Grease Monkey Question

[Wandering Sagebrush]

I took Roadrunner in to Les Schwab’s tire shop in Baker City to have the bearings packed.  While I was waiting at the local breakfast spot, the service tech called and told me that the grease looked brand new, even though the previous owner told me there were between three and four thousand miles on them.  Kudos to the tech and Les Schwab!  I went ahead and had them packed again to establish a baseline.

Here comes the question… I asked to have the suspension lubed and was surprised to learn they no longer did that, so I did it myself today, except for two zerk fittings that wouldn’t take grease.  I pulled the one that was easy to get to, and cleaned it to no avail.   I didn’t probe the grease in the spring bolt, but don’t suspect it was dried solid, so I’ll pick up a few zerks and replace the bad ones… does anyone have a good way of keeping them protected and clean/free of road dirt?

 

 

[Frank C]

Zerk fitting caps.  Available on Amazon. 

LockNLube Grease Fitting Caps (50 Count) (Yellow) https://a.co/d/1SYGqmF

[jd1923]

Something as simple as these work just as well. I bought these for when I do brake jobs:

Amazon.com: 18 Pieces Brake Bleeder Cap Grease Fitting Caps Rubber Zerk Covers Brake Caliper Dust Cover Brake Bleeder Nipple Cap for Cars and Motorcycles : Automotive

[jd1923]

BTW, when bearings are packed properly, they should last for 1000s of miles! There are some that neglect maintenance and some that over-do-it on their toys. I've certainly worked over 20 brake jobs in my life; disc and drum brakes, on cars, motorcycles, trucks & trailers. I will not complete an automotive front-end brake job w/o repacking the bearings. Brake shops do not do this. 98% of the time the old bearings are fine, need repacking, not replacing, unless they're loose or dry when opened, or seal contaminated.

I rinse/spin the bearings in old gasoline, then sometimes in a Dawn-water solution, using compressed air to clean each time. I have the nice repacking tool, but back in the day just palmed a swab of new high-temp wheel bearing grease. I expect my new brake pads to last 30-60K miles, depending on application, and I expect to see the bearings still fully packed with grease the next time around.

[John Dorrer]

Mr. Sage, I found that the front and rear Zerks need to have the tire raised to take pressure off and allow the grease to flow into the Zerk. Don't know whether that will help in your situation or whether the Zerk is plugged.

[Wandering Sagebrush]

2 hours ago, John Dorrer said:

Mr. Sage, I found that the front and rear Zerks need to have the tire raised to take pressure off and allow the grease to flow into the Zerk. Don't know whether that will help in your situation or whether the Zerk is plugged.

JD, thank you.  One is in fact a front zerk, the other sits on top of the Equalizer.  I’ll give the front zerk a try with a raised wheel.

[ScottRicki]

Each time I grease our EZ Flex, at least one zerk makes me use the stabilizer jack to take pressure off that side  

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

JD & Scott knew the secret Grease Monkey handshake.  Lifting pressure off the suspension did the trick.  My thanks to both! 🙏

 

[Boudicca908]

On 7/18/2023 at 10:32 AM, Wandering Sagebrush said:

Lifting pressure off the suspension did the trick.

@John Dorrer -- Is that usually accomplished by taking some weight with the stabilizing jacks? 

[ScubaRx]

On 8/23/2023 at 7:19 AM, Boudicca908 said:

@John Dorrer -- Is that usually accomplished by taking some weight with the stabilizing jacks? 

That's the quickest and easiest way to do it.