winterset Posted November 10, 2005 Report Share Posted November 10, 2005 I have never greased the front or read end of my 96 w 96000, and all parts are still original. I was curious what I should look for as when I need to grease. Several years ago, I over greased a fitting in my wife's honda, and the boot popped I had to replace the entire lower ball joint to fix this mistake. I don't want to repeat this, so I never greased a sealed fitting again, but at the same time, I don't want to run my joints dry. Any advice will be appreciated. - THANKS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted November 11, 2005 Report Share Posted November 11, 2005 If it is a sealed fitting there are no grease fittings. If there are, I give them a shot or two each time I change oil. I have never had to replace any joint that had a fitting and was greased with this frequency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted November 11, 2005 Report Share Posted November 11, 2005 I have a 96 Deville also. As Ranger noted check your ball joints and tie-rods for grease fittings, if you have them you should have it greased at every oil change. Sometimes the zirk fitting is capped, if you have any caps, remove them and screw in a zirk fitting. I have Moog Ball joints and I do have grease fittings, and have grease fittings on my tie-rods. If I recall my old ball joints also had zirk fittings because that is how I found out that my ball joint boot was leaking. They were the original ball joints as they were riveted. Its possible that who ever is changing your oil is greasing the ball joints automatically. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterset Posted November 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2005 I have been doing the oil changes since the car was new. I never greased anything . I understood that sealed components didn't need grease, and the grease fitting was only a bonus of such. If it is sealed, where does the grease escape from? I'll be sure to give it 1 shot of grease when I change the oil next. but I'll be taking it to Firestone in December for an alignment. Hopefully they don't find anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted November 11, 2005 Report Share Posted November 11, 2005 I have been doing the oil changes since the car was new. I never greased anything . I understood that sealed components didn't need grease, and the grease fitting was only a bonus of such. If it is sealed, where does the grease escape from? I'll be sure to give it 1 shot of grease when I change the oil next. but I'll be taking it to Firestone in December for an alignment. Hopefully they don't find anything. If there is a grease fitting, then they are not "sealed" joints per se. "Sealed Joints" are lubed for the life of the vehicle and have no grease fittings. I would give them more than one shot of grease... I grease fittings until the boot is firm but not enough to have it squirt out. If you have 96,000 miles on the car and have never greased the joints and no one else has greased them, I will bet that something is worn out by now... Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spurlee Posted November 11, 2005 Report Share Posted November 11, 2005 I grease mine every oil change, just enough to firm up the boot. I've only found 4 on my '96 El Dorado (upper and lower each side). Are there more? Also, I bought an air powered grease gun two years ago - wish I'd done it sooner. It's definately worth the money, especially since my truck has 11 hard-to-reach fittings! Scott 1996 El Dorado 2006 STS 2000 Corvette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted November 12, 2005 Report Share Posted November 12, 2005 Spurlee, Just a word of warning. Those pneumatic grease guns put out a lot of pressure. I use one all the time. I can remember years ago, blowing the top out of an idler arm by over doing it. Be careful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterset Posted November 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 Based on the input provided, I decided I better grease the 4 fittings ASAP. The 4 boots were firm already. I gave the tie-rod boot 3 squirts, and a little squeezed out the side of the boot. then I gave the ball joints 3 squirts, and there is some kind of release at the bottom of the boot as part of the rubber, and it seems the grease I was sending in was coming right out. I guess my concern is that after the fact, I read a label on the grease that said not to mix different bases of grease. Since I never greased before, & I don't know what the factory uses, I purchased molly grease, mentioned for use in ball joints, and endorsed by Chrysler. The base is Lithium 12. Not sure if this grease is too thin, and it's why it came right out instead of mixing with whatever was in there. I remember on my '80s car that when I would grease, all sorts of colored grease will ooze out. Should I be concerned? Sorry to go on about this simple issue, but hopefully it helps someone else someday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 I wouldn't worry about it. As long as there is grease in there. The grease that came out is most likely old grease displaced by the new grease. Just grease it everytime you change oil and the joints will last forever, or very close anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spurlee Posted November 17, 2005 Report Share Posted November 17, 2005 For years I've used blue marine grease for everything with no problems. It's inexpensive and holds up well. Some boots will, indeed, have a vent molded into the surface to let out old grease as you fill it with new stuff. This is particularly common in marine applications where you want to expell any water along with the old grease. In these situations I pump away until I see new grease come out the vent. In my El Dorado the boot's leak a bit, I just carefully fill until a bit comes out, maybe a tablespoon full and leave it at that. Scott 1996 El Dorado 2006 STS 2000 Corvette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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