Hi all. I was hoping to get some advice on greasing my TJ. I've seen some other threads, but I have some detailed questions those don't exactly cover. I bought a 1999 TJ roughly 6 months ago and have been doing all the work on it myself. I took it to a mechanic last week to have them inspect it and generate a list of problem areas they would recommend I focus on. I knew my front end suspension squeaked a bit but honestly couldn't hear it very well when driving, but my mechanic says it's pretty loud and is the result of metal on metal grinding thus I need to grease the zerk fittings in the front end. On that I have the following two notes:
1. Need to lube lower ball joint zerk (it's dry and the source of the squeak)
2. Missing zerk fitting out of the front driveline forward u-joint
My first question is: For number 1 he said that two of the zerks are difficult to get to (one on each side) and I would likely need to pull the tires off and slide the axles out. The internet has told me I should be able to to it with a right angle fitting. Is that possible or should I be pulling the wheels off?
My second question is this: How many places total do I need to grease? I've found 7 zerk fittings and other threads state there are 7, but is there anything else I should be greasing than just the zerk fittings? What else under the front end could I / should I be lubricating?
My third question: Can I replace a zerk fitting easily, or do I need to replace an entire assembly?
My fourth question: I know not all grease types are compatible, and I have no idea what kind of grease was used before. Can I use a solvent or something to clean out the existing grease? Or is there something else I could do?
Thank y'all for your help!
1. Need to lube lower ball joint zerk (it's dry and the source of the squeak)
2. Missing zerk fitting out of the front driveline forward u-joint
My first question is: For number 1 he said that two of the zerks are difficult to get to (one on each side) and I would likely need to pull the tires off and slide the axles out. The internet has told me I should be able to to it with a right angle fitting. Is that possible or should I be pulling the wheels off?
My second question is this: How many places total do I need to grease? I've found 7 zerk fittings and other threads state there are 7, but is there anything else I should be greasing than just the zerk fittings? What else under the front end could I / should I be lubricating?
My third question: Can I replace a zerk fitting easily, or do I need to replace an entire assembly?
My fourth question: I know not all grease types are compatible, and I have no idea what kind of grease was used before. Can I use a solvent or something to clean out the existing grease? Or is there something else I could do?
Thank y'all for your help!