Disappointed

[Doofy]

I've come to the sad conclusion that my Ranger has just been posing as a truck! Not a single grease fitting...anywhere. DIY is important and intended obsolescence should be a crime. Guess I could tap the ball joints,tie-rods and u-joints and install zerk fittings or just wait for them to fail. It kind of defeats the purpose of preventative maintenance, having to re-work parts to increase service life. Just a rant.

 

[exbass94]

I don't really think it's planned obsolescence, it's more like maintanance-free. The auto makers are trying to make all their vehicles as maintenance free as possible so the lazy majority of the population who don't like doing anything to their cars except drive them don't have to be hassled. There are aftermarket companies that have greasable joints that should look into if/when you need to replace parts.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

a sealed joint will last much longer than a greasable one that doesnt get greased. ford (and indeed pretty much ALL motor companies) are trying to make their vehicles last as long as possible with as little work as possible.

and the sealed joints arent particularly bad...my truck had all original front end components untill about 115,000 miles...not bad for having to make due with the 12-year old grease that was put in there from the factory.

now, though, my truck has no less than 18 grease fittings under it

 

[shizzy]

do you think 99% of the population maintain their vehicles? NO. they run them till they break and then fix it.

 

[Will]

I think you have it backwards. Adding the grease fitting gives you a reason to go to the dealership for a scheduled maintenance if you don't do your own preventative work.

Grease in a sealed joint last forever. There's no heat to break it down. As long as the seals don't deteriorate--and they are way better than they were back when grease zerks were invented--it's more risky to let people pump in their own grease and blow out the seals.

The only thing that needs zerks are unsealed things--like the pins in a backhoe or loader arms. That's all I use a greasegun for now.

 

[RobbieD]

The factory sealed parts do last a good while. I've still got the original ball joints and tie rods at 371,000 miles. Probably time to change them, but I just knock 'em back in the socket whenever they pop out.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

grease does break down on its own, just like any petroleum product. on top (and probably the bigger problem) of that, after a while the grease is "squished" out of the contact area inside a given joint, allowing metal to metal contact.

a regularly greased serviceable joint will outlast a sealed joint.

but then, the sealed joints last a loooong time...

 

[Will]

I disagree. The rubber bellows keeps the grease in the mix. And it doesn't just break down. It lasts until a boot failure. Even a CV joint lasts a couple hundred thousand and the grease in there gets a workout.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

im sure you ever peeled the boot back on a factory joint, right? there isnt that much grease in there. it easily gets squished out into the boot and away from the joint.

 

[krugford]

Well, that's the thing, the sealed joints last a loooong time. Heck, my old Ranger (1992 4x4) had non-greasable ball joints until about 160,000 miles. I replaced them with Ford balljoints because I worked there. From my own personal experience, I don't think the longevity difference between greasable and non-greasable is going to make a difference in the long run.

If you've got to replace ball joints more than once on any Ranger you've got, you're either driving it A LOT, or you're doing something wrong or outside the expected design criteria. Heck, I've got 80,000 on my 2003 FX4 and everything is still tight on the front end. There isn't a greasable joint on that truck. First time I changed it's oil, I grabbed the grease gun and started walking aroud underneath it.... found nothing to put grease on.

 

[Doofy]

Excellent points, all around! I was just a little disappointed that I couldn't use my new cordless grease gun. Even with 103,000 on my Ranger, everything is still nice and tight.

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

<tisk tisk>...better sell it to me on the cheap

 

[Doofy]

HaHaHa! Actually, still need the grease gun for my F350 Plow Truck. That darn thing must have 50 Zerks on it.