Lube Points

[goodnigh]

How many lube points are on a '71 with PS, comp suspension and toploader?

mike

 

[Hemikiller]

Upper ball joints (2)

Upper Control Arm shaft bushings (4)

Lower ball joints (2)

Tie rod ends (4)

Pitman arm (1)

U-joints (2)

Z-bar & linkage (A/R)

This assumes mostly aftermarket parts, many were non-serviceable from the factory. 

 

[7173Vert]

I would add: door hinges, door latches, hood release, door and trunk key lock mechanisms, emergency brake system, clutch actuation components... sure I missed a few. For me, it’s all about continual ongoing regular maintenance. Take care of them they take care of you on the road...

 

[droptop73]

My idler arm has a grease zerk too. 

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

I do not think any original cars has grease fittings at all. Only replacements had fittings. Maybe the control arms had plugs and somone added the fittings. Only designed to last 5 years then scrap it, lol. My high wear ares are gas pedal, clutch and shifter, lol. The U-joints broke before they needed lube.
I worked for a lawn and garden mfg. Huskvarna in Orangeburg, S.C.. We made 35 different brands on same 5 assembly lines 5,000 a day. Of course we did testing like everyone. One of the funny things we did. The mower decks have sealed bearings on the spindles for the blades. The bearings had to be sealed because they went down E-coat line to be painted black. There was a grease fitting on ever spindle going out the door. When you grease the grease just goes inside the housing and never into the bearing, lol. The front steering had nylon bushings. In testing they lasted longer if never greased but it makes the customer feel good to have grease fittings. There are not dust seals to keep grit out so with grease like lapping compound eating the parts up.
I have talked with several engineers that say an automatic transmission will last longer if you do not change the fluid. If you over heat the trans and burn the fluid then change. As long as the fluid was red and not burnt you were good to go.

 

[7173Vert]

I do not think any original cars has grease fittings at all. Only replacements had fittings. Maybe the control arms had plugs and somone added the fittings. Only designed to last 5 years then scrap it, lol. My high wear ares are gas pedal, clutch and shifter, lol. The U-joints broke before they needed lube.
I worked for a lawn and garden mfg. Huskvarna in Orangeburg, S.C.. We made 35 different brands on same 5 assembly lines 5,000 a day. Of course we did testing like everyone. One of the funny things we did. The mower decks have sealed bearings on the spindles for the blades. The bearings had to be sealed because they went down E-coat line to be painted black. There was a grease fitting on ever spindle going out the door. When you grease the grease just goes inside the housing and never into the bearing, lol. The front steering had nylon bushings. In testing they lasted longer if never greased but it makes the customer feel good to have grease fittings. There are not dust seals to keep grit out so with grease like lapping compound eating the parts up.
I have talked with several engineers that say an automatic transmission will last longer if you do not change the fluid. If you over heat the trans and burn the fluid then change. As long as the fluid was red and not burnt you were good to go.

Your first sentence is not accurate... But, maybe it is...

 

[goodnigh]

I do not think any original cars has grease fittings at all. Only replacements had fittings. Maybe the control arms had plugs and somone added the fittings. Only designed to last 5 years then scrap it, lol. My high wear ares are gas pedal, clutch and shifter, lol. The U-joints broke before they needed lube.
I worked for a lawn and garden mfg. Huskvarna in Orangeburg, S.C.. We made 35 different brands on same 5 assembly lines 5,000 a day. Of course we did testing like everyone. One of the funny things we did. The mower decks have sealed bearings on the spindles for the blades. The bearings had to be sealed because they went down E-coat line to be painted black. There was a grease fitting on ever spindle going out the door. When you grease the grease just goes inside the housing and never into the bearing, lol. The front steering had nylon bushings. In testing they lasted longer if never greased but it makes the customer feel good to have grease fittings. There are not dust seals to keep grit out so with grease like lapping compound eating the parts up.
I have talked with several engineers that say an automatic transmission will last longer if you do not change the fluid. If you over heat the trans and burn the fluid then change. As long as the fluid was red and not burnt you were good to go.

I have heard that before from a guy that does restoration work on old Mustangs, they were only designed to last five years.

mike

 

[goodnigh]

I do not think any original cars has grease fittings at all. Only replacements had fittings. Maybe the control arms had plugs and somone added the fittings. Only designed to last 5 years then scrap it, lol. My high wear ares are gas pedal, clutch and shifter, lol. The U-joints broke before they needed lube.
I worked for a lawn and garden mfg. Huskvarna in Orangeburg, S.C.. We made 35 different brands on same 5 assembly lines 5,000 a day. Of course we did testing like everyone. One of the funny things we did. The mower decks have sealed bearings on the spindles for the blades. The bearings had to be sealed because they went down E-coat line to be painted black. There was a grease fitting on ever spindle going out the door. When you grease the grease just goes inside the housing and never into the bearing, lol. The front steering had nylon bushings. In testing they lasted longer if never greased but it makes the customer feel good to have grease fittings. There are not dust seals to keep grit out so with grease like lapping compound eating the parts up.
I have talked with several engineers that say an automatic transmission will last longer if you do not change the fluid. If you over heat the trans and burn the fluid then change. As long as the fluid was red and not burnt you were good to go.

Just looked through Ford shop manual volume five, PRE-DELIVERY, MAINTENANCE and LUBRICATION. 

There is no mention of a lube point other than brake peddle or door hinges etc.  That would be page 50-03-43 and 44.

mike

 

[Don C]

From my '71 Manual

 

[goodnigh]

From my '71 Manual

View attachment 49437

View attachment 49438

I stand corrected, forgot to turn the page.

What they mean by "remove plugs to lubricate"?

mike

 

[Don C]

They did not come with grease fittings (zerks), instead they had a plug that screwed into the place where a grease fitting would normally be. They had a small flat hex head that could be easily overlooked. The plug has the same threads as grease fittings so the plug could be easily replaced with grease fittings.

 

[goodnigh]

They did not come with grease fittings (zerks), instead they had a plug that screwed into the place where a grease fitting would normally be. They had a small flat hex head that could be easily overlooked. The plug has the same threads as grease fittings so the plug could be easily replaced with grease fittings.

So why not install grease fittings in the first place?

mike

 

[midlife]

Ford was cheap cheap cheap!

 

[Don C]

I believe it was for two reasons, one was part of the extended service interval for lubricating them, 36 months or 36,000 miles. The other reason was to reduce contamination of the grease, too easy to just stick the grease gun on a dirty fitting and squirting dirt along with grease into the fitting. The size and shape of the head on the plug almost required cleaning it to get a tool on it.  Just wiping off the grease fitting can still leave dirt imbedded around the little check ball in the fitting. How many of you take a tooth brush and paint thinner and clean the fittings off before pumping the grease in them?

And, yes, they were likely cheaper than fittings and they likely had a tool to make installing them easier than fumbling with trying to get them started with fingers, they are small.

 

[goodnigh]

My mechanic said he worked on these cars when in high school fresh off the showroom floor

and they all had grease fittings. Probably a dealer prep item.

mike

 

[Don C]

When I got mine in 2001 it still had the plugs in the ball joints.  I don't remember when I first started seeing the plugs, but I believe that it was in the early to mid '60s. I worked part time in a service station where we did lubes and minor repairs in the mid 60s, so saw and replaced a lot of them with grease fittings.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

I can take you pics tomorrow of what I took off mine. The tie rods and links have no fittings and no plugs. Just the upper control arms. I changed my ball joints twice in 12,000 miles due to autocross slides into curbs so I would have to find the originals buried in the garage since the 70's. Memory not that great but I would almost swear no grease fittings in ball joints. I someone wants to contact NPD in Charlotte they have the last Cougar off the line and has just a few miles on it and will be as factory for sure.

 

[1sostatic]

I have a "lube point" .... oops, sorry, wrong forum  :whistling: :classic_blush: