Steering Knuckle Grease

HingsingM37 · Post by **HingsingM37** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 4:45 am

I know this was posted on the old forum but I cannot remember how much (tubes?) grease got packed into each of the the steering knuckles? It seems it would be easier to pack the grease in during the axle assembly rather than pump forever with a grease gun through the zerk?

TOM R · Post by **TOM R** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 5:23 am

ARE YOU TALKIN BOUT THE RZAPPA JOINTS?

HingsingM37 · Post by **HingsingM37** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 1:20 pm

I am referring to the front axle steering knuckles which house the universal joints for the front axle shafts. They are called steering knuckles in my manual. I am not familiar with the term "RZappa". I have heard of Frank Zappa

Lifer · Post by **Lifer** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 3:10 pm

HingsingM37 wrote:I am not familiar with the term "RZappa". I have heard of Frank Zappa

Same here! Also heard of "Dweezil" and "Moon Unit" Zappa. Some folks sure do give their kids wierd names!

TOM R · Post by **TOM R** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 5:56 pm

on jeeps we call enm rzappa joints, you take gear oil and bearing grease mix it around 50/50 to the consistsancy of pudding so it is to thick to leak out but thin enough to flow and not stick to the sides inside the joint ball cover thing, I used a thrift store electric hand beater

Lifer · Post by **Lifer** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 7:55 pm

OK...I did some research, and here's what I came up with. There is no such thing as a "rzappa" joint. There is, however, a "Rzeppa" Joint which is also named after its inventor.

The ordinary "garden variety" of U-joints that we're all familiar with in our drive shafts is technically called a Cardan Joint, after the guy who invented it way back when.

The Rzeppa Joint is the CV joint that is commonly used in modern front-wheel-drive cars and minivans. It is also used in lightweight 4-wheel-drive vehicles with independent suspension. They are not necessary for our trucks and old jeeps with essentially straight axles.

Having replaced a number of them for different people, I can assure you that they would not hold up to the rigorous demands placed on them in heavier vehicles with the "wish I were somewhere else" sort of drivers who usually operate them for the armed forces.

TOM R · Post by **TOM R** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 8:01 pm

ehh zappa zeppa tomato tamato, just sayin what they refer to em as on the cj site, seal constant velocity joints

Lifer · Post by **Lifer** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 5:10 am

I just put that out there for the rest of us, Tom. I figured you knew what you were talking about, but we didn't. Now, we do! We can quit picking on Frank, Dweezil, and Moon Unit now.

MSeriesRebuild · Post by **MSeriesRebuild** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 9:36 am

HingsingM37 wrote:I know this was posted on the old forum but I cannot remember how much (tubes?) grease got packed into each of the the steering knuckles? It seems it would be easier to pack the grease in during the axle assembly rather than pump forever with a grease gun through the zerk?

Each joint holds approximately 2.6 lbs. of NLGI#2 grease. You could pack some into the joint cavity during the build up however you will never be able to fill it completely that way. The easiest way to do it is to remove the zerk fitting from the top bearing retainer plate, install it in place of the plug on the surface of the axle tube ball. Pump grease directly into the cavity until it comes out the hole in the top retainer plate. It is now full, pumping directly into the cavity is much easier than pumping through the top bearing. Replace the zerk in the top plate & install the plug.

HingsingM37 · Post by **HingsingM37** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 2:44 pm

It seemed like I dug a few pounds out of each side during disassembly. Thanks again Charles. Your help and experience is appreciated as always

DaveO · Post by **DaveO** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 7:09 pm

The easiest way to do it is to remove the zerk fitting from the top bearing retainer plate, install it in place of the plug on the surface of the axle tube ball. Pump grease directly into the cavity until it comes out the hole in the top retainer plate.

Holy cow! Why didn't I think of that? So simple. Good show, Charles.

I must say, though, that when I did my knuckle rebuild I bought a pneumatic grease gun. Four pounds of grease can tucker one out, especially when in the comfortable position of being threaded behind the bumper, and wrapped around the front wheel. That little honey paid for itself during the first lube.

TOM R · Post by **TOM R** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 9:43 pm

NLGI#2 grease, this is basicly car cv joint grease for front wheel drives right?

after makin up the grease mix for the jeep i spooned it into a spare greasegun with an empty tube in it and pumped it in,cj2a jeep has a large fill hole

MSeriesRebuild · Post by **MSeriesRebuild** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 5:36 am

TOM R wrote:NLGI#2 grease, this is basicly car cv joint grease for front wheel drives right?

after makin up the grease mix for the jeep i spooned it into a spare greasegun with an empty tube in it and pumped it in,cj2a jeep has a large fill hole

The NLGI#2 spec is chassis grease. As with any product, there is better quality along with barely get by meeting the specs quality. Grease is no different. Premium quality grease will stay put much better than cheaper brands. The oil in the cheap stuff will separate & get past the felt ball seal showing the appearance of a leaking inner axle oil seal. Many front axles have been torn down for seal replacements that were not necessary, the oil was coming from the cheap grease in the CV joint. I do recommend inner axle seals be replaced & seal mating surfaces be inspected while the joint housings are disassembled. I added the info about using poor quality grease because many people have done this rebuild to come out thinking their reseal job had failed because oil still leaked at the ball seal.

Mixing grease & oil is not a good idea, that will most surely leak & possibly the ingredients in your mixture may not be chemically compatible with each other which could cause damage in other ways. Long story short, mixing lubricants in any application is never a good idea unless the spec sheet says it's suitable to do so. Mixing various chemicals can create real problems if done inappropriately.

Lifer · Post by **Lifer** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 6:22 am

Re mixing oil and grease...I'm glad someone else mentioned that it's not a good idea. Thanks, Charles!

steved · Post by **steved** » Tue Feb 26, 2008 7:12 am

Lifer wrote:OK...I did some research, and here's what I came up with. There is no such thing as a "rzappa" joint. There is, however, a "Rzeppa" Joint which is also named after its inventor.

The ordinary "garden variety" of U-joints that we're all familiar with in our drive shafts is technically called a Cardan Joint, after the guy who invented it way back when.

The Rzeppa Joint is the CV joint that is commonly used in modern front-wheel-drive cars and minivans. It is also used in lightweight 4-wheel-drive vehicles with independent suspension. They are not necessary for our trucks and old jeeps with essentially straight axles.

I thought our joints were tracta joints...

Steering Knuckle Grease

Steering Knuckle Grease

Re: Steering Knuckle Grease