[klaykrusher]

Any idea what may be causing these to leak? Three of them are. Low quality grease and the heat maybe?

[theksmith]

the heat will definitely separate grease, when it hits 120* here later this summer, even quality grease will separate some... but not as bad as the cheap stuff.

get your self some quality synthetic and pump them till all the old stuff is pretty much pushed out. everyone has their own personal favorite, mine is the easy to find mobil 1 synthetic: http://www.mobiloil.com/usa-english/...ic_grease.aspx i know some people also like Red-Line brand


this is supposed to be "tha sh!t", but haven't found it locally anywhere, kinda neat that it's an ultimate grease kit: http://www.greengrease.net/PDF/All-I...se-Gun-Kit.PDF

[klaykrusher]

Thanks Kris, I actually have a couple tubes of the green grease I bought back in OH, I think it was
Advance Auto Parts. I was waiting to use up the last of the regular stuff I've been using. Looks like I'm be switching over sooner.

You are welcome to a tube of the green stuff if you want to test it out.

[ob1jeeper]

Appears to me as if it's been over-lubed with too much grease... The bulb looks swollen, as if it's been inflated like a balloon... Try removing the zerk and letting about 1/3-1/2 of that grease out, and not forcing so much in next time around...

PS: ANY lithium based lube will work fine... No need to waste $$'s on the synthetics for these parts... I prefer the moisture resistant stuff for marine use for my chassis lube needs... (To save $$'s, I buy the marine grease from Checker or Wally World)...

[theksmith]

Appears to me as if it's been over-lubed with too much grease... The bulb looks swollen, as if it's been inflated like a balloon...

i'll agree with that! i've never seen mine look like that actually - mine usually they leak some out before they ever puff up that much, you must have some good sealing ones!

[klaykrusher]

Yeah I kept waiting for it to spit some grease out, but never did, so I just stopped. I'll try letting some out. From all this talk I assume the bulb should not extend farther than the metal joint itself.

[ob1jeeper]

When lubing this type of sealed TRE, a couple puffs of the gun should cause it to expand a little. That's all the grease it needs... More than that and you end up with a leaking mess that is actually harder on the seals than the method I described...

[GRUNT]

On a sidenote_ OB1, how does one clean these joints out? Does it require disassembly or just pumping until the old grease cycles out?

[ob1jeeper]

On a sidenote_ OB1, how does one clean these joints out? Does it require disassembly or just pumping until the old grease cycles out?

This type of joint seal, is designed to NOT require being flushed, and it is NOT supposed to leak through the balloon cavity seal.

Trace amounts of lube will slip past the ball socket seal, with each rotation of the joint. The balloon cavity is intended to hold sufficient amount (a spoonful or so) of lube to keep the joint from running dry at which point it will begin to wear quickly... So all you need to do is pump a squirt or two each time you lube... just enough to cause the cavity to swell a little bit, and call it good...

IF this type of seal splits or begins to ooze lube while lubing it, the balloon is damaged and you will either need to replace the joint, or lube it more frequently than you would otherwise, to ensure that a supply of fresh lube is available to keep the joint properly lubricated, and that there is no contaminates in the lube cavity...