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95.5-2004 Tacomas & 96-2002 4Runners 4th gen pickups and 3rd gen 4Runners
View Poll Results: Grease fittings yes/no
Grease me up baby
78.95%
I don't need no stick'in zerks
5.26%
Skeptical about crop circles and graphyte oil
18.42%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 38. You may not vote on this poll

Zerk or not to Zerk

Old 10-14-2005, 10:36 PM
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Zerk or not to Zerk

There's a selection of upper/lower ball joints that I have seen with and without zerks (grease fittings).

Do ball joints last longer with or without a zerk and why?

I think ...

The zerks allow contimination of the grease and increase wear.

Without the zerks, the joints will wear out faster than if they had them (does that make sense?).
Old 10-14-2005, 10:44 PM
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it depends.... lack of grease will also wear them out prematurely... its better to have them though, you can control contamination of the zerk by cleaning it, you cant control running out of grease in a non serviceable unit
Old 10-14-2005, 10:51 PM
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You can clean out the contamination with the Zerk by flushing it out untill it's clean. Zerk all the way.
Old 10-15-2005, 06:03 PM
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Well, I hate zerk fittings personally, but I would stick with them.

only reason I hate them is i have to deal with them at work, it slows me down way to much in the pit ( jiffy lube)

wade
Old 10-15-2005, 06:42 PM
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Zerk.

Put a rubber cap over it if you are worried about contamination.
Old 10-16-2005, 10:40 AM
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I prefer zerks if you are going to wheeling it.

The seal type will eventually get flushed out. With the zerk you dont have to worry about that. I believe thats why the 4x4 comes with zerks and the 2x4 does not. I could be wrong though.
Old 03-25-2006, 08:48 PM
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I prefer zerk fittings everytime.

The problem is they are becoming extinct on new vehicles.
Old 03-26-2006, 07:04 AM
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Ditto. I think they purposely omit the zerks so that they can sell parts later down the road. I just drill a hole and install my own zerk.
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