Frame.front suspension Greasing

[Kim K Kaiser]

After a few days of driving wo any problems.. i thought about maybe greasing the frame or the front suspension .   There is a grease fitting on the bottom side of each wheel, and a little bolt on the top,  should that little bolt be removed and a fitting put in there to grease the ball joint in there or should it be just left alone and use only the fitting on the bottom side?

i also found the fittings on the two rear ones on the drive shaft, and front shaft area...so i may give those a squirt as well,, i read somewhere recently they should be done around each standard oil change, so that means i have missed two times, maybe that is why i am getting a bounce sort of squeak when i roll in to a speed bump or just a hump in horribly maintained roads.

Sincerely

[3ft7bqmb7dryo]

The upper/lower ball joints, 4 tie rod ends, idler arm, and pitman arm should have zerk fittings.   I usually do it every other oil change.

Hand held grease gun or pneumatic is up to you.  The pneumatic gun has a air driven piston that pushes the grease out the hose.

[Kim K Kaiser]

So far,  ok.  Dnt want to jinx it though.  Will get to the grease fittings,   try to squelch the front end squeeks.i apparentky hv found the lower ball joints,  shoukd i undo that little screw and replace w zerk. ?  Or shoukd ir be left alone and fill onky the lower side?  

[24ro8f5mbs2jc]

Not all ball joints, tie rod rod ends and so on have grease nipples. It depends on the manufacturer. If the nipple is missing it could mean that it has been intentionally removed, never installed or broken off. It might also be the case where there never was a grease nipple on the replacement part. On a 50+ old car the suspension parts can have been replaced several times.

In the manual its stated that upper and lower control arm spherical joints will NOT require further lubrication.

With all the problem you have stated over the last year, my guess is that your car has been through a lot. So don't expect the parts to be original, might very well have been replaced by cheaper and/or inferior parts 10-30 years ago. Parts designed without grease nipples.

If you worry about suspension, then greasing might not be the main problem. Check the upper control arm bushings. They worn fast, most likely faster then the other bushings. Easy to spot if you open the hood. So just check them (both sides). If damaged you need to replace them. I did my car one year ago. Replaced it all with Kanter parts. Was well worth it (except the short threading on the Kanter rear shocks).

A picture a damaged rubber bushing on the steel links for the stabilizer bar:

Worn rubber bushing on stabilizer bar:

Very worn upper control arm bushing:

Replacing the upper control arm bushing by pressing on the shaft:

My advise to you Kim is to check all of the front and rear bushings, joints, yokes and so on. If not replaced by you and if you have no knowledge when they were replaced then that should tell you that they would most likely need to be replaced. Its not very difficult. Order the full kit from Kanter or some other source. Lift the car. Remove one side at the time. Buy a smart bushing removal/fitting tool kit or pass by your local repair shop and have them remove and install the bushings and joints in the control arms for you.

Then take the car to the shop for a good alignment.

[24ro8f5mbs2jc]

Check this thread:

http://6364cadillac.ning.com/forum/topics/rubber-gone-from-upper-co...