Could someone tell me how much grease is supposed to be pumped into the grease fittings? How do you know if you've pumped in too much or not enough?

Thanks so much, and yes I've searched for related topics first before posting.

I don't think you can pump too much grease into the front end fittings. I pump new grease in until some old grease is forced out, wipe off the excess and call it good. It should be done at every engine oil change.

Don't over-grease the ball-joints. You will pop the boot. Two or three pumps periodically should be fine for these.

Thanks guys!

I don't think you can pump too much grease into the front end fittings. I pump new grease in until some old grease is forced out, wipe off the excess and call it good. It should be done at every engine oil change.

I've been told that for grease fittings with boots, you only pump in grease till the boot starts to expand. Then stop or you'll pop or damage the rubber boot.:)



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Do Not Pop the boots
Normally a 1/2 pump gets new grease into the important part.

NEVER, pump more than a squirt or 2.

Is there a good way to get info on where to find all the grease fittings

check out this for location of all the grease fittings w/pictures

http://www.gm-trucks.com/IAR_zerks.shtml

Like everyone else said, don't pop the ball joints! I hate it when our operators pop the ball joints on the Hummers out here. I have to replace one tomorrow! As far as the other fittings go, just fill until clean grease comes out.

I've gotten a headache from searching through threads. Should the weight be off the wheels when lubing?? Can't seem to find mention of that anywhere.

I've gotten a headache from searching through threads. Should the weight be off the wheels when lubing?? Can't seem to find mention of that anywhere.

You can if you like. You're going to find that the lower ball joint is only accessable when the wheels are turned left or right, depending on the side.

I saved these pics of the 11 grease zerks from a long lost thread (#7 is the tough one to get):

Tom, Thanks for the help! I'm getting much of the great info on this site stored away in my computer but couldn't find anything on the above. Thanks!

When the boot starts to expand, you are done with that fitting.

What TYPE of grease should be used for this? I am getting ready for some maintenance this weekend and want to get the right stuff!

Thanks.

the red mobil 1 sythetic is what im going to be using

I use the Schaeffer #238 Moly Supreme.
Theres no set amount of pumps to use when greasing the ball joints. Just pump in enough to expand the boot a reasonable amount. Don't pump grease untill the boot is hard or when grease comes out of the boot or you will unseal the boot which will then allow future dirt to enter the ball joint.

I don't think you can pump too much grease into the front end fittings. I pump new grease in until some old grease is forced out, wipe off the excess and call it good. It should be done at every engine oil change.

I'm embarressed :o: to say that this is the way that I have always lubed the front end on my truck. I'm sure that most of mine are popped....but they are full of grease. Do they need to be changed (can they be fixed) or will they still function? and is this just the ball joint boot or all of the grease spots?

As cold weather is setting in, the manual stated that ( I believe ) the lower ball joints should not be greased when the temp was less then 40* or they could be damaged. When I get home I will varify that unless someone else here has those facts

On Edit:
The manual states that you shouldn't grease your ball joints when temps are not above 10*F . I can't speak for everyone but I'm pretty certain that my balls would be damaged if I were laying under my truck at less than 10* so I'm thinking this is good advice

My #7 zerk was eliminated with the Supersteer idler support bracket. It's a sealed unit. The rest are easily accessible.

Nothing but Schaeffer's lubes in my truck.