Inexpensive Ball Joints - Put GREASE In Them First!

Inexpensive Ball Joints - Put GREASE In Them First!

While the title mentions ball joints specifically, I've realized this applies to most everything mechanical I've ever purchased from the cheapanese: Thoroughness of assembly and lubrication are severely lacking!

Case in point, these GES brand ball joints. They look good, feel good, and certainly are very inexpensive. But when I got this crazy idea in my head to double check these before install, my jaw dropped wide open! And in that same moment, I realized I shouldn't be surprised at all. I've had to disassemble, grease, and reassemble everything else I've ever bought. Why not these, too?

I read a short review about these GES parts being crappy and the ball joints becoming extremely stiff within a couple of months. So much so the guy replaced them with a different brand right away.

What's the point of saving money if it results in spending again and doing the work again?

It turns out the trick is to disassemble, liberate, and reassemble. Apply that to everything, even things like cordless drills, and you'll be amazed at how much longer they last.

Yes, it's a pain in a$$, but do yourself a favor and take off those rubber boots and fill up the grease before installing those new ball joints.

I strongly recommend going with the high quality lubricants!

It's the only thing keeping the metal pieces sliding smoothly!

I thought the point of the grease needle was to slid under the boot where the spring (like shown in the above picture) is to inject grease, not damage the boot by putting a hole in it.

Adding grease in there may help but I doubt it will do much, that's not where to force is and the grease will just be floating around. It definitely isn't going to hurt nor is it a bad idea, and it may keep contamination out more and provide more life in that way but I doubt it will help in the way you are thinking.

It is annoying having non greasable ball joints. I much rather add some grease to ball joints to maintain them over time over the "lifetime, never have to add grease" versions. That I think is one of the issues/annoyance.

Not that we get much of a choice in the LCA.

And I'm sure the actual quality it lower then OEM and whatever grease that is in them is also likely low quality.

Puncturing a hole in the boot results in losing the grease fairly quickly. So don't do that.

I took the boot off only on the first one to check everything out. On the others, I only removed the top clip and used a needle tip on the grease gun.

The two tie rod ends actually did have grease zirk fittings, but none of the rest did.

All of the joints were very, very, hard to move before I added grease to them. It does make a difference. You can see the top of the ball in the in the photo without the rubber boot. The grease rubbing against it during movement will make it last longer.

I wouldn't be surprised if the grease that comes in them is only for corrosion prevention or just for assembly purposes. There may be additional shipping requirements for items containing hazmat materials such as grease and oil. It would make sense to keep costs a liabilities down this way.

Technically, the only complaint I have with the vendor is the lack of warning labels to fill with grease first.

Ever buy an A\C compressor? They're usually very well marked with a label that says you must fill it with oil before use.

By the way, I've now checked every ball joint in the pictured kit. Not one was filled with grease. Not even the tiny ones.

Well new ball joints should be hard to move by hand.

I'm willing to bet all have grease on the other side of the joint that you can't see. In the case of the ones with grease fittings I'm sure if you took one off you would see grease there. If there was zero grease they wouldn't last a week and would sound terrible.

There is zero chance they do this due to shipping.

They are just being cheap. Or there's really no need for all the grease.

Only way you would ever know for sure would be to grease one and leave the other. See which wears out first. Hardly scientific enough to really prove anything but it's a start.

Either way adding grease definitely can't hurt. Unless you add too much and ballon the boot. Some people love to do that for some reason.

Yes, new joints are expected to be snug and tight, requiring some effort to move. But before I greased these I literally had to use pliars to get them to move.

After greasing them, they felt like most other new joints I've used over the last 30 years.

As for using too much grease and ballooning the boot, at best it could help force it to the far side of the joint during movement. But only if the boot is strong enough to hold it in. But it's more likely just going to make a mess with grease oozing out.

The rubber boots on these joints are very weak. I was rather disappointed at how easily it tore and punctured (but not surprised).

That seems to be my cumulative experience with things made in China over the last 20 years. IF I've wanted it to work decently and last at all:

- Disassemble

- Lubricate

- Reassemble

And if going the extra mile, change out the cheap rubber or consumable parts (like drive belts, rubber hoses, vacuum lines, spark plugs, oil, etc.) with quality stuff.

For example, those low-end 250cc motor scooters, or a belt driven drill press, or an exercise bike\elliptical machine, are just three items where having done this at the beginning resulted in it working far better and lasting years longer than the ones I didn't.

That's my whole point in sharing this post. For those having to go cheap on the parts quality, if they'll just add decent grease to them before installation, they should have better results and service life.

Attached Photo: Shows before filling it with grease (both sides of same ball joint) and after.

Grease only comes out when the boot is full. The customers with no money to replace noisy but not loose front end parts get the needle treatment. The clips prevent sliding the needle in so you have to poke a tiny hole. It does not do any harm aside from the hole.

I've seen 2 month old parts fail because they were not greased. The lubrication makes a huge difference in longevity.

Grease only comes out when the boot is full. The customers with no money to replace noisy but not loose front end parts get the needle treatment. The clips prevent sliding the needle in so you have to poke a tiny hole. It does not do any harm aside from the hole.

 

I've seen 2 month old parts fail because they were not greased. The lubrication makes a huge difference in longevity.

Buying quality parts also helps longevity... Moogs are only like $25.00

Inexpensive Ball Joints - Put GREASE In Them First!

Don't even buy them - I made that mistake once and less than a year later I had to replace them even though they were greased.

Do it right the first time. They are plenty of aftermarket options available that have a good warranty and reputation.

My time is money, if I have to change something out even once for a defect or issue, I lost a lot more than I saved. We forget sometimes that our time is worth more than the part!

Buying quality parts also helps longevity... Moogs are only like $25.00

And OEM's are not much more. I just got OEM ball joints for $32 shipped with castle nut and cotter pins. When it's 2x I'll consider aftermarket but when it's only a few bucks then OEM all the way.

With our front ball joints you can't have greaseable ball joints, so I wonder if Moogs would last long at all, since they require the most amount of greasing usually (due to very non water tight boot design).

My Mevotech ball joints started to fail due to crappy boot design, the ball joint it self was probably fine.

I agree: rubber boot quality makes a big difference in longevity.

So much so, I've gotten in the habit of spraying tire shine (rubber cleaner\protectant) on all suspension boots. Does wonders for CV boots especially.