factory sealed ball joints

[gumby]

as we know the ball joints and wheel bearings on the s13 are factory sealed with no grease fittings. i noticed that the lower front ball joint boots were all sucked in . i had a conversation with an industrial mechanic. he said most of the grease sits in the bottom of the boot and does nothing. for a high mileage car i asked if it made sense to inject some grease in there. he said it was possible or i could install a grease fitting if i used a magnet and was careful to minimize the metal shavings.

so whats your take on this? and what about the wheel bearings?do the factory sealed ones not last as long as properly maintained servicable ones?

[navysnail]

well, dont forget that the ball joint does move, and the boot is mostly to keep dirt and moisture out of the joint, rather then contain and hold a supply of grease for the joint. IMO installing a grease fitting on somthing like that would be more trouble then it is worth, and you run a high risk of getting metal in the joint, which will do the opposite of what you want it to do

[NISTECH]

well, dont forget that the ball joint does move, and the boot is mostly to keep dirt and moisture out of the joint, rather then contain and hold a supply of grease for the joint. IMO installing a grease fitting on somthing like that would be more trouble then it is worth, and you run a high risk of getting metal in the joint, which will do the opposite of what you want it to do

Word for word, I am with him on this.

[gumby]

so do you think injecting it is any use? does the grease degrade over time? (i think up the weirdest questions)

[navysnail]

no, injecting it isnt really any use, and wont serve to gain anything. many older cars use grease fittings, because they didnt have sealed joints, b ut on today's car, the grease outlives the bearing itself.

[s13sr20chris]

word, nissan stock ball joints will outlive a greasable joint anyday.

[burnin240sx]

if you want to be able to grease the ball joint you can press out the curent balljoint and press in a new one with a fitting. Got s14 ball joints $20 each pressed in for a few bucks at a machine shop.