Where does the grease go?

J

jeepguy1948

Well-known member
On the bottom of the axle housing on both ends, just inboard of the backing plate flange is a Zerk fitting. Where does the grease go from there? I’m pretty sure that there isn’t a bearing in there.
 
There is also a Zerk fitting on each side for the rear service brake arm. It's hard to see and even harder to reach with a grease gun, which is why so many of the brake jobs I do include frozen actuating arms due to lack of lubrication. That essentially means the front brakes are doing all the work. Seek out that Zerk and grease it per specifications.
Attached is a photo of the rear brake track assemblies and the Zerk fittings. 'Sorry that there is not a clear view of where those fittings go. They are driven into the snouts of the roller track bodies.

Marshall
 

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jeepguy1948 said:
On the bottom of the axle housing on both ends, just inboard of the backing plate flange is a Zerk fitting. Where does the grease go from there? I’m pretty sure that there isn’t a bearing in there.
Click to expand...

JFranklin has offered sage advice, do not over lubricate them. Ford eliminated those fittings in mid 1939 as over lubrication was causing too many issues, too many times.
 
It is a tortured path for the grease from that fitting to make it out to the rear wheel bearing. You're better off removing the rear hub and re-packing the bearing periodically.
 
Grease takes the path of least resistance in a hydraulic situation. The grease tends to pack into the axle housing where it can leak around the axle seal. If it does make it into the hub bearing then it can end up in the drum if the person handling the grease gun expects grease to come out somewhere and over services it. Wheel bearings should be hand packed. I'm sure that the Ford service guys asked that question to the Ford reps on many occasions. That's likely why the grease fitting was eventually deleted but that took a long time to happen.
 
The 18 year old at jiffer lube might fill your brake drum. When I rebuilt my rear axle I pumped that fitting while the wheel was removed just to see if it would make it to the hub, and to judge how many pumps of my gun to use in the future.
 
rotorwrench said:
Grease takes the path of least resistance in a hydraulic situation. The grease tends to pack into the axle housing where it can leak around the axle seal. If it does make it into the hub bearing then it can end up in the drum if the person handling the grease gun expects grease to come out somewhere and over services it. Wheel bearings should be hand packed. I'm sure that the Ford service guys asked that question to the Ford reps on many occasions. That's likely why the grease fitting was eventually deleted but that took a long time to happen.
Click to expand...

That is exactly why Ford eventually eliminated that fitting. For part of the '39 production there was a brass plug with a slot in it that replaced the fitting. Then, the threaded boss was eliminated in the casting process never to reappear.
 
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