Both the schedule that came with my vehicle and a notice from the dealer indicate that my 2004 Escape needs to have a chassis lube. I brought my Escape to a trusted local shop who said that there was no place to lube the chassis on my car. Now, I realize that a lot of the scheduled maintanence (sp?) stuff is generic, but still, does my shop know what they're talking about? Or is there indeed a need and way to lube the chassis on my 2004 Escape?
Thanks!!

 

Unfortunately, no. To save a few pennies, none of the areas that could benefit from periodic relubrication have zerks (e.g., tie rod ends, ball joints, sway bar links). In my opinion, "lifetime" lubrication is the period of time until the component fails (the end of its lifetime). After my vehicles warranty expired, I used a grease needle to lubricate the items mentioned above. It's not the same as injecting grease through a zerk, but hopefully it will extend the life of those critical and expensive to replace components.

 

I've noticed the same issue with my '01 Escape. The maintenace schedule calls for an inspection and lubrication of 4x2 ball joints, and the owners manual calls for lubrication of the halfshaft CV joint...but I'll be darned if I can see where those lub locations are when underneath the vehicle.