I just received 5 tie rod end replacements for my Fj40, there are no grease zerts or any way to add them. I see the same ones from cool cruisers with the zerts for the same price, has anyone ran the ones with no zerts and had any problems? Also just wondering if I should keep the ones I have or get the ones with the zerts? Thanks
Tie Rod Replacement Ends
- Thread starter cdtb
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I'd wanna be able to grease mine, unless you're never off road. Even then ... What brand did you buy? Chinese?
Even high-end Japanese TRE's are starting to come without them. Apparently they are sensitive to over-greasing. I just got some without zerks from Cruiser Corps, and Cruiser Outfitters is now selling them without zerks. Their explanation follows:
"FAQ: Do I need Zerk (grease) fittings on my new tie rod ends? What don't the new ones have them?
Japanese manufacture 555 no longer ships their tie-rod-end kits with Zerk fittings pre-installed. They cite the fact that far too many users in fact over-grease the joints and cause the boots to fail. Once the boots fail, the joint life is greatly reduced. If you're the type that likes to grease your joints on occasion and are comfortable with the fact you won't over grease them an blow the boot, simply swap the Zerk fittings from your old joints to the new set. Alternatively you can source the Zerk fittings's from a hardware or auto parts store. Otherwise, the joints come pre-greased and are ready for installation."
"FAQ: Do I need Zerk (grease) fittings on my new tie rod ends? What don't the new ones have them?
Japanese manufacture 555 no longer ships their tie-rod-end kits with Zerk fittings pre-installed. They cite the fact that far too many users in fact over-grease the joints and cause the boots to fail. Once the boots fail, the joint life is greatly reduced. If you're the type that likes to grease your joints on occasion and are comfortable with the fact you won't over grease them an blow the boot, simply swap the Zerk fittings from your old joints to the new set. Alternatively you can source the Zerk fittings's from a hardware or auto parts store. Otherwise, the joints come pre-greased and are ready for installation."
Technology moves on, why install something which needs more maintenance
So are he new tie rod ends essentially "sealed" like a lot of bearings are nowadays? Just curious because I also installed some new 555 ends from Kurt and never thought to ask. Less maintenance is always a plus - but if installing a zerk is a good call, I obviously would want to do that sooner rather than later!
I got my 555's from Mark A. They had a little screw in the place the zerk would go. I swapped the zerk from the old TRE into the new one.
great thread I would have never known you do not need to grease them
How can one over grease the origionals , they have a pressure release valve molded right into the rubber . I always take a red tube off a spray can and stick it in before greasing ensure it is not plugged and the excess grease flows out and doesn't pop your spring seals on the tie rod boot..
I wouldn't want a non greasable one I like being able to flush them out and know there is fresh grease in there between the ball and socket.
I wouldn't want a non greasable one I like being able to flush them out and know there is fresh grease in there between the ball and socket.
Going easy with the grease gun, I think the rubber will rot away before it would ever be harmed by over greasing 
It's kind of strange the threaded hole for the fitting is still there if one is not required.
It's kind of strange the threaded hole for the fitting is still there if one is not required.
FWIW, I hope Cruiser Corps reads this as well.......I made the mistake of buying the same ones from Cruiser Corps. Roughly 5 days after I bought them they dropped the price by $10. I called to see about the $10 difference. Get this s***... they wanted me to ship back the TRE's, at my expense, then I would get a $10.00 refund. While they shipped new ones. As a experienced businessman I know Cruiser Corps could have just credited my credit card. BUT THEY CHOSE THE RUN AROUND. They explained they cannot control the suppliers... I still would have been out $. I even mentioned that the picture I purchased from, showed 555 tre's. What did we get? Something else I guess. I am not happy with my experience. So, I have deleted them from me bookmarks.
So I'm still confused. Based on Kurt's description of the new 555 ends, it would sound like they are, essentially "sealed." It seems like most folks here would go back and reinstall the zerts anyway, even if it goes against 555's recommendations for their ends?
I agree with others, it seems like there should be no such thing as "too much" grease, particularly if there is a pressure valve in the boot.
Maybe I'll see if I can get the zerts off my old TRE's after all.
I agree with others, it seems like there should be no such thing as "too much" grease, particularly if there is a pressure valve in the boot.
Maybe I'll see if I can get the zerts off my old TRE's after all.
I slightly remember this but I don't think that I was the one who took the call, so it may have been misconstrued to me what all the details were in the conversation. From what I remember I was under the impression that the customer (You) purchased a product the day before we lowered the price and wanted the difference, that I won't do but I don't think I ever heard the full story. With that being said and the way you have presented it here, I would have been more than happy to give you your $10 and I would even be happy to give you your $10 now, just let me know where to send it. I apologize for the inconvenience and please let me know if I can try and make this right for you.
Aside from this and related to this thread we so far haven't had an issue with our zerk less tie rod end sets. We haven't had a single return and we've installed them on multiple local FJ40's without a problem. Please keep us in the loop and let us know what you find out but as we did our research we have found that more and more manufactures are leaning towards non-greasable technology and doing away with the zerks.
This is a perfect example of a great vendor. I sure hope you put them back into your favorites. They are a great bunch of folks!
NAPA sells a needle to inject grease into a boot without a zert. Don't ask me why, I have no idea!
that needle comes in handy for injecting moly into a birf as well
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You shouldn't. At one time grease gave up in a relatively short time, had to be replenished often. Big improvements in lube tech have been made over the last 40 or so years. For example, the '80 came from the factory with sealed ends, have seen them with ~300K mi, lots of trail time, etc and still tight. Most that I have seen that were bad, the boots rotted off and then they failed.
I've been running the Zerkless ends from Cruiser Corps without any trouble. I picked mine up from the shop in OKC and they still gave me a Mud discount. Good guys in my book!