Ball joints!

[DarkoNova]

Maybe a stupid question, but how much grease do you put in them? When I had new ball joints pressed in a few weeks ago, I put grease in them and they were big and full, but had a little give to them. I thought they were perfect, but decided to add a little more and whattaya know? Blew a hole in one of the lower boots. But I was just doing a timing belt on my sister's car today and I noticed her balljoints have damn near no grease in them, they're super flat and squishy. But they're the OEM ones, and it's a newer car so there's no grease fitting and it looks like they're not replaceable.

So my first question is where can I buy new boots? I see Summit sells polyurethane boots, seems kind of overkill...I was hoping I could just get a rubber one from Autozone or something.

And the second question is how much grease do you put in them? Seems like more would be better, but it could be one of those things like wheel bearings. I remember seeing people always put extra grease on the bearing or in the dust cap when that was just a waste. Is it the same thing with ball joints?

I don't think I've ever seen a spec or amount for ball joint grease.

[DarkoNova]

Wow, 80 views and nothing?

I'm the only one that doesn't know exactly how much grease to put in a ball joint?

[regal454]

Matt,

I don't know if this is coorect, but I always fill them until I see the rubber boot just start to expand.

[Rod]

Just give a few shots, watching the rubber boot just start to swell,,, ^^^^ he said the same thing,, I was slow on the keyboard

[BigMikeIndy]

The guys are on it. Once the swelling begins your good. I've had luck in the past getting boots form the help section at local auto parts store.

P.S. Sorry for the delay!

[Classic Nova & Performance]

As has been said already, just until you see the boots starting to swell. Want to lube the ball & socket, displace any water, but not really pressurize the boot.

[DarkoNova]

P.S. Sorry for the delay!

Ha, it's probably more me being impatient. When I'm at school on lunch/break I constantly check my phone to see if anyone responded lol.

I always figured they were supposed to be 100% full, and I've never seen anyone talk about this stuff so I never knew better. Thanks for clearing it up guys.