more grit and cause more damage by greasing it than by leaving it alone. That's one reason not to grease any more than necessary. Of course, the trick is knowing when "necessary" is, since it's so variable.

I've never used the needle trick myself, but assuming you use the right grease and keep things clean, no reason it shouldn't work fine. I will probably just replace parts if & when they wear out, but that's just me.

 

You will never fit in around here, with that attitude.

 

The greaseless u joints on my 75 Power wagon had a longer life than any greaseable ones, and yes i did grease them. Once you break the seal (with grease) they wont last as long as the greaseless ones, and how many people can grease a u joint without doing that? Plowed 30 driveways with that POS Dodge

 

Not to start a flame war, but that isn't entirely true. The current GM trucks (at least all 4X4's) have 11 grease zerks on the front suspension parts. I was hopeful Ford would go back to this with the 04+ body style. Grease is certainly less expensive than suspension parts. I suspect that when GM introduces its new truck this coming fall that instead it will be as Koolaid said....no zerks. On the GM board we call this value engineering. Anyway I hope I'm wrong.

vroten

 

For you conspiracy theorists around here, some folks think that the idea behind no grease fittings is so the evil stealerships can sell you more front end parts earlier.

But whatever. I hate working on my own truck. I work on them day in and day out, so it's a major pain in the *** for me when something breaks on mine. If a shot of grease here and there will prolong me from having to work on my truck, then so be it. If replacing my spark plugs at 27K will keep me from any heartache of them breaking further on down the road, I'm down. If servicing my transmission at 30K miles, when the fluid is branded "lifetime" gives me cheap piece of mind, then I'll have it.