tie rod ends over greasing??

ChopZ71 · August 21, 2020

I was getting the smallest noise as I went over small bumps as speed so I though i should grease the only 2 zerks fitting on my 16 1500 with 45k miles. About a month later I took my truck in for service and the advisor told me that the tech saw grease coming from my tie rod ends, that they were over filled any "tie rod ends are out" I asked him what does he mean tie rods are out?? thinking id be in a different world of problems if tie rod ends were out. He said they were over greased and the tie rods were out and need replacing at $600. Im no expert but ive turned wrenches my whole life the right way and often the wrong but never heard of outing a tie rod from grease.... Maybe he ment the boot split or popped but i know my tie rod ends are in fact not out. Second i would never spend that to have them do tie rods, id do them for under $100. Thoughts? over greasing tie rods? I though the point was to push the old grease out??

davester · August 21, 2020

Ouch $600 for outer tie rod ends. And they probably surprise you after they replace them with "You should get it aligned. That's only $250, unless we need to replace more parts."

ChopZ71 · August 22, 2020

yea thats not happening. Ive never heard of busting tie rods with grease. If its the bushing then so be it ill work around that. I can replace the tie rod ends myself and get an alignment for under 100 at a good tire shop in town. just curious what yall thought

Grumpy Bear · August 22, 2020

18 minutes ago, ChopZ71 said:

yea thats not happening. Ive never heard of busting tie rods with grease. If its the bushing then so be it ill work around that. I can replace the tie rod ends myself and get an alignment for under 100 at a good tire shop in town. just curious what yall thought

That guy is an idiot.

:loser:

ChopZ71 · August 22, 2020

3 minutes ago, Grumpy Bear said:

That guy is an idiot.

me? please explain if thats how you feel to be helpful

Grumpy Bear · August 22, 2020

2 minutes ago, ChopZ71 said:

me? please explain if thats how you feel to be helpful

No not you. The guy that told you that you ruined your tie rods greasing them. Put grease in, grease comes out. D'ho. It's how I was taught. Grease in until just a little gets past the boot. Then wipe it off so it doesn't collect dirt. 45 K is a done tie rod in what world? Dad's 92, I'm 67 and between us we've never 'outed a tie rod' greasing it. I don't even know what that is suppose to mean. Is that helpful enough?

ChopZ71 · August 22, 2020

25 minutes ago, Grumpy Bear said:

No not you. The guy that told you that you ruined your tie rods greasing them. Put grease in, grease comes out. D'ho. It's how I was taught. Grease in until just a little gets past the boot. Then wipe it off so it doesn't collect dirt. 45 K is a done tie rod in what world? Dad's 92, I'm 67 and between us we've never 'outed a tie rod' greasing it. I don't even know what that is suppose to mean. Is that helpful enough?

yeah man thank for clarifying, I have been doing it the same way you stated my whole life and was thinking how am I the idiot. I mean certainly possible haha

tbarn · August 22, 2020

Older tie rod ends had a flap for lack of a better term. Most tie rod ends used in the last 20 years or so use a sealed boot. Once overfilled they split and will let water in. The older ones were lubed as Grumpy says. You DO NOT want to grease until you see grease come out on the newer ones. As long as the boots are "puffy" leave them alone.

mookdoc6 · August 22, 2020

Some like Moogs have a grease relief valve you pump until out she comes! IDK, I used MOOG on everything before and they seem to be getting cheaper and OEM'S seem better. If yours don't have relief valve and after 3qty pumps nothing oozing out the bottom around stud/Bushing interface YOUR DONE! Also, my experience has shown to USE OEM GREASE and nothing else don't mix/match cause the greases don't always mix readily. THE AC DELCO Chasis Grease is 100% excellent crap and it's kinda not cheap....but I don't stray from it. When I am done I always clean up Boot nicely and LISTEN Carefully now....apply a thin layer/coat of same grease on boot surface. It will aid in water repelling and Oxygen eating away the boot. I am real particular with boot conditioning. This will never fail ya until you hit the 8" deep Chicago style pothole and well your tie rod is going to be taking to the woodshed!

flyingfool · August 31, 2020

what model year and trim is your truck?

I dont even have a single zerk fitting anywhere on my truck. I went to lube the other day , and was like damn how long are the links and movable joints gonna last without grease?

this is more of those GM Warrantee Analyst working on ways to get you to dump the truck after warrantee is expired. when repair cost go up, customer buys a new one...

Edited August 31, 2020 by flyingfool

Geben · October 11

On 8/31/2020 at 9:45 AM, flyingfool said:

what model year and trim is your truck?

I dont even have a single zerk fitting anywhere on my truck. I went to lube the other day , and was like damn how long are the links and movable joints gonna last without grease?

this is more of those GM Warrantee Analyst working on ways to get you to dump the truck after warrantee is expired. when repair cost go up, customer buys a new one...

I also ran into not having a zerk, but in that case, you have to buy a needle. Here's the extremely helpful website I found while trying to figure it out: How to Grease a Tie Rod with or without a Zerk Fitting.