Originally Posted by mattd
Originally Posted by Kestas
Rust is an issue here. I always butter them with antiseize. I don't see a downside to it.
You don't see an issue? The point of a tapered assembly is friction fit. You add a lubricant or anti seize then you are defeating the purpose of the assembly. If/when the joint spins in the taper while going down the road it will wear the taper out quickly and you'll end up with sloppy steering and make the repair you made previously twice as expensive
With that mentality you might as well put brake grease on the face of the brake rotors when doing a brake job.
Maybe. The joint will not spin at the taper while driving unless the ball-joint in it is already shot, (or you couldn't get it to the right torque spec because it was spinning in the hole so it was loose the whole time). and related to that is it "could" make it more difficult to get off the next time you replace it because the stud just spins the ball instead of breaking the nut free, then you may need to cut or grind the stud off to remove it... which isn't all that big a deal, but the point is it would be extra worth to lube the tapered stud then could end up extra work again later, two additional amounts of work without benefit and possible detriment if attention is not paid to details.
Do also use sandpaper or a wire reamer brush to clean out the mating hole the tapered stud fits into.