If you read my posts carefully you will see that I only do it if the bjoint is not loose and just has a bad boot letting in water and dirt. Clean it up, lube it and install a new boot and you are good to go. It is surprising if you do it as soon as you see a crack in the boot how often the balljoint is still nice and tight.

And no under these circumstances I don't fear it coming apart at all.

Tom W

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

You must be buying gold-plated ball joints. The fact is that a boot kit from the dealer is almost as expensive as a complete ball joint from a discount house. The savings on the parts are in the $10-15 range.

How much you paying for a boot kit?

and how much for an alignment?

Tom W

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

"The FSM is written for dealers. " TW

While I could dispute that since I don't think it is true...

I think I will pose these questions instead :

Do you understand that the zerk fitting is going to have a little bit of grease outside of the spring loaded ball....and that is a great grit catcher ?

Do you understand that the tie rod ends and ball joints are in constant motion while the car is moving ?

Do you understand the amount of force being applied to those joints ?

Can you understand that any grit in those joints is going to stay there unless forced out by the next greasing .... and that may include new grit from the same place on the zerk fitting ?

Do you understand that the more play in those parts the more the tires wear ?

Do you understand that when one part in a system wears excessively it puts extra strain on the other parts ...and increases their rate of wear ?

Do you understand that cleanliness is next to mechanical eternalness ? I made that up...

"Oh, BTW, do you know of examples of folks actually putting in the zerks and removing them and replacing the plugs? It seems unlikely to me that that ever happened............very often."-TW

I do it regularly on farm equipment... because it makes mechanical sense... cleanliness and longevity go hand in hand... the harsher the environment the more little things like that count... a lot easier to do that than change out the part....

http://www.chuckschevytruckpages.com/lubepoints.html

that site shows another reason... to keep them from getting broken off in certain places..I am sure more references can be found because I did not make this concept up..

This site mentions something which is hard to find these days... a zerk fitting CAP...to accomplish the same thing.. keep from pushing grit into the ball joint ( a tie rod end is a ball joint also )...

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:fFL_OHRsYjsJ:www.jksmfg.com/support/install_qrd_pn3100_3104.pdf+zerk+fittings+install+to+grease+remove&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=28&gl=us&client=firefox-a

I have two trucks, two tractors a bulldozer, and back hoe, all of which require almost daily greasing due to severe use. As a result I spend a lot of time with my grease gun. To keep grime from getting washed into the joint all that is required is to wipe the joint carefully before applying. If it's really dirty, you can spray a little wd-40 on it and wipe it again. I've been doing this forever to joints that are up to 40 years old and still in good condition. The key to longitivity is a little grease every day (sort of my same philosophy about beer)
As to permanently sealed ball joints, there is no way that they can last as long as a properly greased one. I have been fighting this with Ford forever. On my snowplow truck (F250), I had to have the front end rebuilt three times (once a year) under warranty in order to pass state inspection. Fords explanation is that they don't feel that anyone greases anymore, so they put sealed units on that under normal use would last the life of the warranty. In essence they make those who practice good maintenance suffer for those that don't. Typical.
So, as I always have, when the warranty is up, and it's time to rebuild again I replace with greaseable components which last the remainder of the life of the truck. In fact I have taken to using Spicer parts as they carry a lifetime warranty.
As to the question of the creak, I have the same problem on my 83 300d. It needs a new lower joint, but only because of a ripped boot. With so much equipment to maintain I haven't gotten around to it. So after careful inspection (jack up front of car and push on top and bottom of wheel to feel and listen for clunking), I injected grease into it with a needle and put it back on the road. I did this twice over the summer with no problems and no deterioration of the joint.
I live a the end of 5 miles of ROUGH dirt road and out of necessity have driven many times with REALLY bad ball joints and have never had a wheel fly off. I certainly don't recommend driving a faulty vehicle, but do recommend using actual experience and advice as a guide. That what old guys are for, to tell you you're not crazy for doing what you do as they have lived though the same and worse.

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Pure Vermont Maple Syrup
http://www.squaredealfarm.org

1982 300D Turbo
1983 300D Turbo

Your experiences and explanantions shed light on several mysteries! And since none of us have time to make all the mistakes ourselves, it's good to learn from others (AND thier mistakes!) when we can.

I've been around farms and heavy equipment on and off for a long time, and I've learned to trust what those who take care of their own equipment are willing to take the time to share.

Besides, you knew what a zerk was! That means you've been around a while.

I STILL think they're a great idea whose time should not have passed, and I think a cap for a zerk makes perfect sense, every bit as much, if not more, than caps for tire valves.

In the meantime, I'm going to go check out Spicer.

__________________
Anthracite 1980 300D -- 64k original miles with a new engine, on the road again!
Silver 300D -- second owner, Sunny's old baby, Ilse, 210 miles,
Having to thin the herd….
Silver 1983 300SD -- second owner, 325k miles
Gold 1981 300D -- well-traveled, solid little car
Beige 1984 300D -- 292k miles, grease machine, parting out
Seafoam green 1981 300SD -- 250k, windshield frame damage
too many assorted w123 & w126 cars, parts cars, and extras

Hopefully they will eventually emerge from bankruptcy so they will be around to deliver on that warranty!!!

If you are looking for Mercedes parts, don't bother. They specialize in axles and driveshafts for trucks, Jeeps, and similar off-road applications.

To me a warranty is a basis to interpret how long something is meant to last. Not always accurate, but useful nonetheless.
Regardless of the warranty, Spicer components are well built and I am sure with regular greasing will last.

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Pure Vermont Maple Syrup
http://www.squaredealfarm.org

1982 300D Turbo
1983 300D Turbo

I wish that I could agree with that. But it just isn't so anymore, especially if the warranty is offered by the retailer instead of the manufacturer. The lifetime warranty has become more of a marketing ploy than an indication of quality. There is plenty of absolute junk that is being peddled with a lifetime warranty. Businesses are betting on the idea that they will be required to deliver on only a small percentage of product failures because they know that the majority of people are not organized enough to make a warranty claim. They won't remember, they will loose their receipt, or they won't own the vehicle long enough for the part to fail.

What is your opinion of the Spicer "service grade" (red label) parts as compared to "professional grade?"

Well, sad to hear about the bankruptcy, but we live on a farm -- we have a tractor, a road roller, trucks, etc. so if they survive, they could be a resource for us.

Thanks.

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Anthracite 1980 300D -- 64k original miles with a new engine, on the road again!
Silver 300D -- second owner, Sunny's old baby, Ilse, 210 miles,
Having to thin the herd….
Silver 1983 300SD -- second owner, 325k miles
Gold 1981 300D -- well-traveled, solid little car
Beige 1984 300D -- 292k miles, grease machine, parting out
Seafoam green 1981 300SD -- 250k, windshield frame damage
too many assorted w123 & w126 cars, parts cars, and extras

I'm sure that you are right about warranties. Believe me I'm quite cynical as well. However, it would have been useful to quote the following sentence stating that they are not always accurate, but useful. For my own purchases, I go by my own inspection, anecdotal evidence and lastly warranty for the reasons mentioned above. If I judge something to be quality, I keep all receipts for taxes anyway, so a warranty is an added benefit. I'm pretty tenacious when it comes to getting what I've paid for.

For further illustration of your point. Check out Kioti vs. Kubota tractors. To me (I'm sure others will disagree) There is no comparison, Kubota rules on quality and performance. Even though Kioti offers a four year warranty and Kubota only two, there is no way I would buy Kioti given the negligible cost savings.

It's for the same reason that I have two 24+ y.o. cars as daily drivers. They have no warranty, but I can understand and fix them. When the 36 month warranty runs out on a $25,000+ new car that requires a diagnostic computer to repair, one must be prepared to fork it over for repairs on top of the payments. Not me.

__________________
Pure Vermont Maple Syrup
http://www.squaredealfarm.org

1982 300D Turbo
1983 300D Turbo

AMEN, brother!

One of our local Kubota mechanics was MBZ-trained, so he's a great resource from time to time!

Our trucks are '90s era model Americans, but are used only for farm business. As you can see by my signature, only one of our cars isn't old enough to vote, and that's the one with the most serious and expensive problem!

And while I screw up, sometimes royally (see other threads), our cars can be diagnosed -- for the most part -- with common sense, patience, and the collective wisdom of the folks on this forum. We don't need a diagnostic computer to figure out what needs doing to fix a car, and we don't fork over $$$ to replace chips that have failed when the system they're supposed to operate is functioning just fine -- we've seen too much of that with the cars friends and family drive.

When they break down, of course, they borrow a car from us until theirs is fixed...And when their crumple zones and crash engine releases mean their cars have to be towed after a minor fender bender, while our MBZs just clatter on home without a hiccup, I smile. No payments, cheap insurance, and the ultimate in survivability, first for the people I care about and then for the car -- what better deal is there?

Still, each to his own. This is what works for us.

__________________
Anthracite 1980 300D -- 64k original miles with a new engine, on the road again!
Silver 300D -- second owner, Sunny's old baby, Ilse, 210 miles,
Having to thin the herd….
Silver 1983 300SD -- second owner, 325k miles
Gold 1981 300D -- well-traveled, solid little car
Beige 1984 300D -- 292k miles, grease machine, parting out
Seafoam green 1981 300SD -- 250k, windshield frame damage
too many assorted w123 & w126 cars, parts cars, and extras