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front right suspension: front grease zerks drives me crazy - SOLVED

Plasa

Plasa

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Hello forum.
I'm fighting with the front right suspension, the front grease zerks is not taking any grease. What I did:
- change the grease zerks to a flat one to be able to put grease gun (?)
- use heat gun to warm up old grease
- use of bottle jack to reduce weight on suspension
nothing, grease enters in the zerks and fill the hole completely, but no grease exit on both sides. tried also with high pressure grease gun, but nothing. All other jerks are working well, but this one is a pain in the ass!

Thanks for any suggestion!

Christian
 
Last edited:
T

TomTime

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Plasa said:
Hello forum.
I'm fighting with the front right suspension, the front grease jerk is not taking any grease. What I did:
- change the grease jerk to a flat one to be able to put grease gun (?)
- use heat gun to warm up old grease
- use of bottle jack to reduce weight on suspension
nothing, grease enters in the jerk and fill the hole completely, but no grease exit on both sides. tried also with high pressure grease gun, but nothing. All other jerks are working well, but this one is a pain in the ass!

Thanks for any suggestion!

Christian
Click to expand...
I had several grease zerks on the suspension that were clogged and full of old grease that had harden up. I did all that you have did, except for the heat. I used a long thin screw to screw into the grease zerk opening and then pull straight out removing some of the old grease on the threads. Did this numerous times and until no old grease came out. Then I used a grease joint rejuvenator that I had. Filled the rejuvenator with WD40 (also have used other chemicals in the past) and injected it into the zerk. Did this a couple of times and left it sit for a hour. Came back, installed a new zerk and it filled up the joint. Kept pumping in grease until clean grease came out.

This is something like I have.



EDIT: Here is a video of one.



This is the best I have for this issue, I hope it helps.

Good Luck.

Tom.
 
Last edited:
Godspeed131

Godspeed131

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TomTime said:
I had several grease zerks on the suspension that were clogged and full of old grease that had harden up. I did all that you have did, except for the heat. I used a long thin screw to screw into the grease zerk opening and then pull straight out removing some of the old grease on the threads. Did this numerous times and until no old grease came out. Then I used a grease joint rejuvenator that I had. Filled the rejuvenator with WD40 (also have used other chemicals in the past) and injected it into the zerk. Did this a couple of times and left it sit for a hour. Came back, installed a new zerk and it filled up the joint. Kept pumping in grease until clean grease grease came out.

This is something like I have.


This is the best I have for this issue, I hope it helps.

Good Luck.

Tom.
Click to expand...
I was literally typing the exact post linking that exact product. I’ve had good luck with it on the farm implements and mv’s, unless it’s beyond that point and seized.
 
serpico760

serpico760

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Sounds like definitely that grease zerk is a grease jerk! Anyone know what size these grease zerks are? I need to buy a couple. two of mine are rusted solid

Sent from my S62 Pro using Tapatalk
 
Plasa

Plasa

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Sorry, my mistake! Of course I mean zerks .. :-(
Shame on me!

Christian

serpico760 said:
Sounds like definitely that grease zerk is a grease jerk! Anyone know what size these grease zerks are? I need to buy a couple. two of mine are rusted solid

Sent from my S62 Pro using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
 
Awesomeness

Awesomeness

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There is more info about it in my Common Fixes document here in my signature. I used the all the methods above, including the tool that you hammer (filled with Kroil), and got most of them to take grease (still have a couple that won't).

When you take the grease fitting off, make sure to use some kind of tool (e.g. screw driver, drill bit by hand, hooked wire, etc.) to get as much of the old grease out of the hollow bolt as possible. That old grease, on mine, had reached the consistency of silly putty, and trying to drive though through the system just makes it more difficult.

I also thought about trying to make a temporary replacement for the grease zerk, that would thread into the hole, and then thread into the grease gun hose and/or impact grease tool, that way it would eliminate the delicate/leaky zerk while trying to blast it clean.
 
simp5782

simp5782

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glcaines said:
Replacement zerks are not very expensive. Whenever I have a zerk I can't get grease through, I go ahead and replace it. If there is still a problem because of hardened grease in the joint, I then use one of the hammer tools.
Click to expand...
They have gone up. A mixed box from tractor supply is now $64
 
kendelrio

kendelrio

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Something to chew on regarding grease zerks:

On our ROV launch and recovery system we have several zerks that are almost impossible to reach and are a safety hazard getting to them. One of our solutions was to take 1/4" tubing (hose would work fine too), put a fitting to match the zerk on the end of it, run it to a better place and install a zerk on that end. We also made a manifold to mount all of the various zerk receptacles in one place.

A little expensive, but at the end of the day you aren't crawling all around trying to get to zerks. The ease factor also ensures you don't think "I'll do it next time" as we know next time rarely comes.

When I put my M37 together, I'll probably do this for mine with the manifold located under the hood. Run the tubing/hose along the brake lines and I should be good.
 
Awesomeness

Awesomeness

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glcaines said:
Replacement zerks are not very expensive. Whenever I have a zerk I can't get grease through, I go ahead and replace it. If there is still a problem because of hardened grease in the joint, I then use one of the hammer tools.
Click to expand...
It's not the zerks themselves. I took every one of them off my truck, and every one of them flowed grease freely. It's the 20+ year old crusty grease stuck inside the hollow bolt and the passageways to the outside.

The truck uses 3 different types of zerks, and they are listed here in my parts spreadsheet in my signature. They're all about 10/$10.
 
Plasa

Plasa

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OK, finally got the bolt and passageways free. What I did:
- screw of zerk and with brake cleaner clean the bolt.
- use plenty of WD40 and let them react for days
- bottle jack between suspension and frame
- heat with heat gun until fresh grease (not inside the bolt, but outside) became liquid. Old grease did not became liquid but like glue
- attach compressed air to zerk to keep pressure for days

Nothing helped only the use of a grease joint rejuvenator was successfull. And it took some hammer hits that the passageways became free. I highly recommend the rejuvenator, without that tool I had to dismount the bolt....

Thanks to all for the tips!

Christian
 
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