UJ greasing

[Andrew]

Hello. How do you grease UJs on my output shafts. I have just noticed that there are a blanked of grease nipple point on both the UJ but how do you get a grease nipple in there. Can you but long nipples for this and if so where can I get them from. 
 

regards

Andrew

 

 

[Josef]

You can get long grease zerks, I don’t know of a source but the greaseable ujs I have bought came with them.

[Nigel Clark]

Unscrew the blanking plug then it should be possible to screw in a long, slim grease nipple. It's a bit of a fiddle but with the UJ at the right angle, it's possible.

It needs grease nipples like these:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/273761097325?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=pdqb4LrvRVK&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=_AAX02K1SFq&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Use a grease gun with a slim nozzle that simply presses into the nipple.

Nigel

Edited June 26, 2023 by Nigel Clark

[Nigel Clark]

I use an old fashioned great gun like this one:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125958524373?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=bkgfXCT-ToS&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=_AAX02K1SFq&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

It works well for greasing UJs.

Nigel

[Andrew]

Thanks for your advice 

[cliff.b]

What's different about the sealed ones that say they don't need greasing. They are generally more expensive so are they just better made? Seems a relatively small extra cost if you really don't need to grease them.

 

[Pete Lewis]

i guess the lack of grease holes makes a stronger X pin  ????

they are pre greased and greased for life is all controlled by the fit /lack of contaminant and your expectancy of what it meant by life 

we all know that varies and fitting a greaser doesnt mean it will ever get greased due to access problems with a grease gun 

have fun 

Pete

[DanMi]

also even if you have a grease point, probably not all 4 bearings will actually get greased as the grease will follow the path of least resistance

[trigolf]

Speaking to Bailey Morris recently, Andy, their Tech and Support Engineer said that sealed joints have a stronger cross pin as they are not hollow for greasing. 

[cliff.b]

Just wondering if there is a reason anyone would fit one that needs greasing as a replacement?

 

[johny]

well you could hope that the fresh grease youre able to inject pushes out any contamination that might have entered through the seals🤞

[Colin Lindsay]

16 hours ago, cliff.b said:

Just wondering if there is a reason anyone would fit one that needs greasing as a replacement?

 

I did, on the 1200 estate. The trick here is to pregrease the internals off the car, to make sure the cross pin is full of grease. Then fill each cup with grease and as that's fitted, it squeezes the grease down into the cross piece. By the time you're fitting the last cup the grease is coming out of the grease nipple hole. Then just blank that off and you know it's all greased.

[DVD3500]

UJ installation, much like brake installation is full of double-entendres... grease, lube, nipple...

 

[Colin Lindsay]

No-one mentions half-shaft, for some reason.

[DerekS]

Or flange

[cliff.b]

9 hours ago, Colin Lindsay said:

I did, on the 1200 estate. The trick here is to pregrease the internals off the car, to make sure the cross pin is full of grease. Then fill each cup with grease and as that's fitted, it squeezes the grease down into the cross piece. By the time you're fitting the last cup the grease is coming out of the grease nipple hole. Then just blank that off and you know it's all greased.

An excellent thorough job but what made you decide to fit these instead of ones that are supposed to not need greasing? Just interested in any reasoning lol

[Colin Lindsay]

Just now, cliff.b said:

An excellent thorough job but what made you decide to fit these instead of ones that are supposed to not need greasing? Just interested in any reasoning lol

I think I just had them! No doubt purchased at some long-forgotten show or autojumble and sitting on the shelf, or possibly bought online as NOS. Same as the top ball joints on the front suspension, I use greaseable rather than sealed however I've drawn the line at track rod ends and they're sealed, the greaseable ones are still on the shelf. The Herald 13/60 got the Freelander UJs, heavier and sealed, as I expect it to go faster and cover more miles.

[johny]

I think the greasable aspect harks back to the days when grease was prone to deteriorating in use so had to be routinely replenished. Now that grease technology has advanced a lot it lasts as long as the bearings so provision for greasing isnt as necessary...

[cliff.b]

13 hours ago, Colin Lindsay said:

I think I just had them! No doubt purchased at some long-forgotten show or autojumble and sitting on the shelf, or possibly bought online as NOS. Same as the top ball joints on the front suspension, I use greaseable rather than sealed however I've drawn the line at track rod ends and they're sealed, the greaseable ones are still on the shelf. The Herald 13/60 got the Freelander UJs, heavier and sealed, as I expect it to go faster and cover more miles.

Are those the ones from the club shop? If so, that is what I fitted to my drive shaft last year.