Radius rod rubber ball replacement.

Licensed to kill

Licensed to kill

Well-known member
My car has the rubber ball radius rod repair on it and the ball is pooched so I am replacing it. Should it go on dry or lube it?. If it is to be lubed, lube inside, outside or both?. If so, regular grease or???.
 
The original design had a felt pad for catching oil that leaked past the rear main, and the socket for the ball had a hole that allowed the oil to lube the joint. I think that the replacement socket for the rubber ball has no hole to allow the oil in. Oil might degrade the rubber ball over time, so I'd vote that you put it on dry.
 
I would grease both the inside and outside. The ball will have some movement, so a lubed ball is better. Then I think I would look at the original set up and go with that when you have the chance. The rubber ball kind of hides or masks a real worn ball, sometimes.
 
The easy way to install is to just set the solid part of ball onto surface and roll it over the ball, I Put one on my car probably 10 years ago and put grease on mine and it slid right on. All your doing is turning it inside out. Nothing is never easy!!
 
The rubber ball on my car had pooched and I was very happy to discover that the stock parts went right on and cured the shimmy. The steel ball was fine and I don’t know why the rubber ball was put on. I vote for stock!
 
Mine came with the rubber ball also. Lots of shimmy. They had installed the two springs between the clam shells to make it fit. Ball deleted.
 
While i appreciate everyone that took the time to respond, I was actually only asking about lubrication of the ball, not how authentic the rubber ball is for a Model A or IF I should use the rubber ball. The car drove smooth as butter and straight down the road with the old rubber ball but the ball was torn and since i had it apart (to pull the engine/trans) I chose to replace the rubber ball and bolts. I decided to grease the inside and leave the outside dry.
 
Licensed to kill said:
While i appreciate everyone that took the time to respond, I was actually only asking about lubrication of the ball, not how authentic the rubber ball is for a Model A or IF I should use the rubber ball. The car drove smooth as butter and straight down the road with the old rubber ball but the ball was torn and since i had it apart (to pull the engine/trans) I chose to replace the rubber ball and bolts. I decided to grease the inside and leave the outside dry.
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TMI (another case of To Much Information)
 
Same as motorcycle handle bars, dish soap lets them slide on and they are glued, won’t come off.
Maybe modern made rubber not work as good
 
I know you are asking about lube, but, to get the rubber over the ball quick and easy...two teaspoons works wonders.
 
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