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Everything Chassis Lubrication Lube zerk etc

wrchism

Charter Member
SM 2004
SM 2003
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Joined
Feb 21, 2002
Messages
1,339
Location
Greeley, CO
Unless I've missed it, the maintainance schedule doesn't include chassis lube as a regular item. The front suspension has zerks on all points, and there's even one on the front drive shaft spline. The 'recommended lubricants' section of the owner's manual covers these requirements but I didn't see them in the schedule.

If it has a zerk, it seems that it should be lubed - but how often? I sure want to keep things lubed, but my experience also says that excess grease makes a mess as it is squeezed out of the boots on the joints.

Comments please!!!
 
Try not to over fill the boots and you should not have a problem. I did mine a couple months ago and I had trouble with 2 of the zerk fitting. Not sure which ones but I think they were the ones on the centerlink. There was very little room to get the grease gun to fit. I need to change out those 2 fitting to a 90 degree to be able to lube them. You only have about 1" of room to do this.
 
I'm planning on doing my own chassis lubes,but am a novice.I found 11 zerks(with the help of WS6Y2K).Are there more than 11?

One fitting is impossible to reach(only about 1"vertical clearance), and will require an angle coupling on the gun or a 90* zerk.Anyone know what size zerks the Av takes? Thanks! :) :)
 
Lets list the zerk locations . . .

Upper Ball Joints - 2
Lower ball Joints - 2
Steering Arm - 1
Idler Arm - 2
Tie Rod - 4

Thats 11 - isn't there also one on the front prop shaft spline?

Any more ??

 
wrchism,where is the one on the front prop shaft spline(even better,WHAT is the front prop shaft spline)?Is it the drive shaft to the front wheels?...Told you I was a novice! :) :)
Are the zerks 6mm?
 
I bought the 6mm 90* zerk fitting but I have not put them on yet. I will be trying when I do my next oil change. I don't know if they are the right ones. I just to a guess cause they were the only metric that looked the right size.

I think there are 2 more on the front sway bar. I have a 2wd so I don't know about the front prop shaft. I would go under my truck and check but it is setting at the dealer getting fixed :(
 
All right . . . I've just come out from under my Av looking for zerks . . .

I couldn't find any on the front anti-sway bar. Am I missing them somewhere?

frule . . A spline is a slip joint through which power is transmitted - a common example being at the back of the transfer case (or tranny for 2wd) to allow the effective length of the driveshaft to change as the rear suspension moves up and down.

BUT . . I stand corrected - there doesn't seem to be a spline on the front drive shaft of the Av - hence no zerk! The front drive shaft on my S-10 Blazer has a slip spline in the middle of it and a zerk to lube it - my confusion.
 
i'm really interested in changing the oil and doing these lube jobs myself in the future once i've settled into my new home.

two things i ask... would someone have perhaps a picture of these 'zerk' positions you're talking about (and what is a zerk?) and what brand of lubrication do you guys recommend? well, i guess that's really three questions... but who's counting anyway. :)
 
Dom . . .

A 'zerk' is a grease fitting. It has a ball shaped end onto which a grease gun is attached for injecting grease into the joint in question. Just get a flashlight, lie on your back, scoot under the Av, and look at all points that the front suspension / steering moves - tie rods being the easiest to see. You'll see the zerks.

As to what grease to use - good question. I've used synthetic, moly, and lithium based greases in the past with good results - probably ought to see what the General recommends!
 
If you keep your AV greased, it will save you a lot of money and headaches later. Plus, if you do it yourself you know it gets done. :) :)
 
If you keep your AV greased, it will save you a lot of money and headaches later. Plus, if you do it yourself you know it gets done. :) :)
 
Well I'll be . . .

10 does seem to be the right number. I looked as hard as I could, and couldn't find the 11th - that I expected to be on the 'other' end of the idler arm (the end away from the tie rod.

So 10 it is!
 
Ok just changed my oil and found all 11 zerks.
Just like below. The 11th zerk is on top of the ider arm. If you look right in front of the AC you will see what I am talking about. The ider arm has 2 of them. One on top and one on the bottom. The bottom one is the one that you need to change to a 90* zerk. All the others can be done with a grease gun and a flex hose. I did about 2 pumps into each zerk.

11 is the number of zerks ;D
upper ball joints(2)
lower ball joints(2)
center link(2)
tie rods(2)
Pitman arm(1)
idler arm(2) the one on the passenger side right in front of the AC.

aVOLanche said:
Zerk fitting update:
I just got out from under the Av.I changed the zerk on the Pitman arm to a 90 degree.It DOES take 6mm zerks!
?
There are a total of 10(not 11) as best I can tell ;D ;D
upper ball joints(2)
lower ball joints(2)
center link(2)
tie rods(2)
Pitman arm(1)
idler arm(1) ? ?

The one on top of the Pitman arm is just too tight with a std. grease gun (even with a flex hose).That's why I changed it to a "90".Cost 39 cents for a lot less hassle.Now I can hit these with grease every time I change the oil. ;D ;D ;D
 
:rolleyes: :rolleyes: My bad!I said the hard zerk to get to is on the Pitman arm(driver's side).It is not.It's on the idler arm(passenger side)-but on the TOP side of the arm.This one needs to be changed to a 90 degree.

I now see the 2nd zerk on the idler arm coming out the side of the arm and it points toward the driver's side).This one is easy to miss.

One note:Lubrication of these is NOT included in the maintenance intervals.The ONLY mention of the need to lube these zerks is at each oil change.Don't count on the Jiffy lube guys to do this or do it correctly!Your dealer may not do it either! :) :) :)
 
That was my thought exactly. What does the Jiffy Lube guy do? Tell you he can't lube your zerk and you need a 90*, or just stay quite and not lube it. I would question the guy if you get your oil changed at a quick lube place.

 
I just changed my oil for the first time today at 3036 miles and made sure I greased all 11 fittings. I also rotated the tires while I was at it, just makes it easier to get at the grease fittings. The only time I use those quick lube places is in the winter when it's too cold to be crawling on the ground. I like doing the job myself and knowing nothing was overlooked.
 
This may be a dumb question...I am going to buy a greese gun and based on what I have heard from you all...get a 6mm 90% zerk for the difficult guy... Can anyone tell me what I should buy??? I assume I need a gun with a flex nozzle.... I have not done this before so any advise would be appreciated...And what type of greese should I get?? ??? ???

Gary
 
Here's what I did:I got a small pistol-grip grease gun.)the larger ones work fine,but are a bit unwieldy---don't get the lever style).Then I replaced the straight tube with an 18" flex hose(this is really pretty much necessary).

The only problem with the small gun is that it doesn't hold as much grease(but more than enough to do the job-maybe even several times).Also,the small(3 oz)tubes limit the kinds of grease available(i,e.in the 3 oz. tubes).I decide to use Valvoline Dura-Blend (synth blend with moly).So I emptied a tube of the cheap stuff and refilled the tube with the Valvoline taking care to leave no air bubbles).You can also bulk-fill the gun without using a tube).

The 90*,6mm zerk was hard to screw on,but I finally got it.You may want to get a coulple at the dealer(cheap);or even get them to put it on.The lube job is easy.I just don't trust the quick-lube guys and don't want to see the dealer at every oil change! :) :) :)
 
I'm going by memory,but there are 11 fittings.(2)upper ball joints,(2)lower ball joints,(2)idler arm,(4)tie rods/center link,(1)Pitman arm.

Look back through this (Maintenance) forum for a couple of threads on this topic.
 
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