RTH: New LCA ball joints - how do you grease them?

[linuxgod]

I had my LCAs replaced last Friday as the cam bushings were going. The new LCAs have a slightly different looking lower balljoint. The FSM says to apply grease to them. The shop up the street who swapped them says there's no way to grease these without puncturing the boot. Does anyone know how to grease these? I can't believe the replacement OEM joints don't need grease added?!!?

 

[Sandroad]

Might be a difference between an older FSM and a newer LCA? If the new ball joint comes filled with grease (my guess is it does) don’t puncture the boot to add grease. The dealer did that to my 80 TREs once and it made a mess.

 

[linuxgod]

Might be a difference between an older FSM and a newer LCA? If the new ball joint comes filled with grease (my guess is it does) don’t puncture the boot to add grease. The dealer did that to my 80 TREs once and it made a mess.

Yeah I definitely don't want to puncture the boot. If I squeeze the boot it doesn't seem like there's grease it in - it feels empty. But maybe the new LCA ball joints just have a tiny amount in them? Not sure if I need to force the shop who installed it to pull the castle nut off and detach the BJ and try to pump grease in using a needle from the bottom, or if they're supposed to install it as-is? No grease seems odd to me given my old ones always had a bit grease leaking out (or at least grease and dirt accumulating around them).

If you press in a new OEM ball joint the FSM says (under "reassembly") to apply grease. It also has "MP grease" marked in the "components" section of the FSM. The LCAs don't come with instructions of course.

 

[TLC2013]

Wow, i cant imagine that new oem LCAs and their ball joints wouldn't already be filled with grease from the factory. I have a set of new LCAs on the shelf that I'll take a closer look at and see if they are pre-greased.
My two cents about those instructions is that they are instructions for replacing just the LBJ which would need to have grease added while a complete LCA would come come with pre-greased LBJs. I'll check and confirm later this evening.

 

[linuxgod]

Wow, i cant imagine that new oem LCAs and their ball joints wouldn't already be filled with grease from the factory. I have a set of new LCAs on the shelf that I'll take a closer look at and see if they are pre-greased.
My two cents about those instructions is that they are instructions for replacing just the LBJ which would need to have grease added while a complete LCA would come come with pre-greased LBJs. I'll check and confirm later this evening.

Thanks. Maybe there is grease in it but it’s just a small quantity? The rubber boot is soft and basically pinch able and if I squeeze it in multiple places I’d swear it’s filled with air. My old lower BJs seemed to leak a bunch of grease, so it seems odd these seem dry, but maybe it’s normal.

 

[doru]

Greasing may be done along the tapered side using a blunt "needle" to squeeze inside the boot using a grease gun. The needle is actually more like a thin pipe with a pointy tip so it does not hurt the boot seal. But that means disassembly.
The other way is to move the spring ring and move the boot down/insert the "needle" at the top. Maybe that way you can do it w/o disassembly. I'm not sure how easy is to move that spring and what the risk of ripping the boot is, but that is an operation done when you replace the boot. I got the kit for that from Toyota but did not get to actually replace it.
BTW the boot replacement procedure should be in FSM. Maybe you get a clue from it.

Here is the PN: Suspension Ball Joint Boot (Left, Right, Front, Upper) 4332469085, 43324-69085; 4332469015; 4332469035
Includes boot, grease and ring.

 

[doru]

Here's a post Any remedies to fix a ripped upper ball joint boot? - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/any-remedies-to-fix-a-ripped-upper-ball-joint-boot.1202223/#post-13028657 It might be doable w/o disassembly.

 

[linuxgod]

Here's a post Any remedies to fix a ripped upper ball joint boot? - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/any-remedies-to-fix-a-ripped-upper-ball-joint-boot.1202223/#post-13028657 It might be doable w/o disassembly.

Thanks. If I was replacing just the boot that would be perfect. The question is: Since the ball joint came preassembled in the LCA, does it actually need to be greased, or is there just a minimal amount of grease in there from Toyota? The FSM says to apply MP grease but it doesn't say how, which makes me think it's unnecessary except when replacing just the boot or ball joint... but the new boot feels empty to me in the squeeze test.

 

[doru]

About how much grease should be in there, maybe @TLC2013 gives you an answer tonight.

If you just want to add more to sleep better, I was suggesting a way to add more grease to the boot trying to avoid disassembly. The post shows the spring and the way he moved it into position.

 

[LX4x4]

I think it should already have grease in the boot and then it was crimped with the wire.

I have never bought a control arm that was not ready to use and had to add grease.

If it was aftermarket with the zerk fitting then I would put some grease. Usually, I end up being overzealous about the amount and make the boot fat, because more must be better? But there is also a lot being expelled after use.

 

[TLC2013]

I think it should already have grease in the boot and then it was crimped with the wire.

I have never bought a control arm that was not ready to use and had to add grease.

If it was aftermarket with the zerk fitting then I would put some grease. Usually, I end up being overzealous about the amount and make the boot fat, because more must be better? But there is also a lot being expelled after use.

Ha, yep same here, I am guilty of overdoing the grease pumps. Sometimes less it more. I Ended up blowing out an UCA boot after plumping the boots a weee bit too much with grease before hitting the trails. Make shift Gorilla Tape splash guard held up until I could repair/replace once back home.

 

[bloc]

I’d be stunned if the stock ball joint didn’t already have grease in it. My bet is they meant around the body of the BJ before it gets pressed into the hole in the arm, and maybe the diagram is somehow lost in translation.

 

[TLC2013]

Here are a few shots showing a new LCA, and it next to used OEM lower ball joints that had around 110k of use. I proactively and definitely prematurely swapped them out for new 555 LBJs after seeing what i thought was excessive grease forming outside of the boot. Should have just left it alone but i couldnt help myslef...the cross i bear.
All three feel normal with similar pressure required to move the joint. The two with the boot still intact feel the same. The one without the boot shows how much grease comes from the factory so I'd say its safe to go with the assumption that these come pre greased and ready to roll with OEM LCAs.

 

[linuxgod]

Here are a few shots showing a new LCA, and it next to used OEM lower ball joints that had around 110k of use. I proactively and definitely prematurely swapped them out for new 555 LBJs after seeing what i thought was excessive grease forming outside of the boot. Should have just left it alone but i couldnt help myslef...the cross i bear.
All three feel normal with similar pressure required to move the joint. The two with the boot still intact feel the same. The one without the boot shows how much grease comes from the factory so I'd say its safe to go with the assumption that these come pre greased and ready to roll with OEM LCAs.

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Ah cool thank you very much. This is super helpful… definitely confirms the FSM is “wrong”. Yeah it seems like there is very little grease in them, as compared to how much usually exists in a greaseable one. I had so much grease stuck around my old one I thought these must have had a lot in them, but I guess it’s other grease and grime (and maybe fluid film) that must have accumulated around that spot

 

[TLC2013]

Ah cool thank you very much. This is super helpful… definitely confirms the FSM is “wrong”. Yeah it seems like there is very little grease in them, as compared to how much usually exists in a greaseable one. I had so much grease stuck around my old one I thought these must have had a lot in them, but I guess it’s other grease and grime (and maybe fluid film) that must have accumulated around that spot

Happy to help, yeah its surprising how much grease can accumulate outside the boot. It seems to be exasperated by off road wheeling in rock gardens or anything that really articulates the suspension and exercises the ball joints.

 

[LX4x4]

So seeing this I thinking it has very little grease in there.
One time I installed rear shock on a SC300 I let go of the control arm too quick and the fork of the shock put a hole in the boot, oil and grease was gushing out. it was way more grease than this