Torn ball joint sleeve

Hello folks, recently I changed my ball joints on the lower control arms. I've used the mevotech TTX. They are greaseable so I pumped a little in the driver's side. Old grease started to come out perfect I stopped. I did the same at the passenger but this time no grease came out. I was like what the hell is my grease gun empty? I pumped couple more times. No grease coming out but I found out with horror that the sleeve is swollen like a balloon. I was hoping when I start moving with the vehicle the release valve would release all the grease. Unfortunately didn't happened and the sleeve broke.

My question is how long can I be driving before it needs to be changed? I have a new one but I don't have time to change it. I can get to it probably next month. They say broken sleeve leads to the ball joint wearing out prematurely but how quick is prematurely?

Thanks!

 

There is no objective lifespan and no guarantees. Depends on the abuse you put it through and what contaminants get inside. Like if you do desert runs where sand gets everywhere they will not last as long as driving on dry pavement. The answer is and will always be "as soon as possible".

That being said, adding new grease after each drive will, in theory, give you more time by pushing out contaminants. Or at least after any wet/dusty/muddy drives. And try to avoid getting water inside from the carwash. If you are just daily driving it to work and back, I can't see why it wouldn't last a month.

 

I agree with the other poster; a month "should" be fine.
If you're driving in nasty mud, blowing sand, or salted roads of the great north you might have issues.
Commuting on normal pavement? Should be fine for quite a while, tbh.

 

You can keep running it like this indefinitely if you pump new grease in every month or so.

 

Thanks guys! That's all I needed to hear haha! I'm planning a week long roadtrip that's why I was worried. I have a new ball joint ready I just don't have time to do it before the trip. Thanks again!

 

Tech Tip: You don't need to add grease once the boot starts to swell a little, generally if you can squeeze the boot and feel grease squishing in it, it has more than plenty in it... Meaning, you don't need to pump until you see old grease come out...
Safe travels...

 

I have seen Youtube videos of guys using a hyperdemic needle-like tool to inject either oil, or wd-40, through and into the ball joint rubber-dust-dirt bag. They swear by it. Just saying.

 

That is a way to get grease into the boot for parts that did not come with zerk fitting... Although it does not grease the ball and socket correctly like a zerk fitting will being it adds grease to the boot area, but the grease needs to come in the ball socket cup in order to properly lube the ball and socket...

 

Nice project btw. I heard that it's a good idea to change them out every 100k miles, or as needed. Were yours giving you issues?

 

This may sound counterintuitive, but I agree with it. The boot just keeps the grease from dripping out and contaminates from collecting inside. No force is going to cause said contaminates from working their way into the joint except water. I would clean off the boot and apply silicone to seal it.