Greasing up the Big Red Truck

[DenverCurmudgeon]

Fellow babies,

As a D1 owner tired of listening to his drivetrain scrape, click and complain, I've decided to grease up my '95 before I start replacing stuff. My sense is that I'll find all the zerks and squeeze brand spankin' new synthetic grease through them. Which leads me to a few questions.

1) My understanding is that grease fittings come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and require different kinds of grease guns. A full size lever action grease gun with a flexible hose should do them all, right? Do I need a particular size or shaped coupling for the hose?

2) On the proper use of a grease gun: before I zerk (that sounds perverted) I need to clean the fittings by wiping them, NOT cleaning them with a solvent, right?

3) Once cleaned, I simply hook up the coupling and begin the greasing process. BUT, if I squeeze too much grease in, where does the excess go? Can I use too much? Will I blow out some sort of seal? How can I be assured that I'm not damaging anything with over-zealous greasing. I dated a girl once who asked me the same question, but I'm not sure that my answer would apply to my Disco.

4) If I wanted to replace the existing grease with synthetic grease, then how do I get all the existing grease out? Can synthetic grease live comfortably with conventional grease?

5) The front swivel housing seems caked with horrible greasy sludge gunk. Of course, the round housing is shiny. The sludgy cake stuff is around the edges. According to the stickers under the hood, they've been filled with that oddball Rover Grease concoction. Is the caking indicative of a leak or other problem?

This horribly messy project is part of a larger one, that of eliminating sounds through the proper use of lube. Again I think of an old girlfriend. Once this is done, my next project is to replace all the gear oil with synthetic. Then I can get a better idea of what repairs I need. I know that I need new CV joints... the clunks are simply too indicative to ignore... but I'd also like to insure that all my wheel bearings are as smooth as possible, and that every conceivable seal is sealing properly.

I have all sorts of other questions surrounding the CV/axle issues, but once there are some replies to these questions I'll have a better idea of what to ask.

Thanks,
Mark

[Disco Mike]

Mark,
Call when when you get a chance.
Also, want to do a run with the club this saturday?
Mike

[DenverCurmudgeon]

Originally Posted by Disco Mike

Mark,
Call when when you get a chance.
Also, want to do a run with the club this saturday?
Mike

No can do. Final exams are coming up and studying must be the Law of The Land.

...but I'll call you tonight.

m