Where are all the hidden grease fittings

[aevansgatech]

Hey guys,

In an attempt to get the fluids/lubrication all up to date, I figured I'd get out the grease gun and go to town. I only found a few fittings, though, and one interesting difference.

First, here's what I greased:
1. Left CV joint
2. Drifeshaft/guibo union?

The right control arm assembly was changed at some point to a newer design and does not have a grease fitting. Instead it has a "cap" held on by 3 bolts which are non-removeable. Are the new ones "sealed for life" or is there another way to keep it greased up?

Finally, what other points should I look for that probably haven't seen fresh grease in a long time!

[AriK]

CV joint?
Are you talking about your 500 or did you create a weird conversion to your 79?

The only zerks are on the u joints and another one is on the tailshaft behind the flex disk, or guibo. None to be found on the tie rods ball joint nor control arms. However you can find yourself getting busy with other grease point areas:
Dielectric grease can be added on every electrical connection such as tail-light sockets, multi-wire connectors, ignition cables, ground points and fusebox.
Brake sliders can be lubricated with synthetic brake lube.
Wheel bearing grease for the spindle and bearings.
Lithium grease for dizzy springs.
Periodic lubrication of door hinges, hand brake cable and clutch cable ball ends with anything spray that you can inject into there. Same thing for wiper arm linkages if you're patient enough to remove the cowl without scratching the paint.

[4uall]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGz2TzH-Mac

[lglade]

I believe that the original poster was referring to his left ball joint, and yes some of these had grease zerks. My original ball joints had zerks, but they've since been replaced with sealed units. Other than those, my only other zerk (that I know about anyway) is at the yoke by the giubo/flex disk.,

[4uall]

Old one





New ones

[aevansgatech]

Yep, ball joints sorry. So I have one new one (sealed) and one old one with a fitting.

Sounds like the other one I found was the tailshaft/flex disk area.

Thanks guys

[AriK]

Wow Jay! That first pic might be worth something at the National Museum along with Archie Bunker's chair. Most evidence of Fiat's original ball joints is all but a memory after 35 years.
Jokes aside most (but evidently not all) greaseable ball joints and suspension parts for domestic applications have gone the way of the dinosaur. We refer to that as cheapness on the assembly line but in retrospect the technology has somewhat improved in their manufacture. A modern joint that is sealed for life relies on polymer plastic technology, a more efficient design than was available decades ago when it was metal on metal. An injection molded polymer socket is married to a polished steel ball which produces a low friction assembly which can last for tens of thousands of miles. (For heavy vehicles it's a different story however).
The design's tight tolerances supposedly don't allow space for a zerk but they do claim that today's joints are better manufactured than yesterday's.
Most people used to overfill their ball joints to the point where the rubber diaphragm would expand and then ooze out grease which would eventually allow contaminants and water to compromise the joint, much of the time early in its life. The sealed unit, well...

[aevansgatech]

So I'm revisiting my old thread, but this time with a new perspective.

The '79 I had did have one old style lower ball joint and one was replaced with the new sealed style. Now, I'm attempting to find a front end groan in my low mileage '82 Spider with two original ball joints and I'm thinking it may be coming from the ball joints.

Is there a special type of grease or recommendation of how much to squirt in there for the greasable ball joints?

[DieselSpider]

Try to match whats already in there as the various grease formulations are not always compatible and some tend to react badly together. As for the lack of a grease fitting that is not a 100% show or grease stopper as you can just use a grease needle on your gun and add grease within reason through the rubber boots.

[RRoller123]

A front end groan in mine turned out to be a loose shock mount at the top. Might be worth checking those. I was just loose enough that the rubber slid around a little depending upon load, or lack of load more accurately.