In a message dated 2/15/01 7:40:21 PM, DBAKER5@KC.RR.COM writes: << does greasing one of these jobbies require a bit more finesse? >> Dave, Grease nipples seem to have gone the way of most worthwhile things; they just are not used anymore. As all those highly paid copywriters would have you believe, components are now greased for life. Grease injection needles which fit grease gun couplers are available. These can be slipped beneath a seal or rubber boot so that grease can be injected into a bearing or ball joint. In a pinch, I have used them. Enough grease can be injected that it will eventually migrate into a dry joint and soothe its calling for some lubrication. But, this cannot compare to pumping in a measure of fresh grease while at the same time, purging the old stuff. Recently, someone posted to this list that he had installed grease nipples on the balljoints. When I installed new u-joints on the center driveshaft of my Syncro, the trunnions of the non-VW replacements were drilled for grease nipples. It was nice of the manufacturer to be so mindful of preventative maintenance. Unfortunately, the Syncro's driveshaft yokes are too shallow to provide enough clearance to mount the angled grease nipples. I installed flush nipples which allowed me to properly grease the u-joints before I installed them and, now that they are in place, that is the last grease they will ever see. With the highly developed state of material science which we now enjoy, these mechanical linkages only last 150 Kmi. If we were able to throw a few cents worth of new grease into them every couple of years, they damn well might last forever. Then where would we be? Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.'s book "Player Piano" explains whatever happened to grease nipples better than I can. Rich |
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