Lubed for Life Ball Joints!

[GaryKD]

I promised I'd get beck to ya'll, so this is it. Sorry for the delay, I just finished hosting a 61 coach week long rally in the Florida Keys.

I'm a bit confused, but here's my story and I'm sticking to it. At this moment, the ball joints have no grease fittings! Spartan replaced the ball joints earlier this year (no joy). I called Chris and asked what happened to the grease fittings. He (he remembers me, I don't know if that is good or bad) said I did not request grease fitting be put in the new ball joints. While this is true, I'm not sure he can pawn off the total blame on me. Now there is no proof my original ball joints had grease fittings. I remember they had them because of the difficulty I had getting the grease gun onto the fitting. I even bought a very small hand squeeze trigger type grease gun just for them.

The bottom line is now I am stuck with what I got. I'm going to try the needle method in Gary - K7GLD's post. I've never done this before, but I do want the ball joints greased.

The only unique thing about my Granning 12.6K front end is that Newmar used it only for a very short time (about 3 months of the 05 model year).

[Gary - K7GLD]

Quote:

The bottom line is now I am stuck with what I got. I'm going to try the needle method in Gary - K7GLD's post. I've never done this before, but I do want the ball joints greased.

OK, for best results with the needle method, here's the drill:

Preferably, insert needle into the REAR side of the boot, to minimize possibility of garbage entrance into the puncture area during vehicle driving - never had any issues on mine, but...

Next, try to select a puncture point that will permit needle insertion as far over to the opposite side of the boot as possible - fresh grease will swell the boot to a degree, and some excess grease will then exit the puncture site when the needle is removed, and you want THAT grease to be old stuff, NOT the new grease you just inserted!

Yes, SOME grease leakage IS likely, so be prepared for it - after all, the old style greasable fittings ALSO used to drip grease with a new lube job too!

Do NOT overfill the boot - it should be allowed to "plump up" slightly, but not excessively - otherwise, you'll just get a lot of unwanted seepage back out thru the puncture site - and in REAL overfilling, potential boot rupture - but this is not rocket science, and serious overfilling is not very likely to anyone with decent common sense.

Good luck - this has worked out quite well for me on my own '02 Dodge/Cummins truck.

[RobRV]

I Am still waiting to hear from TRG who certainly didn't want to hear from Me in the first place! Spartan have contacted them asking Them to contact Me! I Have tried e-mailing TRG at several levels including the nearest Distributor and none have had the courtesy of returning my e-mails or called Me!

I will become pretty irate if I'm ignored much longer!

We leave in 9 Days for an extended Trip to Mexico so there won't be an opportunity to change them before leaving on this trip. My Mechanic claims that They will be ok but wants then Rig Back as soon as We get back to have them Replaced!

[GaryKD]

Today I got the needle from the auto parts store. Did Gary - K7GLD's process with the greased for life ball joints. This was so easy it was unbelievable. All the new ball joints took a bunch of grease to 3/4 fill the rubber bladder. Withdrew the needle and nothing came out of the rubber bladder! To access the rubber bladder all that needs to be done is turn the front wheels to the far right to do the left ball joints. Then turn the front wheels to the far left to do the right ball joints. The ball joints are easily accessed from behind the front wheel.

Thanks Gary - K7GLD.

I highly recommend any coach owner with these greased for life ball joints try this method to grease the ball joints.

[Brigadoon]

Thanks to both Gary's. I'll be doing this next.

[Railroader]

The ball joints do not wear out it is the rubber boot that tears or splits open.

[Gary - K7GLD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Railroader The ball joints do not wear out it is the rubber boot that tears or splits open.

I know LOTS of guys who lost "greased for life" ball joints in well under 50K miles on their trucks over on the Turbo Diesel Register who will disagree with you - and the boots on those failed joints were still good as new...

[Gary - K7GLD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary - K7GLD I know LOTS of guys who lost "greased for life" ball joints in well under 50K miles on their trucks over on the Turbo Diesel Register who will disagree with you - and the boots on those failed joints were still good as new...

OH, and by the way - remember those older NON-sealed but greasable joints? Remember how even though THEY were UNsealed, they went for MANY 10's of thousands of miles without failure?

The problem isn't so much the style or design of the boot itself - but rather, the exposure they get to proper lubrication - and far too often, what is applied to the "sealed for LIFE" units at the time of manufacture is WAYYyyyyy inadequate!

[GaryKD]

Hi all,
I guess Spartan and I have separated company over this thread. First things first, beware, Spartan does read this forum. They do not participate, just read. I received an email from Spartan about my post. Unfortunately, it contains a confidentiality statement. I am not allowed to share the details of the email. I will paraphrase the gist of the contents.

Spartan will never put Zerk fittings in a joint that does not come with them. If my post inferred they would do this, I extend my apology.

Next is the greasing of the greased for life ball joints. Spartan does not recommend anyone grease the greased for life ball joints. Spartan has voided my warranty on the ball joints they installed. In addition Spartan will be looking for ball joints that have been greased and will offer no warranty or assistance on joints that haver been "tampered with". FYI, the parts warranty is either 6 months or 1 year (nobody seems to know). The labor warranty is 6 months (according to the work order. Since the work was done in September 09, the removal of the warranty is, for me, a "sleeve out of vest" punitive measure.

The balance of the email is what I consider a rant.

In my business and personal life anytime a vendor deals with me with a 2X4 across the head, I sever my relationship with that vendor. So it will be in this situation. There are many certified places for me to get the service I need.

As to greasing the ball joints, I am pleased with the method and result. Time will tell which process leads to the longest lasting ball joints. The original joints lasted 4 1/2 years. I guess we will see in another 4 1/2 years.

I do have some advice for those obtaining service. Know your coach before you take it in for service. Shops need work. With all the recalls going on, they are paid, sometimes handsomely, for getting coach owners to allow the recall to be completed. This is the second time (one Spartan and one Cummins) where a recall was available. Ya'll know I fought against the Cummins recall and lost. I now wonder if my coach's ball joints really needed replacing or did my coach fall under a recall and the shop needed the work? We will never know.

The bottom line is know your coach and have the service writer show you what needs to be replaced before agreeing to the work.

[sknight]

Hmm, seems to me that you have to agree to a confidentiality statement before it can apply to you. That's why on legal phone calls they say they're going to record, then repeat that agreement after the tape's rolling. Same concept with an email.

But I get the jist of what you're saying.

[Iron Man]

I am trying to understand why you would puncture the boot to add grease. How does the new grease work its way into the ball joint and not stay up in the boot? When there were zerk fittings the new grease would push the old grease from the bottom of the ball joint up into the boot, replacing all the old grease with fresh grease. I have not replaced ball joints on motorhomes, however, I have replaced about 20 sets on automobiles and trucks and greased more than I care to remeber. I have even replaced one where the ball came out of the socket.