Broken zerk fitting

[Wajeep]

So I was putting a new zerk fitting in my lower control arm and I overtightened it and it broke off inside (I'm an idiot). What sucks is I didn't even get to add grease! So, I try to put in an extractor and try to remove the fitting stuck inside and then the extractor breaks off inside. I'm screwed! I hate stuff like this...Any one have ideas on how to extract my extractor and zero fitting that are both broken inside the hole?

 

[kincaid.0678]

A pointed punch and a hammer. Tap around the edge in a circular motion in the direction you want it to go. I’ve used this method on broken bolts before. Not a guarantee but it will work in certain situations.

 

[kincaid.0678]

Those easy outs are pretty hard to drill out lol

 

[J.Pierce]

A little late for me to bring this up now but................... you have to be really careful with extractors in a zerk, they will expand the zerk mashing it into the opening instead of removing it.

Like kincaid said. tapping, banging and swearing are your methods of choice now.
You have to hammer and punch and pick the broken extractor out to get back were you started.
Then you may have to drill out the zerk and rethread, maybe you can tap it in circles with a punch and remove it.
You will probably need a tap to clean up the threads you will have at least some of them buggered up before this is all done.

It sucks, but it's doable, just like most everything else in life......................

 

[Jerry Bransford]

What kind of joint? If it is a Currie Johnny Joint it was pre-greased inside so you can still run it to give you time to figure out your options.

 

[g.hayduke]

That may have been true once upon a time but none of the recent JJs I've had my hands on had any grease when new.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

That may have been true once upon a time but none of the recent JJs I've had my hands on had any grease when new.

That's very surprising, you took them apart when they were new to confirm that?

 

[mrblaine]

That's very surprising, you took them apart when they were new to confirm that?

Black races with the black grease they use makes it hard to see what little grease is in there.

 

[HandOverFist]

Small left-hand drill bit.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

Black races with the black grease they use makes it hard to see what little grease is in there.

That's what I figured, Currie wouldn't ship ungreased Johnny Joints.

 

[srimes]

And if it doesn't really allow grease in anyways then a broken one isn't a problem

 

[Jerry Bransford]

And if it doesn't really allow grease in anyways then a broken one isn't a problem

Exactly.

 

[P man]

Those easy outs are pretty hard to drill out lol

Sounds like you've had one of those days as well..talk about a letdown lol. The only saving grace is they are so hard they break easy and you can usually get the easy out into small pieces and remove most of it.

I personally don't own easy outs and probably never will as they seem to cause more frustration and headache than solve the problem at hand.

 

[g.hayduke]

Black races with the black grease they use makes it hard to see what little grease is in there.

I've recently rebuilt all 8 CAs and replaced both track bars with RJ units.

The 16 JJ rebuild kits had shiny races but wiping with a white paper towel showed no sign of grease. Maybe some mold release. Clear and almost dry.

With the track bars, I clamped each JJ in a vice and they squeaked like crazy and were very difficult to move. Per RJ instructions, I removed the zerk, drilled through the race, reinstalled the zerk, and greased them. It took lots of movement with the JJ in the vise to work some grease into the joint, ease the movement, and stop the squeak (temporarily).

I did not disassemble the CAs when first purchased so I'm not certain about their as-purchased grease situation. I bought the CAs several years ago, Savvy DA uppers, Currie lowers.

When I removed the old JJs from the CAs, it looked like dirt had traded places with the grease and was caked on the inside of the races and could only be removed by aggressive scraping.

I have since switched to CV2 grease but unfortunately sqeaking resumes pretty soon after greasing. I live in NM and this desert dust seems to be tough to keep out of JJs.

 

[mrblaine]

I've recently rebuilt all 8 CAs and replaced both track bars with RJ units.

The 16 JJ rebuild kits had shiny races but wiping with a white paper towel showed no sign of grease. Maybe some mold release. Clear and almost dry.

With the track bars, I clamped each JJ in a vice and they squeaked like crazy and were very difficult to move. Per RJ instructions, I removed the zerk, drilled through the race, reinstalled the zerk, and greased them. It took lots of movement with the JJ in the vise to work some grease into the joint, ease the movement, and stop the squeak (temporarily).

I did not disassemble the CAs when first purchased so I'm not certain about their as-purchased grease situation. I bought the CAs several years ago, Savvy DA uppers, Currie lowers.

When I removed the old JJs from the CAs, it looked like dirt had traded places with the grease and was caked on the inside of the races and could only be removed by aggressive scraping.

I have since switched to CV2 grease but unfortunately sqeaking resumes pretty soon after greasing. I live in NM and this desert dust seems to be tough to keep out of JJs.

You're right, they ship without grease.

 

[mrblaine]

That's what I figured, Currie wouldn't ship ungreased Johnny Joints.

John doesn't grease everyone personally so there is a chance that some get missed. I have however stood at the packaging and assembly station and watched them assemble the joints. They use an air cylinder in a press fixture to pop the washers down to insert the snap rings. There is a pump station that dispenses the grease they wipe on the ball. They don't as a habit ship them without.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

The bottom line @Wajeep is your Johnny Joints all shipped with grease in them, don't worry about the zerk having snapped off. The only viable way to grease them is to disassemble them, their tolerances are too tight for the grease to flow through the joint via the zerk fitting. Greasing through their zerk fitting is pretty much totally ineffective due to those tight tolerances preventing grease flow through the joint.

 

[g.hayduke]

You're right, they ship without grease.

Which "they"? JJ rebuild kits, track bars, new complete JJs, ...?

Like I said, neither end of new trackbars had any grease. And at least 1 of the 4 TB JJs had a 1 piece race, not 2 piece. So the only way I know to grease that style is through the zerk after drilling through the race.

 

[Wajeep]

The bottom line @Wajeep is your Johnny Joints all shipped with grease in them, don't worry about the zerk having snapped off. The only viable way to grease them is to disassemble them, their tolerances are too tight for the grease to flow through the joint via the zerk fitting. Greasing through their zerk fitting is pretty much totally ineffective due to those tight tolerances preventing grease flow through the joint.

Thanks that makes me feel better. I’ll just put it back on and call it good. I replaced the bushing on the other side of the power control arm and noticed there wasn’t a zerk fitting on the other end. It’s a Teraflex lower control arm btw.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

Whoops there's no telling with a Teraflex joint if it came preloaded with grease or not. I'd call them and ask. I don't trust Teraflex after my bad experience with their first-generation arms (no longer sold) 20 years ago.