Colorado B.S. Thread

Overfilling the boot and using too MUCH grease can also shorten the life of a ball joint as well.

Like I mentioned before I plan to talk to SPC tomorrow at the Toytec thing to see exactly what the recommended amount/type is and how often they need to be checked.

Becca - theoretically you could just remove the tire, pull down the boot and add grease to them. But the best way to service them is to completely remove them.

 

Thanks keep us posted on what SPC recommends

 

too much grease?

Isn't that like having too much money or too much fun?

 

Id like to be around when you talk to SPC about it eric, even though replacing that ball joint wouldn't be a big hassle id still like to know how to lengthen the life of mine

 

Dry Dock does an excellent pumpkin.

 

http://youtu.be/Y1wAXxutOPg

 

I don't understand the "too much grease" theory.

Obviously what was in there is "not enough". After googling some other information I find that these things seem to fail around the 2 year mark. The lack of a grease zerk leads one to believe they are "lifetime" usage and should last a few years. If this is not the case, they need to be serviceable... and removing them to pull the boot to apply grease is not what I call serviceable. If this is how they are designed, there should be mention of this so the buyer can be prepared.

It's not a big deal to replace this one compared to regular ball joints. And they obviously have to go through more range of motion during their life span, as they move up and down as well as turning duty, so it stande to reason they won't last as long.

I would like to see a zerk somewhere.

 

That was great Ray!!!!!

 

With Zerks people tend to "overfill" and blow out boots.

 

I was able to pull the retaining ring/spring off the boot and flip it inside out while on the vehicle. Remove the tire first. I then just worked a much as possible into the gap with my finger. This was last night with the one that is already shot. It didn't make any difference, still sloppy as hell but I didn't expect it to either. Was more an attempt to see if it could be done without tearing the boot. Honestly, I don't know if it will matter. Grease-able joints push the grease between the ball and socket. This other method of removing the boot is just putting grease in the boot and hoping it will get there (ball and socket) through osmosis.
And these ride socket side up so gravity ain't helping either.

 

Well, there's no zerk, so we don't have to worry about that.

 

Sorry I did not see this reply before I had posted the above. That was what I was referencing in regards to "too much grease".

As far as serviceable is concerned, lots of shocks are serviceable but have to be torn down first. So that means removing them and taking them apart. SPC makes not note anywhere that I can find that they are "lifetime" ball joint or that the expectation is 3 years of life. Based on your research it looks like 2 years is the max. The fact that I got 3 years out of them might be because my mileage is below normal due to working from a home office. If my mileage was normal then I might have had to replace them after 2 years. Most uniballs are 1 year in this climate so the SPC ball joint is a 100% better against a uniball.

 

Sure thing.

 

I'd like to hear what the SPC guys says

 

Let's go by mileage then.
My receipt from the original install of the Lt Racing's shows 214014 miles.
I now have 236882. So 22868 miles on them now. Mine is not a drive to or from work either, I work from home and drive a service van. Most of the truck mileage is off road. I'd say about 2/3 is actually on a county dirt road, not necessarily a full on rock trail. You've seen the pics of where I wheel, fairly tame for the most part.

I guess the mileage isn't that bad. Would still like to see a zerk and I'll take responsibility for overfilling my boots. Just like my shorts.

 

However, my original upper ball joints, with 214014 mile's were still good, when I made the change. Food for thought. Longevity vs performance I guess.

 

One of us will certainly remember to ask that tomorrow. Not sure why they have chosen to not include a Zerk. Really the only place I can think to put it would be in the top and I wonder if that could lead to breakage issues when attempting to torque that big ass bolt.

I am horrible with keeping mileage records so I have no clue how many miles I got out of mine.

 

I have a tie rod end on the scout with a zerk in the side. I think there is enough space somewhere to get one in there. I agree, drilling a zerk through the bolt is a bit scary when hitting 150 ftlbs of torque. But maybe it can be done with one of them little needle zerks.

 

How many curbs did you hop on that side?