Grease nipples

[PedigreeChummy]

Hello all

Quick question re. greasing the car...

I am working my round the grease nipples as I find them, giving them a good squirt, but haven't got any diagram or checklist to follow, and am just treating them as I come across them. Has anyone got a source which shows where they all are?

I get a bit paranoid I have missed some when it comes to greasing, so any tips for ones that you can only locate if you are a Moscow State Circus contortionist, or for which you require the fingers of a spider monkey, will be appreciated....

Thanks!

["Slack Alice" Simon]

Handbooks available from the online archive at http://archive.a7ca.org

[Rogerchummy]

There all pretty obvious except the grease nipples for the two bearings in the drive shafts - one is for the carden joint block at the rear end of the prop shaft and the other is at the forward end of the torque tube. Both are close together and can both be accessed by removing the cover on the transmission tunnel. You might need to turn the engine with the starting handle with the car in gear in order to get the nipple on the carden joint block to turn to face the aperture in the transmission tunnel.

[Chris KC]

This might help - there are several versions available on the web as well as to buy for your garage wall!

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[David Stepney]

There are 12 grease nipples if you have a carden type propshaft, one on each of the front spring shackle bushes (4), one on each of the kingpins (2) one on each of the track rod ends (2), one on each of the rear spring pins (2) one on the propshaft and one for the torque tube mounting.

There are several places that require oiling: the drag link ends, the front radius arm bushes and ball (where it fits to the front crossmember), the brake cross shaft bearings (and the bit where the two cross shafts fit together) and I also pit a spot of oil on each brake cable end (both the ball end where it fits to the brake and the other end where it fits to the arms on the cross shaft. I also smear a little grease on the front brake compensator (where the cable passes through a curved slider). Putting a little oil on the ball where the torque tube mounting fits the ball on the ear crossmember also helps. It saves having to pull the joint apart and repack it with grease all the time.

I also paint the springs with old engine oil to keep them supple occasionally. I am also a great believer in putting a spot of oil on all the moving linkages under the bonnet and the brake pedal pivot.

One thing that is often overlooked is the 'screw down' greaser on the distributor. Unscrew it and make sure it is packed with grease and then give it a turn one every 1000 miles or so. It stops the distributor top bearing from wearing and mucking the points gap up.

Hope this helps.

[PedigreeChummy]

Thanks fellas. That's all good info and a great help... diagram, descriptions and link to the handbooks covers everything. Lovely stuff

[Reckless Rat]

It's worthwhile (if you're not that bothered about 100% originality) to change the grease nipples to the more modern type that will suit a modern grease gun. I found a lot of the older type on my car were blocked and weren't allowing the grease to flow

[Mike Costigan]

... and don't forget there's the grease nipple on the steering box - but use oil, not grease!

[Bill Dixon]

For the steering box I use Penrite T250 OIL, specification APIGL-1,safe with brass &bronze.

[Mike Costigan]

Two more; or perhaps just one and a half more!

The fan pulley has a grease nipple for occasional applications, and early cars have a grease nipple on the propshaft-driven pulley.