Lubing the front suspension components with a grease gun

ix&x5 · #1 03-09-2016, 12:58 AM

What kind of grease is in the front suspension components with grease boots on original parts? I've always greased non zerk equipped front suspensions with a boot needle on the end of my grease gun to add lube to dry boots. Anybody else do this and what kind of grease are you using?

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bcredliner · #2 03-09-2016, 01:33 PM

BMW Parts and BMW Accessories | Bavarian Autosport

The only part of the front suspension that is lubricated are the CV joints. If they are dry the boots need to be replaced

ix&x5 · #3 03-09-2016, 03:55 PM

There are at least five(3) ball type joints at each front wheel that have rubber boots that contain some type grease in them. If they ever tear or dry out grease leaks out. The stabilzer bar connecting links have boots that from the factory did not contain any grease, if I'm correct, but are still lubeable. All of these are considered lifetime joints so they don't have grease zirks on them anymore. In the past, maybe the 90's, they stopped putting them on ball joints etc. so that they would wear out sooner. The zirks were on the driveshafts, idler arms, sometimes on rear leafsprings etc. I had a Mitsubishi Montero that had 17 greaseable booted joints. So what I'm asking is if anybody knows what the factory grease was in these boots. I will be greasing these anyway but sometimes one grease when mixed with another cause the other to breakdown and turn to liquid.

Clockwork · #4 03-09-2016, 04:15 PM

My wifes silverado has a bunch of serviceable boots/joints using grease nipples, but the X5 has none that I have seen in my many years... I'd LOVE to have grease nipples on suspension/steering components but not gonna happen with BMW's I feel.

Helihover · #5 03-09-2016, 04:16 PM

Too much overthinking

If you really want to service non serviceable parts with grease, than just buy some grease and "inject" it in there. It's not going to do anything good because the grease is just going to lay on top of the joint. The grease needs to be in between the two metal moving parts, not on top. That being said, you might have better luck using wd-40.

They are not considered life time either. If you go to real oem, you can find "service" items of said components. As seen here RealOEM.com - Online BMW Parts Catalog

I think 10-15 years of abuse is a great lifetime for a metal to metal joint.

bcredliner · #6 03-09-2016, 04:41 PM

I was not clear. Yes, there are certainly other areas you can add grease if you want. I imagine some owners do so even though they are sealed. Without doing any lubrication the life span of the suspension on an X5 is usually around 100,000 miles. My guess is if you use what is used on BMW ball joints that should be lubricated you will not have a problem. Due to the viscosity of CV joint grease I don't think it is a good idea to use it on other areas you would like to add grease.

The CV boots are a different story and that's the reason for the focus on them. it is not unusual for the boots to leak grease when the cv joints are still in great shape. Even then it is time to replace the boots and of course the grease rather than just add grease.

upallnight · #7 03-09-2016, 07:12 PM

Life time ATF
Life time greaseless ball joint.

Want a car that doesn't have all these lifetime feature, buy a Mitsubishi.

Scott ZHP · #8 03-09-2016, 07:23 PM

My favorite suspension grease is Mobil 1 synthetic. It's lithium based and recommended for chassis components and wheel bearings.

My MGB has a dozen zerk fittings, u-joints, kingpins-top and bottom, even the hand brake cable has a fitting.

For CV joints, I use Swepco 101 CV grease. It's EP rated and moly based; the Porsche guys swear by it.

ix&x5 · #9 03-09-2016, 08:24 PM

Thanks Scott ZHP, that's close to what I was looking for, I will try that.to everyone, I was joking about" lifetime" parts, it really means until the parts give out. I've used a "boot needle " for about 40 years and never replace any suspension components but we'll see. I have even cut open ball joints just to see how they are made. A lot have grooves that channel grease down around the ball so it just doesn't sit up top. When a ball joint goes out look under the boot just for your own knowledge, I have seen them dry and rusty. I have also lubed them and water came out of a boot that was not broken

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