how to grease a ball valve

He also said there could be control arm bushing damage that isn’t visible from the outside. Check here for more information about the best grease for ball joints. The tech we spoke to at Moog recommended just a few pumps and to stop once there is any swelling in the boot. PVC ball valves are installed in water supply lines for household water use and sometimes in garden watering systems. Make sure you can watch to dust boot while you are pumping grease, because once it begins to swell you are done and pumping beyond this point could damage the seal. 2. h��Xmo7�+����w�N� �e'>$��v��-��bo�Eeɐ�u���9�W�����ŠoCr83|��uZ�Z8�Et�1J�VH�*K#�H�AHSGT��N�L-���1R��G ��GEe ��רXTV6N��I�];lj�����(��V8[�56��*ԣ�Z-tĆ�a�#+� �u��4�Q14� t6 If possible, operate the valve and determine its’ condition. Say you’re taking your 4×4 axle deep in mud every weekend; you may want to grease those ball joints a little more often. Pump a little grease out of the grease gun before attaching the it to the zerk fitting to make sure its charged, then just pump once or twice. Anyone else have another trick for a ball joint that won’t take grease? That’s understandable. If you’re using a manual grease gun, you could try a powered grease gun to flush out whatever is in that ball joint. That’s a bummer about the low clearance. Which grease you should use depends on a few factors but basically any grease rated “GC-LB” by the NLGI (National Lubricating Grease Institute) is graded to work for all your chassis lubrication needs, including ball joints. This is the safest course of action since there is less chance that you will break the seal between the boot and the ball joint. Unless you’re hearing some groaning from the ball joint when you turn or your steering gets a little sticky as, you can safely assume there is some grease on that bearing. Flushing, greasing, and operating ball valves on a regular basis will improve performance – by reducing seat to ball seizure 8. Challenges in valve reliability Many types of valves – including ball, gate, butterfly and wedge – are used in the oil and gas industry as control valves, requiring accurate and repeatable response. This style of grease fitting is usually necessary since a standard zerk would break off against another component during operation of the vehicle. Grease is good for noise and maintenance but no amount of it will bring a failed ball joint back to life. In order to re-grease the joint I would have to pull the axle out and unscrew a plug then screw in a grease fitting, Then put it all back together with the plug installed where the grease fitting was. So if my current ball joint is not greaseable, is there a way I can add a grease fitting? Brochure GROVE B4, B5, and B7 Side-Entry Ball Valves Cameron GROVE side-entry ball valves are manufactured in a wide range of diameters and pressure classes. Keep some pressure on the coupler to make sure the seal is tight. * Some ball joints have a grease relief valve that will allow old grease to safely exit the ball joint without compromising the seal. Inspect the O-rings. Ball valves have winged handles -- usually red or blue -- that turn a ball inside the valve body to close off the water flow inside the pipes. WARNING! With no where for the grease to go you will have a hard time getting any into that ball joint even with a grease zerk installed. Don’t use substandard hoses. Exchanging grease in a grease gun is a pain so you’re balancing the cost against the time and effort. Procedure After valve is tested and drift is set, it will be prepared to have the body cavity greased. Some say you should continue greasing until you see grease ooze around the boot but maintaining that seal is important so we opt for the safer route. 631 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<802EE11F821FEB4CA3CACC345703E43A>]/Index[612 56]/Info 611 0 R/Length 100/Prev 202079/Root 613 0 R/Size 668/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream One of the easiest tricks is to treat the zerk like a cap. Hey, thanks a million. The techs I’ve spoken to at Moog say that “people tend to add more grease than necessary”. The ball valve is the manual isolation valve fitted upstream of a PSV, and is used to isolate the PSV from the first stage separator. This can be tricky so we advise caution. We would love to see some pictures. This is awesome information but what if you have the new ball joints with the integrated dust boot? Some humans! It really makes detaching the grease gun and the zerk much easier. If the hole is a size that is concerning you one fix we’ve heard is using liquid weather stripping adhesive to paint the hole which should give you a pretty reliable seal. Just curious, has anyone managed to tear one of the integral dust boots on one of Moog’s ball joints? Probably not a good idea for someone driving through snow and salt on an annual basis. Without a good seal between the grease gun nozzle and the zerk I’m not sure you would be able to push the grease between the stud and bearing, it’s just going to come back at you. Moog has manufactured some creative offset zerk placements for ball joints in tight quarters, but there doesn’t appear to be one for the CRV. I appreciate the time and effort that went into it. Valve Lubricant 601 TM is a fully hydrocarbon resistant valve grease approved by 6 major valve OEM’s, and has an impressive track record of performance. Does your steering excessively wander on it’s own? 3. Wipe up any excess valve grease immediately. Next, attach the grease gun to the zerk fitting. The grease is pumped into the seat area then squirts out and spreads between the seat and closure member, creating a thin, leak-sealing film. I lube at every oil change: at 5000 miles. They can be a real pain since they require a special grease needle for lubrication, but here are some quick tips for a female U Joint zerk: Does anyone else know of any tips or tricks for a U Joint or other greaseable suspension parts? Grease should be pumped into the ball cavity with the valve in the open position. I have replaced all the other front suspension joints (tie rods, idler arm, pitman arm) with Moog and have a set of Moog ball joints ready to go when needed. Is my ball joint ruined now? can I use Graphite grease (Liqui Moly 47) for the ball joints& tie rods end? If you’re burying the axles in mud on a regular basis then any kind of hole or tear could allow contaminants to enter the boot. Tapping a ball joint means drilling a hole in the cover plate, using a “tap” to create threads in the hole, and screwing a zerk into it. If there isn’t any adverse handling problems or excessive noise coming from the ball joint then it might not need grease that badly, so you might consider taking the manufacture’s word that it doesn’t need periodic grease and just replace the ball joint when problems do arise. You can use these same tools and our post about how to grease tie rod ends with a zerk fitting to lubricate another sealed suspension component on your vehicle. It’s been two days now and my tire is making a clunking sound, like something is in my rim. Pump slowly until the boot begins to swell. Also, are there different sized zerks for each ball joint? ... Ball Valve Oilers; Part No: I changed fitting w/ no results What have I done wrong? Haha, I love your response! For example, not only is it rated for incidental food contact but it’s also Kosher Certified. Make sure your grease gun is fully connected to the zerk. There are a few ways that you can keep the boot completely intact. Be sure to add just a few drops and spread it carefully onto the valve with a cloth. Any suggestions ? thank you. Great question and one of the biggest issues most folks have with this method. We would love to hear about any success stories or helpful hints that you’ve uncovered. While it is possible to drill and tap a zerk fitting into a sealed ball joint, this is generally not advised. Like we said, the process is really easy and if you want to give this simple DIY a try, DST offers a Grease Gun Combo that includes all the tools we used in this article. When using a needle attachment if you pump too much grease into the boot the seal can break. The seal that holds that grease in the ball joint can be compromised if too much pressure is applied. Video Double Block and Bleed vs. In the end, his suggestion was taking the vehicle to an auto tech (mechanic) if the problem isn’t obvious. Very well written with clear and concise instructions. B70Sis a synthetic ball valve lubricant designed to provide enhanced resistance to hydrocarbon fluids and gases, sour service, CO2, acids and completion fluids. This is a rule of thumb and a maintenance suggestion which can vary depending on many circumstances. Failure to keep the ball fully open during installation could cause damage to the valve. when bouncing and underneath the car, it seems like the squeaking could be from the actual pivots on the control arm bushings. We had a similar question come up regarding grease for tie rod ends which is a similar part and you might find the response helpful. Good luck! If you’ve already cleared the zerk fittings by either pumping grease through them or boiling out the old hard grease then you might have a severe issue within the ball joint itself. After the second pump you could be causing undue pressure on the seal holding that grease inside the ball joint and blowing the grease seal does much more harm than not adding new grease since the grease you do have will ooze out as the suspension travels. Thanks. A Grease Gun – We suggest a manually powered grease gun that will put you in direct control of how much grease goes in and allow you to “feel” any resistance that the ball joint might be giving while you grease it. Open valve with 1 inch opening in bore. This is a trick that others have tried with good results. 'Ao����,k� ���j�H��1�4���K�e��K�e�q��x��u�s�x����,���em�����#�y�b�Ճ�E����|^����EnG^�V\��2�SZ��5�y�p��ٱ�ñ|(��g��l���B�#���*�f}t9g9�K�]я��ůe?�W��#�'�yy=U�gyU���2E��l'���b��ߢG���_���R�?�5��o߾�[ܯng�{���~�ubX�֥�}. As a GC-LB rated grease Super Lube can be used for ball joints or chassis parts, but you’re paying for a lot of extra that you probably don’t need. On gear operated valves, ... compatibility of injected grease with the valve components and the medium in the line. If it isn’t exhibiting signs of premature failure then your noise is probably not being caused by the ball joint. Determine the number of sealant injection ports on the valve seats. i just replaced my front right ball joint on honda crv 2005 but the mechanic lost the valve where you insert the gun to add grease. Very useful and detailed information. All of the tools that were used in this how-to are part of DST’s Grease Gun Combo if you want to give this project a try. Not sure which. There is no reason to use a powered grease gun for this application. This method will buy a noisy ball joint some time, but if you notice excessive vibration, a “clunking” sound, or you drift to one side while driving then you probably have a failed ball joint. Remember, you’re only greasing the metal to metal surface of the ball joint which is easily done with 1 shot of grease. If you have any questions please contact the customer service experts at suspension.com or leave them in the comments section below. While that may seem like overkill, using quality ball joint grease is much cheaper than replacing a ball joint. We appreciate the appreciation Stephen. B70 is a Standard Service ball valve lubricant. If you find that you have a failed ball joint we offer Moog upper and lower ball joints for many makes and models. The primary seal in older lubricated plug valves is metal-to … Transfer Equipment. If you are not careful you could easily be using the rag to wipe blood off of the needle (like I did making this article). Most replacement ball joints should be properly greased before you ever open the box, but if the ball joint has a zerk fitting then it should be able to accept and flush grease and any extra should be icing on the cake. In any case, keep fighting the good fight of grease maintenance and may you be blessed with many more miles of smooth and quiet driving. Is there a lot of vibration from the front when you drive? Thanks for the comments and good on you for keeping up the grease maintenance. Has anybody else tried this grease on their ball joints or tie rod ends before with good results? Lastly, wipe any excess grease away from the zerk and dust boot. Joking aside, you’re likely paying almost 4X more for Super Lube than you would for a grease that we recommend (Lucas X-Tra Heavy Duty) which is designed specifically for chassis and articulating automotive parts on farm and heavy duty vehicles. two questions, one is all the reviews on the needles half the people say they break is that from like a stick or they bust from pushing too much pressure of grease thru them? In those cases it’s best to pump till old grease oozes out of the valve. This will A) keep dirt and debris from collecting around the joint and B) allow any leakage to show up more quickly later down the road. Detach the coupler from the fitting. If this happens you will be replacing that part sooner than later. And that is how a sealed ball joint can be safely lubricated. Hope this answered your questions Charles, and thanks for bringing this up. Nobody has examined this newsletter but? If you decide you want to add more grease then don’t overdo it. Used in many hydrocarbon process applications, ball valves are capable of throttling gases and vapors and are especially useful for low-flow situations. If you’re sure it’s connected well and grease is still escaping from around the zerk fitting make sure the coupler is as flush as possible against the zerk. Now just reinstall the zerk and you should be able to get some grease into your part. As for your question, our resident mechanic said that he would probably not go to the trouble of jacking up the vehicle just to service the ball joints. * If you have a rough commute or hit the trails on the weekend then take your vehicle out on some similar terrain and check the joints afterward. In upstate NY we have much snow and salt with temp changes and water can be drawn into the joint as it cools in wet weather. So your mechanic lost the grease zerk? Second, it’s a 99 Land Cruiser to which original lower ball joints and control arms. The grease injection fitting was a screwed fitting in the ball valve, for grease injection into the downstream seat of the valve. endstream endobj startxref * If the nozzle of the grease gun hasn’t connected to the zerk then grease will ooze from between the zerk and the grease gun. Please leave them in the comments section at the bottom of the page or if you have questions you can contact the customer service folks at suspension.com. Hello, can put a link or name of what kind of seal or tape to use in order to cover the injection hole on the boot?? In production, transportation and processing, these valves must deliver reliable performance – often in severe service environments, handling You can use a grease zerk needle attachment to get past the dust boot and pump some grease into that ball joint. 2. The use and driving conditions of your vehicle can play a part here. Or just until you see old grease come through and wipe away as necessary as it is pushed out during normal driving? How do you re-seal the hole created by the needle in the non-greasable ball joint boot so the grease does not leak out of the new void? What are your thoughts? I dont care for the needle puncture grease job idea. Lastly, take the vehicle around the block or down a dirt road if that’s your daily commute. Liqui Moly 47 appears to be a lithium/petroleum grease with a molybdenum disulfide additive and an NLGI 2 rating which makes it about on par with many chassis grease options. Does anyone have any other helpful tips or tricks for easy lubrication of a ball joint with a zerk fitting? %PDF-1.7 %���� This is a method for greasing ball joints that do not have zerk fittings and it’s not really advised to puncture the dust boots since this could potentially allow grease to escape and contaminates to enter the joint, but getting a little grease in there to prime the pump might loosen up the joint enough to allow you to use the installed zerk fitting. Does anyone else want to weigh in on the “benefits vs risk” issue of greasing sealed ball joints with a zerk needle? Most manufactureres use sealed ball joints that do not come with grease zerk fittings. If a non-leaking ball valve is lubricated with an adhesive grease/sealant, the floating, spring loaded seats can become stuck within their seat pockets. You can try measuring or buying several sizes and trying them out until one fits. h�b``�b``:�������A���8X8�X �� �"�� Annual main- Working parts and lubricant areas of plug, ball and gate valves, presented from the operator and maintenance point of view. So, less is more… unless there’s a reason to use more. [;T0�������*�Nk"�a�^פ*����?�XM�_U�����/�����)�旋�~~�����dqY:���8}��:^���� Do I need to loosen anything? 5. The ball valve is an inexpensive alternative to other valves. Thanks agin. %%EOF So maybe I have been lucky with the original parts, or my process has helped. Hope this was helpful and thanks for the question Fred. endstream endobj 613 0 obj <>/Metadata 137 0 R/Pages 610 0 R/StructTreeRoot 255 0 R/Type/Catalog/ViewerPreferences 633 0 R>> endobj 614 0 obj <>/MediaBox[0 0 612 792]/Parent 610 0 R/Resources<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI]/XObject<>>>/Rotate 0/StructParents 0/Tabs/W/Type/Page>> endobj 615 0 obj <>stream Also the grease could turn into a hard deposit and obstruct the valve from operating. You might give them a call and talk to their techs since they look for problems like this so they can offer an aftermarket solution. If you’re trying to flush out old grease or debris then pumping until the boot swells will push the junk down away from the bearing, but if the boot does not have a release valve of some kind you could bust the seal between the joint and the boot with too much grease. Here at DST we suggest Lucas X-TRA Heavy Duty Grease because it’s a great option that is rated for use on chassis parts… and we sell it as part of our Grease Gun Combo . THANK YOU! First, some dust boots can actually be lifted away from the housing of the ball joint enough to insert the needle between them, so you can get around sticking the boot. Also we sell these lubricants . As with any part with a dust boot, you should check the boot. Ball joint maintenance is important for the longevity of the part and, consequently, the steering of your vehicle so throwing a little grease their way can pay you back handsomely. I have Lucas Xtra also, but swapping out greases in my gun is a pain…purging old grease, priming new….so I was hoping to be able to just use one or the other. Simply cover the area with the adhesive and be sure to follow the instructions and safety precautions. Please leave any comments or questions in the comments section at the bottom of the page. Gas Valve Grease online at BES.co.uk. You might check out this comment about chassis grease ratings for some related information. Another solution we mentioned in the trouble shooting section of the article involved using weather stripping adhesive to cover the hole left by the needle. Excellent article! Do Not open valve too far. Each grease If the stud of the ball joint is visibly moving up and down in the housing then your ball joint could be close to failure. I’m glad I found this I’m going to try this weekend. Taking pressure off of the ball joint can allow the grease to get through when it wouldn’t otherwise. I guess the short answer is – Yes, it’s good for ball joints, but it’s probably too good. I have always jacked up my vehicle to take the weight of the vehicle off the ball joints when I lubed the ball joints. If you’ve got an off-road vehicle and you’ve sunk the axles in mud over the weekend then you might want to try and push out anything that might have wormed it’s way past the dust boot during extreme articulation. This will serve you better and longer and many brands will actively repel water. 0 In regard to your other question, the most common sizes are 1/8″ and 1/4″ but, there are a few different sizes of zerk fittings so you won’t know which size is on your particular ball joint unless a) the manufacturer has it listed or b) you measure the zerk yourself. Unless you’re worried that you’ve picked up some dirt or debris in that upper joint you should be fine just giving the joint two pumps for maintenance. In any case, tapping a sealed ball joint generally has more risks than the rewards are worth, so you’re better off sticking with the original as is unless it’s showing signs of wear. As a stop-gap measure this should stretch the life span of your ball joint. Did you have the alignment checked after the install. A pinprick shouldn’t cause you much trouble, but 2) What kind of driving are you doing? This seems to be the only way.. You lose the ability to “feel” when the joint begins to resist the pressure and there is no better way to blow a seal than a powered grease gun. Now with Moog’s servicable ball joints it’s recommended that you refresh the grease around the same time you get your oil changed. Hope this helps and you get everything squared away, but if all else fails you may just need to replace those ball joints when they start getting loose. Using a flex hose makes the puncturing of the boot easier and keeps pressure off the needle while it’s in the boot to keep the hole small. Attach the coupler to the valve fitting and then slowly inject the lube sealant directly into the valve. Detach the coupler from the fitting. ��:�zf��F���V��.�ήn6vN�!�>�a�A�~��^1�)I ѩ��i�q��QY�9��E��y�%�e�uU� �M-��嵍�m5팜���b�BrҊR�j�J2��*�&�Zܼ���d� �p30��҂@��� ������s"� �KL���3}p�`:e��B�DˉdF�%rL@(d��D(� �A$�� QF�� Q �"��h�L3BI`Dg��1��a@��LP� �e��D�|�M��X����M?�6�@��������*�0*%�?���H��)�8;25�;����PG�X��DE]PWIFMYJ^ZQHNLUT\BRAXVh}+��p ��� \ wd7�đ�� M5v� Don’t use an automotive grease gun to inject sealants and lubricants into ball valves. Now, you want to clean off the zerk to avoid any contaminates following the grease inside. No more than a few pumps should be necessary. If you’ve already ruled out the zerk fitting then you might jack your truck up on whichever side your having problems and try greasing that lower ball joint again. For best results, first inject Sealweld Valve Cleaner Plus, then leave in the valve for 30 - 40 minutes (up to 8 hours for problem valves). I am still on the original ball joints on my heavy (9500 lb) 2006 Chevy Express conversion van with 120k miles. h�bbd```b``���+��=ɹ,>LJ�H�F0�Ln��I�.��`�fi�H2^��%A$�I��&����#�g�жaB�g`�z � ��� Again, it’s pretty unlikely that the ball joint is causing your noises unless it has a factory defect, but it would be a good idea to check. Moog offers premium upper and lower ball joints for many vehicles, and they usually come with a grease zerk fitting among other advantages over OEM replacements. Usually when grease injection pressure is too low, the injected grease flows into the bottom of the valve cavity, which usually occurs in small gate valves. The upper ball joints are followers and non-load bearing like the lowers so you should be fine to grease them without lifting your 4Runner, no loosening required. If you want to be able to consistently lubricate your ball joints buying one that already has a zerk fitting installed is the best option. Ball valves use a metal ball with a hole bored through the center, sandwiched between two seats to control flow. 667 0 obj <>stream Next, remove the burner from the valve that requires lubrication. If the leak originates from the base … I would also check those boots to see if they have a grease release valve. After unplugging both zerk fittings on ball joints I still cannot get any grease to the ball joints on 2000 Ford F-150.
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