Tie Rod ends

[WANN4STROKE]

I got my Apex Mtn back from my dealer today. They were trying to figure out why the steering was so hard and come to find out that some of the tie rods were not moving properly in the socket. Is this from lack of lube- what do you lube with? Road Spray- I have a cover but doesn't cover front end. I'm looking for ideas. Wasn't a cheap fix. Should I spray down the front end with WD-40 when I put it in the garage- where it stays when not riding- even in the summer.

They also replaced all of the bushings in the steering column and put in the big boy spring. Feels much different already.

Thxs.

David

 

[mud99]

I'm not sure how you lube those tie rods, haven't done mine yet, but WD-40 is definitely not the right lubricant, you should use a good synthetic grease for that.

WD-40 will liquify any grease in there, and then mostly evaporates, leaving you with only a thin oil film. It's good for removing grease and oils but not for lubrication. Oils are usually only used for lubrication when they are in a sealed environment, i.e. like your engine oil or chaincase oil.

Greases are used when you need to lubricate something which is not sealed. They are thick & sticky and won't flow out like an oil will.

You might use WD-40 to clean the tie rod, and then apply grease after the WD-40 has evaporated, that would be a proper use of WD-40.

Here's the WD-40 formula, as you can see it's only 15% oil, and 50% solvent. Good for cleaning, not good for lubrication:
* 50%: Stoddard solvent (i.e., mineral spirits -- primarily hexane, somewhat similar to kerosene)
* 25%: Liquefied petroleum gas (presumably as a propellant; carbon dioxide is now used instead to reduce WD-40's considerable flammability)
* 15+%: Mineral oil (light lubricating oil)
* 10-%: Inert ingredients

Mark

 

[yamadog1]

oil

i have used amsoil metal protecter for years and never had a problem with ball joints.

 

[apltx08]

I have gotten the best result so far with this KROWN lube...it lubes and stays on and also a RUST inhibitor, I use it on ALL parts needing lube, all the steering linkage, pitt arms under battery, also spray some on the famous bushing behind the chaicase it tends to get DRY and cause STIFFER steering, I also use it on all ELECTRICAL connections to prevent corrosion that cause bad connections.

KROWN makes it under private label for Home Hardware, heres the link for KROWN its the equivalent of the T40

http://www.krown.com/#products/aerosol/

 

[tapp1]

I just use an oil can and oil them every 2 or 3 rides.