I will never understand
Why manufacturers do not put grease fittings on new vehicles. What can they possibly be saving, $3? The cost of the nine grease fittings they omitted from this truck is now causing it to squeak horribly
idiots. I put as much grease as I can get in therew with an 18 gauge needle, but I have a feeling I’m gonna need to change the lowers JUST to get grease fittings in.
10 comments Og | Uncategorized
i say the person who knew how to install ’em (or even what they are) died… Kinda like why the UAW doesn’t have ice at their meetings – the guy who had the recipe died.
When I heard that I stockpiled ice.
toyota does, but most of the front end joints are “greaseless” so zerks aren’t needed.
The auto companies are in the business of manufacturing and selling NEW cars. It is not in their interest to produce a vehicle that will be infinitely repairable nor easily maintained for a long time.
Once had a auto mechanics class, and one thing the instructor said is “When you lube the customer’s car, install the zerk fittings, and explain the $2 bill to him; he’ll come back to you because you made future maintenance faster and simpler.”
The drive lines on Class 8 trucks don’t have zerks on their splined drive shaft couplings any more, either. They’ve got a boot like a CV joint uses. There are still zerks on the u-joints.
JEGS and Summit could make an even greater fortune, just by selling upgraded OEM parts, (or MOOG), with zerks.
And for a Class 8 truck to omit those on the drive splines? That’s a clarion call for someone to open an exchange or upgrade service near a major Petro or TA or Flying J truck stop.
They could sell pre-loaded KY grease guns to the lot lizards, too.
Hey, any income stream in a tight economy, eh?
Jim
Sunk New Dawn
Galveston, TX
But $3 per truck across a million trucks is $3,000,000. Then all the replacement parts have to have zerks too, which means another several million, and there has to be space in the parts warehouse for zerks, which costs still more millions, and the manuals all have to be updated to reflect the grease fittings, which is a cost, and when a truck is brought into a dealership for service, the mechanics have to grease them, which is yet another cost.
Some bean counter probably did a powerpoint presentation that showed the company was losing $50 million per year on grease fittings.
yeah, I guess I already know whats the deal, but it doesn’t make it make any SENSE to me.
I drilled and tapped the bottom of the XR650L for zerks right where the lower suspension linkage went, and did the forks too – made filling it with black moly-graph a treat. Never had a dry steering stem or a graunchy rear.