I have been cleaning up my front sub frame and hitting all the grease nipples I can find. I am unable to get any grease into the 4 upper control arm bushings. I snap the grease gun on, and I am absolutely unable to pull the lever. I took one of the grease fittings out expecting to find a little grease channel that I could clean out, but there isn't one. What's up with that? There has to be a way to get some grease into them.......?!
Any suggestions would be very helpful. Thanks
Zerk Zapper looks like the ultimate tool for this job. If you haven't tried it yet you might apply some heat to the area. I had the same situation recently with the Hornet. I replaced the upper and lower outer bushings and pivot pins but left the inner bushings alone they were fine. After getting it all back together I couldn't get 3 of the zerks to take grease at all as you are experiencing. With a little propane was able to get the old grease slowly moving.
Yeah, I looked this up. What a cool little tool! I solved my problem with a bit of heat, but I will be getting one of these Zerk Zappers - probably the air powered one. Thanks!
Thanks for the advice Doug. A little heat did the trick. I pumped lots of grease through, just to try to get as much old stuff as possible out of the bushings. It was just co-incidental that all 4 upper bushings were solid and the rest were OK. I thought it might have been a mechanical thing. Anyway - all good now, thank you@
Coincidence? I suggest not. They were solid 'cause they are difficult to reach, and so, don't [i]get[/i] greased when they should. "I'll get 'em next time"......sound familiar?
F
And best done with the front end on stands under the frame, so no load on the front suspension.
Glad it worked out. The old grease gets pretty stiff as Frank said the uppers are forgotten easily. I've got the engine out and doing everything while its accessible.
With the engine out of the way, I'd investigate a change of grease fitting configuration/angle to make it more accessible. There are a variety of lengths and angles, one of which may improve your ability to reach it after re-assembly. Some just aren't ever easy, especially if you don't have the car on a lift. If I have a wheel off for some reason, I take that opportunity to hit those that are difficult to reach when it's in the way.
F
Mike,
I once brought a Hudson to be aligned at a former Hudson dealer. When he heard that the grease fittings wouldn't take grease, he warned me that the upper joints were most likely too worn to adjust properly. He refused to try to align it until I had checked this.
Perhaps you should turn the adjustment for each one enough to see if the eccentric shaft and bushing are still in good condition. Count how far you turn, so you can put it back where it was if it is OK.
Per
Leave a reply
