Installing grease zerk into tierod end

Anybody drill and tap new tierods that don't come with a zerk? Was going to go into the tin cover on the bottom where the zerk is usually. thanks chris

yes I have done it on my 2000 tn 75 f new Holland I used a drill size just below the zerk. greased the bit and drilled the hole I did not tap it. just slowly installed the zerk go slow and don't over tighten it good luck

I have done it on some tie rod ends. It really depends on if they are heat treated or not. So you will not be able to drill/tap very easily.

I have found using a needle attachment on my grease gun works just about as well. Just slide it under the rubber cover and fill the ball socket with new grease.

I usually weld a 1/4X28 nut onto the tin cover and then drill mostly thru the tin and finish hole with scratch awl. If the boot is good I sometimes lift the boot
and add grease with needle.

Agree with the others. What is truly frightening is when you find out those brand new tierod ends have NO GREASE!! When installing the small ones on my lawn tractors I drill a tiny hole through the back where the rod itself goes in. Just pop off the rubber boot. Use a cordless drill and VERY slowly drill till you feel the it break through. Reverse flush with air and some brake cleaner just to make sure there are no metal chips. Now take your grease gun and squirt a big BRUPP of grease into the threaded end. Slowly screw it onto the tierod and the excess grease will slowly squirt out around the ball socket end. Works great! Two years latter I just back off the lock nut, unscrew the assembly, put in a little more grease, and screw eveything back together. Super slick. That way your steering stays nice and tight and steeres nice and smooth.

Best thing on a garden tractor is to pitch the ball & socket ball joints as fall away as you possibly can and replace them with Heim Joint ends. I replaced the 10 year old totally shot ball joints on my Cub Cadet about 1980, the Heim joints are still nice and tight 37 years later. No messing around drilling holes, installing zerks, greasing them. Grease just attracts dust/dirt and accelerates wear. Check McMaster-Carr for heim joints.

At 62 I figure the speed things go around here --- a bran new tire rod will probably out last me and probably out last the tractor . Given a choice of having a grease zerk or not I would certainly want one and ask for them on ball joints on the truck . Why would any body not want one . U joints on the drive line are another problem . Only reason I can think of for not having a grease zerk is perhaps the u joint is stronger. Only a drag racer would want this .

I like grease same as the next guy. Maybe even more. But what I've read and heard from respected mechanics and others is that these sealed parts are not meant to be greased. I've thought how great it would be to second-guess the people who designed them and add some means of getting grease in there--via drilled zerks--but ultimately decided to leave it alone. When the parts wear out--after long use--it's time to replace.

This is from another forum, but deals with a truck that is similar to one I once had (F250 with 4WD)--and it's related to ball joints, not tie-rod ends.

"So anyhow I got the zerks put in, and got all the ball joints installed. Then I went to grease them. The two greasable ball joints took grease just like you'd expect them to- no problems. But the non-greasable joints were truly SEALED. I tried to pump grease in there, and very little would even go in before the grease gun pump just locked up due to pressure. There were no provisions in the seals to let out air and/or old grease and let in new grease. IOW, it was a complete waste of time, and likely did more harm than good. Even with zerks installed, the ball joints were still not 'greasable' in any practical sense."

probably why some zerks are not installed is economics. If the company can eliminate one process the save money. Stan

I only buy buy new ones with zerk fittings. Its too easy for the joints to get water in them and I like to push the old grease out with new grease.
Joints last a lot longer.

Got a customer who has about 34 machines who's tie rods cost upward of $1000 and each machine has 4 of them. He just bought 6 new ones last week. The old ones are worn our because the boots get torn and there is no way to grease them. The one sitting at my place will be the first candidate, and I plan to put grease fittings in each one of them the minute I get a chance to lay my hands on each machine.

(quoted from post at 14:42:08 12/04/17) probably why some zerks are not installed is economics. If the company can eliminate one process the save money. Stan

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Yeah, all of the manufacturers don't care how long their stuff lasts, or whether or not the customer ever buys another one. All they care about is to make a lot of money for five years then close the doors.