Originally Posted by Mark in Va

Thanks for taking the time to do this!! Very interesting!

But....I have to wonder if adding grease to this type of ball joint will measurably prevent or delay wear and tear.
I'm thinking that it's the unsprung weight of the wheels, tires, axle assembly, etc. and harsh use that is causing these to wear quickly.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think any amount of grease will prevent that polymer cup of the lower ball joint from being beaten up.
One benefit I could see would be that it may be possible to push out or displace any moisture that could have entered the joint. That could only happen if the grease was allowed to expell from around the lip of the seal though.

I'd like to see the "guts" of the Crown joints as well...I wish I had an old one to send you...

Anything on the Dynatrac joints yet? Last I checked they were not available yet and they were crazy expensive?

Here's a link to good info on ball joints for everyone...

http://www.aa1car.com/library/ball_joints.htm

Thanks again for doing this and opening the discussion!

Originally Posted by Mark in Va

Thanks for taking the time to do this!! Very interesting!

But....I have to wonder if adding grease to this type of ball joint will measurably prevent or delay wear and tear.I'm thinking that it's the unsprung weight of the wheels, tires, axle assembly, etc. and harsh use that is causing these to wear quickly.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think any amount of grease will prevent that polymer cup of the lower ball joint from being beaten up.
One benefit I could see would be that it may be possible to push out or displace any moisture that could have entered the joint. That could only happen if the grease was allowed to expell from around the lip of the seal though.

I'd like to see the "guts" of the Crown joints as well...I wish I had an old one to send you...

Anything on the Dynatrac joints yet? Last I checked they were not available yet and they were crazy expensive?

Here's a link to good info on ball joints for everyone...

http://www.aa1car.com/library/ball_joints.htm

Thanks again for doing this and opening the discussion!

Originally Posted by ronjenx

As far as I know, ball joints have had some type of plastic liner in them for decades.
Grease is applied to them at the factory for a reason.
Grease-able ball joints last a lot longer. The grease-able ones on my XJ never wore out in 186K miles/14 years.
Grease will expel from around the bottom of the joint.

I added these words to the original post, and edited the 4th picture of the lower ball joint:

There isn't room for a regular zerk fitting because the u-joint yokes will hit. At least that's the case on my Rubicon axle. A flush fitting would work. Here is one source: h**p://www.saeproducts.com/flush-grease-fittings.html

Originally Posted by Hellbound13

Really there seems to be plenty of room for a zerk on my u joint? Obviously you would need an angled one though to get the grease gun on.

Originally Posted by Suffolk JK

Would you like my old ball joints? I put in the Crowns last week. You PM'd me about it, haven't gotten around to it, but since you want to disect ones which have EVO C gussets installed, like I do, I would like to know if the plastic melted inside. Had the EVOs welded on about 10k ago.

Originally Posted by ronjenx

A vacuum cleaner with a small nozzle placed next to the drilling/tapping site.

Originally Posted by RedneckJeep

You don't have to do that. All you need to do is fill the drill bit flutes in with axle grease. The chips will stick to it like a magnet. Do the same with the tap as well. Done it like that for years. Works good.