How To Grease A Ball Joint Without Fitting

Don’t you just hate the situation when you are driving, and suddenly your car starts making weird notices? One of the reasons could be your ball joint is blocked. Maybe it leaked grease, or the grease has dried out.

The easy solution for this problem is to grease the ball joint. But what if your ball joint doesn’t have a jerk fitting? Do you know how to grease a ball joint without fitting? Read along to learn step by step about greasing a ball joint.

Tools That You Will Need

You don’t need many expensive tools for this work. Some of the tools may be already there in your garage. The tools that you will need are listed below:

Grease

Grease is basically an oil and lubricant mixture, which is resistant to heat, water, and suppression. If you drive a lot and the road condition is not favorable, you should carefully pick your grease.

The grease should be able to handle heavy pressure and friction. Type LB, Lithium Synthetic, Marine grease, Lucas Oil, etc., are some of the greases you can use to grease your ball joint.

Grease Gun

It would be best if you use a manual grease gun for a ball joint without jerk fitting. It can save you some money too. Manual or hand-operated grease guns put less pressure on the ball joint. These guns also have features that can prevent grease leakage.

Injector Needle

These injector needles are used for injecting a small measured amount of grease into the ball joints. Its head is designed in such a way that you can easily apply oil where it’s needed.

A Flexible Hose

A flexible hose is needed to grease the hard to reach points. Always check the high air pressure holding capacity before buying any hose. You should buy such a pair that can be attached both on small and large grease guns.

Rag

A rug will help to clean or wipe the excess grease or any dirt. Cleaning the excess grease will ensure the ball joint is not attracting dirt and debris. These can hamper the performance of the ball joints.

How to Grease a Ball Joint Without Fitting

It’s not a hard job if you can put some effort into it. The step by step process is given below:

Examine the Boot

At first, you have to scrutinize your boot. Take off the tire and have a look at the boot. If it’s not in good condition, then you must replace it with anew one. A damaged boot can waste an unnecessary amount of grease.

Take your rag and give it a good clean. In this way, the lubricant will go smoothly all over the part.

Attach the Needle Injector

If you have an old gun, you might consider cleaning it before starting the work. You may use a brand new one, which will be the best option. After preparing your gun, Snap down the needle injector inside it.

You have to be cautious while handling the needle injector, as it can easily poke through your skin. Tighten the needle injector well.

Don’t forget to connect the flexible hose to the injector. If your gun has a coupler, then loosen it up for more comfortable use.

Inject the Needle to the Boot

You have to put the needle inside the boot directly. You have to carefully select the place where the boot is connected to the ball joint housing. This way, the new grease will have an easy way of getting into the bearing.

Slowly Pump the Grease Gun

Some say it’s best to wait for the grease to fill up and pour out from the boot. But keep in mind that this can break the seal. So, it’s better to stop when you see the first signs of swelling as you pump.

No more than a few pumps will be enough. Give short and consistent pressure on the pump.

Take off the Needle

At this point, you have almost finished work. You can now take off the needle. Give it a nice clean.

There shouldn’t be any grease dripping from the boot if you did the work correctly. But it’s best to be on the safe side by wiping the joint with the rug one last time. Otherwise, any access grease can still be sitting there to collect dust and buildup.

Take a Drive Test

Now you are ready to take your friend (your beloved car) on the road. You may drive on the way to your daily commute for a better understanding.

Once you are done with a 10/15 drive test, park the car and have a close look. If you see the ball joint is leaking grease, then it’s a sign of a broken seal. But if it’s dry, as it should be congratulations! You did a job well done.

Safety Instruction

You shouldn’t use powered guns if you are not a professional. Just one slip can make holes in the ball joint.

Make the hole as small as possible. When the grease dries off, the hole can leak air through the hole.

To keep the pressure off the needle, you should use a flexible hose. It can easily puncture the boot.

Conclusion

The worst nightmare for a car lover can be damaged ball joints. Locked ball joints can be very dangerous as it can drift steering too. But you shouldn’t worry about it anymore as you have read this article about how to grease ball joint without fitting.