Greasing Difficulty

[myoldjalopy]

Over the years, the upper driver's side trunnion on my car has become increasingly difficult to pump grease into. Today it was impossible - to the point the flexible hose from the grease gun bulged out into a permanent bulbous shape! It now looks like a snake that swallowed a small but very fat animal whole

I took the nipple out and was able to puimp grease through it - so it seems the 'blockage' must be in the trunnion itself.

The obvious thing to do is remove said top trunnion and have a look see, would you all agree? Be grateful for any sensible comments.

Thanks,
Pete

[firehor5e]

My first thought was a blocked grease nipple,but,as you have checked that.?? maybe grease gone hard in the joint,so a strip down maybe in order then.. good luck..

[philthehill]

Greasing of the Morris trunnions should be done with the load off the torsion bars so a jack under the lower suspension arm and the wheel off the ground helps.
It is a reasonably quick and easy job to remove the top trunnion if all else fails.
Phil

[bmcecosse]

Indeed - take the trunnion off and clear out the old horrible grease -may need some heat to melt it out. Good opportunity to fit polyurethane bushes if not done already. Sounds like you need a new hose for the grease gun too.....

[dalebrignall]

you could try having someone turn the steering wheel from side to side as you pump the grease in it worked on my tractor a few years ago , sounds like a blocked nipple .

[myoldjalopy]

Many thanks for your replies, all makes sense.

One pedantic question - when removing the trunnion, to make sure it is put back properly is it best to:
a) count the number of turns to unwind it, and repeat this when re-assembling, or;
b) before removing, tighten it up fully, counting the number of turns, then remove. On replacement, fully tighten then back off the number of turns it took to tighten up initially?

Thanks, just want to make sure this is as simple/foolproof as possible

[bmcecosse]

It's not critical at the moment -it may not screw down much anyway if blocked with hard old grease. Clean it out first - then screw it down (well greased of course) as far as it easily goes - then back to align with the damper arm - ensuring it can swivel enough in each direction. But do have a good look at the threads to assess the condition..

[myoldjalopy]

OK thanks...........sound advice
Oh, and a new grease gun hose on its way, Roy.............didn't fancy it exploding and splattering me with grease next time I use it!!