200,000 Mile Oil Change Intervals

Sorry, but I disagree. The only thing that holds the seal tight is its
elasticity. Once it "burps" some grease out, it goes right back to
sealing as well as it ever did.

If I added up every minute I spent greasing the zerks all 4 of my old
cars over the past 30 years, I doubt if it would amount to a full
workday. Even counting time re-loading the grease gun.

 

We'll have to agree to disagree. The seal rarely completely seats again
as there is no way to completely clear the pressure of the grease inside
the seal. This pressure will keep the seal slightly off the metal for
some time.

Well, I don't know what you make a day, but for a full day's wages I
could buy several ball joints and even pay to have them installed!

Matt

 

I guess the convenient thing about the old style ball joints is that
they were self-centering (vehicle weight = no play). I remember my
amazement when I was a teenager and I read in the shop manual on the
International Travelall (the Chevy Suburban of that day) that I drove
that the lower ball joints were acceptable with as much as (IIRC) 1/8"
of up/down play with the front end jacked up off the ground.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

And the new one's aren't?

Matt

 

The difference is that the spring force is transfered thru the control
arm and lower ball joint into the steering knuckle with the typical
spring or 9as in the case of the vehicle I had) torsion bar suspensions
of that era (certainly there were exceptions), whereas with the typical
strut suspension system of today (again - certainly there are
exceptions), the lower control arm and ball joint is not involved in
transfer of the spring force into the knuckle - it only controls
geometry and radial forces. The net result is that, with axial spring
force into the ball joint of the older system, it tends to be
self-centering (i.e., tends to dampen/reduce/eliminate side play from
most normal road situations). Without that axial spring force into the
ball joint (as is the case in a typical McPherson strut suspension), if
there is wear (play) in the lower ball joint, the ball joint is pretty
much free to flop and clunk from sidewise forces. That's all I was saying.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

The first time the joint moves, it squeezes a bit more grease out, and
then relaxes. Trust me, they DO re-seat.

Well hell, I *could* buy a new car every 2 years and throw away a hell
of a lot of money like most people I know. But I'd rather not be so
wasteful. Since I enjoy working on cars, 8 hours spread over 30 years is
just a little periodic recreation.

 

It depends on which ball joint in the system, how the suspension is
designed, etc. On my older Mopars, the lower joint is weight bearing and
therefore self-centering, but the play spec is WAY less than 1/8", but
still fairly loose. The upper joint is not preloaded in any way, so ANY
looseness will allow play in camber and caster (and a bit in toe because
the centerline thru the upper and lower BJ will move relative to the
tie-rod end.) That will make the car super-sensitive to wheel imbalance,
make it handle funny, and make the steering sloppy.

 

Exactly.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

But are you taking into account the extra stress of front wheel drive on
those sealed joints?