Grease fittings on a PT Cruiser?

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My PT Cruiser looks like it has grease fittings on the lower ball joints. Are they supposed to be greased or are they maintenance free? The owner's manual or service manual doesn't say anything about it. It looks like there's only 2 on the whole vehicle.
 
No. There are no greasable fittings on the PT Cruiser. If the the boots on the front lower ball joints are puking grease, then replace them.
 
I had a caravan that you could replace a plug on the bottom with a greasable fitting. It was just a matter of unscrewing the plug and screwing the fitting in.
 
Originally Posted By: salv
No. There are no greasable fittings on the PT Cruiser. If the the boots on the front lower ball joints are puking grease, then replace them.

Wrong. My girlfriend used to have a 2006 PT Cruiser and it definitely had grease fittings on the lower ball joints. And the car only had 30k miles on it, so they were definitely the factory original joints. If it has grease fittings, then yes, they need to be greased periodically.
 
If the rubber is not dry rotted use a grease needle. You can probably pull this off for 3-5 years.
 
It certainly possible for a car company to swap from one supplier to another with respect to suspension parts. Bottom line is if it has zerk fittings then grease them. Use high quality grease, not dollar store grease. Wipe the zerk first. When you see the rubber start to bulge STOP. More is not better. But it probably does not need grease for a long time from when it was new.
 
Adding grease to the boot does only a very little.
The grease has to get inside the bearing surfaces.
As it turns out, non greasable joints are very good now.
Ones with Zerk fittings are not an automatic upgrade.
If I had fittings, I'd grease them regularly. It is our best bet if we have them.
 
My '01 PT Cruiser has them. I think it may have had something like a break-off plug when new where they filled the joint with grease at the factory. And I think I replaced them with angled grease fittings so I could lube the lower ball joints. It's been 10 years ago so my recollection's a little hazy. I give them a little shot of grease every other oil change or so. 94K miles and no problems. And, yes, that's the only two grease fittings I'm aware of on the vehicle and I've looked.
 
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I greased the lower ball joints today. The boot went from looking like a pancake to a swelled up donut. I don't know if there's any other grease fittings. It was hot outside and I had to take the wheels off to grease them.
 
Originally Posted By: johnsmellsalot
I greased the lower ball joints today. The boot went from looking like a pancake to a swelled up donut. I don't know if there's any other grease fittings. It was hot outside and I had to take the wheels off to grease them.


Too much grease in my book. It may get hot and swell up even more.
 
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Yeah, that sounds like you overgreased them. Once you see any movement in the boot, maybe one or two pumps more should be plenty. Too much grease in the boot can make it tear allowing water in.

Getting the excess out of the boot is a pain as you'd pretty much have to separate the stud from the knuckle and slide the boot up to let the grease come out. It's not worth the bother, so just let it do it's thing and use a little less next time.
 
I have 4 cruisers, they do not come with fittings.

however one can thread a zerk into the bottom of the ball joints and grease them.

note the LCA bushings suck, so most people just replace the whole control arm with a new moog unit( a whole of 70$) and the moogs come with greaseable ball joints.

I just pump them full until the old grease purges itself out of the edge of the rubber boot. Grease em twice a year and the ball joint will last forever.

IMHO the sealed units still stink!
 
Originally Posted By: dwcopple
Originally Posted By: VNTS
I have 4 cruisers, they do not come with fittings.
My '07 did.


And aftermarket lower control arms for PTCs usually come with zerk'd balljoints. Most PTs get new LCAs well before 100k miles because its easier and cheaper than pressing bushings out and back into the original LCA. That rear LCA bushing is one of their weak spots (and yes, I know, there are many weak spots... but my wife still loves hers).
 
Actually it looks like one of the boots popped.
mad.gif
It must have happened when I went over a bump. I guess I'll be replacing ball joints soon...
 
THe stock LCA bushing will fail long before the ball joint LOL


Just buy Moogs when you have to change them.
 
A popped boot doesn't mean you have to replace the joint right away. If you make a habit of greasing it when you do your oil changes and after driving flooded roadways at speed it should last a while. When it gets worn and wants to retire it will make banging noises to let you know. It could have a few years left.
 
Yeah when I had the wheel off, it looked like the lower control arm bushing closest to the rear of the vehicle was tearing.
Originally Posted By: VNTS
I have 4 cruisers, they do not come with fittings.

however one can thread a zerk into the bottom of the ball joints and grease them.

note the LCA bushings suck, so most people just replace the whole control arm with a new moog unit( a whole of 70$) and the moogs come with greaseable ball joints.

I just pump them full until the old grease purges itself out of the edge of the rubber boot. Grease em twice a year and the ball joint will last forever.

IMHO the sealed units still stink!
 
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