msavides wrote:
Yea I saw the grease channels, They look much deeper and better design. The issue I am thinking (just a thought) is that if there is no path for the air/ grease to get out then How is hooking a grease gun to the zerk fitting going to do anything, there is only 1 path in/out the air will stay in and the grease will stay out. Aside form giving everything a good greasing upon assembly I am not seeing how to put more grease in.
Now keep in mind I have not torn mine apart and I may be missing something, But from how I am thinking they are assembled it does not seem to me that there is a way to get grease in and air out.
another question, In your photo the inner bushing looks like it is made out of some other material other than metal. I thought is was steel.
Mark
BTW I already orders a set of these, just pointing out my concern on the greasing issue, it May not even end up being an issue.
A few things. Many bushings don't have grease channels. Grease only works with a thin film. While not as tight, it's not dissimilar to oil in your engine, hence, the thinner viscosity. The grease channels allow you to store more grease to get to the surface-bearing parts.
The grease gets in because there are two bushings and the grease fitting is strategically located at the seam so it can get to both. Although they are tight, they are certainly not air tight, so air will get out. This style will take more pressure to get grease in than say a ball joint since the only thing holding back the grease is the rubber seal.
The center steel bushing is stock Calmini. Mine is steel also, it may look different because I painted the ends...why? Because I'm anal. I thought of drilling two holes in that so that grease can get to the center bolt, and while that would not be a bad idea, the weight-bearing part is that bushing and the bronze bushings, not the bolt. The flange at the top prevents the bolt from being the main stress point.
To properly grease this type of joint. You should put in grease, rotate the idler arm several times and grease again. I do this two or three times, which allows the grease to cover the entire joint. It may take some pressure on the grease gun, but you will get grease to flow out around the bushings.
You can't really see it here because I wiped off the excess, but it was coming out between the steal and the bronze.
Also, I grease everything at each oil change and after each serious offroading run.
If these last two years I will be happy, I'm only getting a year out of TRE's.