Ball Joint won't take grease
 

Hi all,

I'm having an issue greasing a ball joint in my bronco--it's a '90, 351, eddie bauer, if that helps. The BJ in question is on the front, passengers side. Before I attempted greasing I jacked up the vehicle, as I read that it helps to take the weight off the BJ.

At first the grease was coming out at the zerk. Upon closer inspection, I could see that the zerk fitting was crossthreaded. I removed the fitting, and tried to pump grease through it. Worked fine. I then managed to rethread it correctly, so that the grease doesn't spew out. In fact, now I can't pump in any at all. I read that the zerk can be screwed in too far, so I tried backing it off a good bit. Same thing: no grease in, and no grease out. I found a cutaway of how a ball joint is built, and after looking at it, I'm wondering if it's possible for the joint to rust up and block the grease from going into the cup. Here's the picture, for reference(click it to see full-sized version):

http://www.autobarn.ca/Shareholder_i...0away12524.jpg

Anyway, as I know WD-40 and ducktape can fix just about anything, I was thinking of squirting some of the former under the rubber cup to try and break up any interior rust that might be blocking the grease from going in. I'm out of ideas otherwise. Am I on the right track here, or am I headed for trouble?

Thanks in advance,
Tim

Most likly the hole where the grease nipple threads is clogged. I would remove it and stur a pick in it. Then wash with WD.

What he said. And always wipe off the zerks carefully before greasing, too.

I've already tried a pick; didn't seem to be anything obstructing it. Also cleaned the fitting. So WD won't hurt anything? I guess that's my next step.

Cheers,
Tim

On mine I have to turn the front of the tire outward and stick my head inside the fender to see well enough to get the grease gun on straight to grease the upper BJ.