As I have got the same issue as the original creator of this topic, I decided to continue here.
To be specific, when I bought my Jimny several months ago, the swivel hubs (balls) were absolutely dry and appeared to have micro-scratches on them.
Whichever car service station or mechanic I visited after that, everybody immediately pointed to me that those swivel hubs (balls) had to be urgently greased, for two stated reasons:
1. If dry, the excess friction when steering will wear them out.
2. All other front solid axle vehicles including military trucks have that performed as a standard regular maintenance procedure.
As that sounded perfectly logical to me, I agreed and had the swivel balls manually greased on two occasions. It was first done about 4 months ago, and I recently noticed that the swivel balls got dry again, so I took it for another greasing about 7 days ago.
Both time, the greasing was done manually, in the following manner:
1. The steering wheel was rotated to the outmost left position
2. The mechanic smeared the grease on the exposed parts of both balls manually (with hands)
3. The steering wheel was rotated to the outmost right position
4. The mechanic again smeared the grease on the exposed parts of both balls manually (with hands)
That's how it was done. It was expected that the normal operation of the steering wheel during driving will cause the grease to be "picked up" from the exposed portions of the balls and smear them inside.
Now, if I understand, that greasing MUST NOT have been done! Correct!? They should be dry and never be treated with anything?
So, if the balls should be dry all the time, what damage could this greasing have done? I drove the car with such greasy swivel hubs through snow, some mud, murky water on undulated gravel roads (normal for this time of year ...).
But I took the car for a good wash after any rough ride, and I take the effort to wash the underbody including the front suspension every time.
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Now, the question is:
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Should I take action to immediately remove the grease, or just do nothing and let it "expire" on its own?
If I need to remove it immediately, is it enough just to apply the reverse procedure to the one above?
That means: remove the grease manually from the exposed parts of the hubs, then rotate the steering wheel to the opposite side, and remove a bit more from the exposed parts, and repeat the procedure until I see no more grease on the exposed parts.?
Or do I have to take the car to a service, to have the front hubs taken apart for an overhaul? That sound like a major work.
Please advise on this, as I got really surprised that the swivel balls must be dry. First I was delighted that my swivel hubs were well greased (that felt like good care maintenance), and now I get an impression like I might have devastated a good mechanical system.
