I sent this to Marlin at JBA..Here's what I sent, maybe some of you could give me you input too....

Ok, here's my situation.. last week I went in to have all of the nuts and bolts checked 300 miles after my suspension lift was installed..and everything looked good except the "grease fitting" at the top of BOTH gen 4.5 a-arms were..missing! (see pic below after they were installed) The mechanic simply said that they(the grease fittings) sometimes come off when the vehicle goes into 4wd a lot (which is does...but I just drive it on the beach though, no rock climbing or any flexing) But he did not ellaborate HOW this occurs, so this has me concerned, and my questions to you are...
What would cause this to happen...do you know what he meant by going into 4wd and how that would affect those grease fittings?
Have you ever heard of this happening before?
And how vital of a component is this fitting if this should happen again?
(My side thought is that maybe they never installed the grease fitting on each in the first place!!)"

Any thoughts guys?? Thanks in advance!

photo of a-arm with the grease fitting installed...

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Black '03 Renegade
custom 3"OME MD lift w/strut plates
245/70/16 General Grabber AT2s
Spidertrax 1.25" wheel spacers
K&N Intake, Flowmaster 50 Delta Flow
Al's a-arms gen4.5, Moog LBJs
custom fishing pole roof rack
front hooks & dual hitch receivers

i have no idea how going into 4WD could possibly cause those grease fittings to come off. sounds made up. however, if you were to top out on your top bumpstop, the grease fitting is the first thing to hit that bumpstop. I cut out a slot on each of my bumpstops to clear that fitting. but, you said your just on the beach, no flexing or anything, so i dont know. the upward travel of the front suspension isnt all that far though, so you might have topped it out without knowing?

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-Jon-
02 Jeep Liberty - LOST Trail Tested Edition - sold
09 VW Tiguan 4motion - current

Yeah that 4wd theory is bull. Either they got knocked out by the bumpstops or someone didn't feel like buying their own grease-zerks.

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2003 Limited, Silver - L.O.S.T. # 068957 Rockies
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2127390/14
2006 Kawasaki KLR650

Almost all aftermarket balljoints are not threaded for grease zerks,though they have the hole for them.When screwing in the zerks they "cut" there own threads.If you did not make sure the zerks were tight before install they will back out from vibrations and the grease will push them out also.

If you have extended front bumbstops you reaaly need to cut a relief for the zerks,a good idea also for non-extended bumbstops,you hit those bumbstops more then you think even on the street.See pic below of mine,just took about 10 seconds each side with a 1/2" drill bit,it's easy to find where to make the cuts if your UCA's have hit the bumbstops before.

Wow!.... I'll have to keep an eye on my zerks every time I engage 4WD now, imagine that.

Options

1. Zerks were not installed and the mechanic didn't even notice.
2. The zerks were installed, but screwed in by hand and not tightened causing them to possibly virbrate loose and fall out.
3. The grease gun ate them!

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Slightly modified Lt. Khaki 3.7 2004 LTD 4X4. Purchased new 8/6/03.
What I don't have....A Mag light mounted to my seat.
Original Old L.O.S.T. #000354

Nick's Pics & Mods click here: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/531173
http://www.survivaltopics.com/forums/

all I got to say is that's BS

I think you should lose your mechanic by engaging 4WD

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PETE
ADMINISTRATOR
L.O.S.T. 4 LIFE
04 COLUMBIA ED. & 04 SPORT

Makes sense...any of the above could be possible. What is the actual purpose of a grease zerk btw?

Time to get the drill out i guess! actually, when they installed the lift, they didn't install the extended bumpstops i know i know..SLAP! So it looks like it's up to me then..those front teraflex bumpstops..how do u remove the old and install the new? Any tricks?

_________________
Black '03 Renegade
custom 3"OME MD lift w/strut plates
245/70/16 General Grabber AT2s
Spidertrax 1.25" wheel spacers
K&N Intake, Flowmaster 50 Delta Flow
Al's a-arms gen4.5, Moog LBJs
custom fishing pole roof rack
front hooks & dual hitch receivers

UUHHHHHHH.................

To add grease to the balljoints so they will not wearout as fast as a sealed balljoint that came from the factory.You should shoot at least 2-3 pumps of grease from a grease gun every oil change to keep them lubed real good.

Extended bumpstops are not really needed unless you do lots of flexing with the sway bar off or plan on hitting some big bumps. If you do offroad a lot then extended bumpstops would be handy since it will cause the springs to sag prematurely without them. They would also help if you have bigger tires that rub.

If the arm hitting the bumpstop caused them to come off most likely they broke off... Which means the threads are still in the arm. If theres nothing left they probably just worked their way out.

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LOST KJ'S
Where are you going???
Current Jeep: 2004 Jeep Liberty
-Atlantic Blue
-Air Ride Rear Suspension ; OME/Rustys Lift ; Powertrax Locker ; Moog Lower Ball-Joints ; 245/70/16 Yokohama Geolander A/T-S's on MOABS ; Flowmaster 50 SUV
Lost #007082
http://www.cardomain.com/id/jeepjeepster

the purpose of the grease zerk is nothing more then a fitting for the grease gun to attach to and pump grease in. Its just a fitting.

the old bumpstops just pull out with a little elbow grease. brace yourself against the tire and pull toward the outside of the vehicle. to put the new ones in, you just "pop them in!" sounds easy huh. actually, you'll need to put some soap or "something" on them to ease the entry if you get my drift. when ray and i put mine on he used a board and pried against the tire to pop it in.

_________________
-Jon-
02 Jeep Liberty - LOST Trail Tested Edition - sold
09 VW Tiguan 4motion - current

make sure you grease the upper and lowers when you do your oil changes. Is there a recommended interval for Moogs?

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Jason
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Every oil change.

agreed but I thought I read somewhere about the JBA UBJ's needing grease every 1000 miles?

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Jason
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Yeah those Chevy balljoints need constant greasing.I can personally tell you that if not greased often they will seperate in about 1000miles or less,those are the same UBJ's used on H1's and have replaced thousands,litterly, on brand new HMMWV's with less then 500 miles on the ODO and the factory red protective caps still on the grease zerks,meaning they where never greased by the drivers.

ok, I am confused. Aren't the JBA UBJ's Moogs also? What is this talk of Chevy balljoints? I don't change my oil every 1000 miles so I would need to get under and grease 3-5 times between oil changes.

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Jason
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MOOG makes balljoints for just about every vehicle on the planet,the UBJ's that JBA uses now just happen to be the UBJ's for Chevy pickups/H1's.The lower MOOG's(K3199's) are a HD balljoint and are sealed much better.

In the military we had to,or supposed to(never happened unless us mechanics did it),grease those balljoints once every week.

ok, so the JBA UBJ are Moogs but made for Chevy's and require addtional greasing between oil changes?
Sorry if I am sounding lame but I barely got a high school education

edit: Just looking on JBA website they list the K772 UBJ for Gen 1-4 and the K6292 for the Gen 4.5. Which one is the Chevy BJ?

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Jason
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Thats the way it seems.

Ive never heard of anyone greasing a chevy balljoint every 1000 miles though and I surely never hear of chevy having balljoint issues like the liberty does.

_________________
LOST KJ'S
Where are you going???
Current Jeep: 2004 Jeep Liberty
-Atlantic Blue
-Air Ride Rear Suspension ; OME/Rustys Lift ; Powertrax Locker ; Moog Lower Ball-Joints ; 245/70/16 Yokohama Geolander A/T-S's on MOABS ; Flowmaster 50 SUV
Lost #007082
http://www.cardomain.com/id/jeepjeepster

These are the '70-'80's 2wd chevy pickup UBJ's,back in the days when you greased stuff all the time.

Just looking on JBA website they list the K772 UBJ for Gen 1-4 and the K6292 for the Gen 4.5. Which one is the Chevy BJ?

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Jason
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