MTFCA Forum

Seems after a good long ride when checking and wiping things down after the ride a little oooze around my pictured ball cap. When I assembled the U-joint into the back of the motor I packed it full of the Timken bearing grease.

Thinking this might be expected and adding back in through my grease cup the amount of what I wiped away. Any input would be great and thanks in advance.

One other note I will be re-safety wiring the lower bolts, I just installed a new brake switch and new wire is on my weekend to-do list.

I would not re-use the escaped grease. It probably contains grit. Fresh grease is much cheaper and easier to install than driveline parts.

TXGOAT2 wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 03, 2021 8:44 pm

I would not re-use the escaped grease. It probably contains grit. Fresh grease is much cheaper and easier to install than driveline parts.

Sorry Pat, not re-using that old grease I wiped away. My HS english teacher would probably have smacked me on the back of the head for that one in using "adding" inproperly instead of "in addition to"

My first thought at seeing that overflow of what appears to be fresh clean grease is to wipe it off with my finger and put it back in the ball joint grease cup. If the ball was covered with old crusty, dirt filled grease, I would not consider re-using it, but, due to Scott’s diligence and care of keeping his Model T components wiped down, that ball is so clean, I would not have any problem with re-using the leaked out grease. Jim Patrick

Perhaps it is doing what radiators do, expelling any overfill.

Allan from down under.

Allan wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 04, 2021 12:12 am

Perhaps it is doing what radiators do, expelling any overfill.

Allan from down under.

Spot on.
After you wipe down the excess grease, next comes some "liquified" grease from all the revolutions. Perfectly normal, albeit messy. "Marks the cars spot"!!

Allan wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 04, 2021 12:12 am

Perhaps it is doing what radiators do, expelling any overfill.

Allan from down under.

This is generally true. While filling, when the excess grease oozes out, its full. Thats how you know.
The looser the "ball" joint the more excess mess there is. If you put a gasket under the flange, (cant tell from the pix) you greatly increase this phenomenon & added a looseness to this joint. Check parts vendors. There is a "shim" to take up for wear. Another factor is grease thickness. Thin works its way out easier. If the 4th main bearing fit is not tight, oil mixes in & thins further. I have been using a mix of regular molly & hi temp disk bearing grease. This mess is personal annoyance.

I have been experimenting with a sealing method. Temporary improvement/success so far. The last one i did doesnt have enough miles to know yet.

With the flange off. Solvent clean the contact areas. Spread a thin, even layer of oil on the ball. Place an even layer of ultra black silicone on the ball radius area of the flange. Let set a few minutes. Mount flange up. (not tight yet) After 1/2 hour tighten the 4 bolts. Clean the excess the next day by cutting away with a razor blade. Let sit overnight before moving the joint.

Scott, I mis-read your statement about the excess grease. (you wrote "adding back THE AMOUNT") As for the grease mess issue, a custom machined ball cap with a couple of O-ring grooves on the inner face might solve it. Such an arrangement would probably need one of the "pop off" type relief valves added to allow filling the cavity. A cap machined from solid steel with two O-ring grooves, one to seal and one for a "wiper", might work well. Add grease near bottom; place pop off near top. Install with grease between inner and outer O-ring. The O-rings might help quiet the assembly by taking up slack when braking or slowing down.

On the second picture in this thread I can see the two lower bolts holding the UJ ball joint plate in place.
These two bolts should be wired together.