Greasing Your Ball

[LBZ]

:rofl:
Now that the giggling is over, I have a question for y'all.

Does anyone know if it is reccomended or required to grease your hitch ball? If say you had a 5 or 10K trailer that you were pulling for long distances using an equalizer hitch, should a guy grease his ball?

I did put grease on my equalizer bars so that they don't squeek, but I have never put anything on the ball and have noticed it is starting to wear a little.

I remember in the old days when I was a wee lad that I saw some of the old timers that had the tennis ball filled with grease on their hitches all the time. Nowadays you don't see this anymore.
Is it neccessary?

 

[dmaxfireman]

I remember this too from when I was a wee lad!... oh yeah I still am a wee lad but still a very good question. Lets start a new trend and see how long it takes for everybody with a truck to put a tennis ball full of grease on their ball(s) :rofl:

 

[chevy_dmax]

Required? by who?

I do this still, every once in a while I will just coat my ball rolleyes with thin layer of grease, especially if I pull someone elses trailer, who has never even seen a grease gun.

I learned it from my dad. I believe it helps, there is quite a bit of force at work here when you turn, pull and stop. Anyone who has seen a worn out ball, they become oblong or oval when worn, could see that some lubrication here is a pretty good idea.

I too, have seen the ol' tennis ball, but I think was more for keeping the steel from rusting or piting the ball.

Just my $.02 fellas.
:hello:

 

[psyco66]

I used to grease the ball. Now I have an Alumastinger with a greaseless ball. The ball has like a nylon of some kind of coating on it so you do not have to grease it.

 

[NelsonDiesel]

i have never greased my ball.. guess i will start.

 

[Arcing]

Do you....

Do you grease the Chrome balls also? Would white (lithium) or Red (sticky) be best? The white spray-on would be the quickest way to lube the balls.

BTW, I think greasing the equalizer bars kinda defeats the purpose, from what I have read on their function...

 

[psyco66]

I used to use chassis grease. The lithium grease will not work. Gust put 2 or 3 pumps for your grease gun on the ball and smear it around and you are good to go.

 

[chevy_dmax]

I used to use chassis grease. The lithium grease will not work. Just put 2 or 3 pumps for your grease gun on the ball and smear it around and you are good to go.

x2

 

[McRat]

While I greased up the ball on our hitch, hauling a 13,000lb trailer to Texas and back ground the chrome right off of it. So grease is necessary even on chrome, perhaps every 1000 miles if towing heavy. Yes, it's an equalizer hitch.

The "tennis ball" is to keep grease off your pants and kids.

 

[admranger]

Grease it. Use a high pressure lubricant like a wheel bearing grease, not a general purpose grease. I use Mobil 1 or Redline (b/c that's what is in the grease gun).

I also use this on the equalizer bars where they plug into the hitch. It doesn't defeat the purpose of the bars as I can assure you that there is a lot of tension in those when I hook up. It just reduces the chance of galling, etc. when you turn. The forces in the fore/aft directions are still very much there.

 

[Alligator]

I like to grease my balls too... But seriously, I grease the ball everytime I tow my trailer. Was tought by an old mechanic many years ago that it was a good thing to do.

 

[Arcing]

About Grease/Lube?

We all know the SAE spec's for our diesels, and what letter/numbers to look for.

Is there such a spec for general chassis grease, wheel bearing grease and ball grease? Like I know the difference between the various calcium and lithium greases, but not between chassis and wheel bearing grease....

What specification should I look for in a all around grease, BALL, chassis and wheel bearing? I don't need brands necessarily, but a letter/number system designation would be nice.

Then I could lube my Balls with the right stuff too.

 

[JOHNBOY]

I use wheel bearing grease. One pump for the gun every time before I hook.
No ball chaffing for me!

 

[mytmousemalibu]

Slippery balls!!! I think its a good idea with the exeption of wiping the old stuff out after a bit, cause it will eventually draw in dirt and grit and thats not good either!

 

[Arcing]

We all know the SAE spec's for our diesels, and what letter/numbers to look for.

Is there such a spec for general chassis grease, wheel bearing grease and ball grease? Like I know the difference between the various calcium and lithium greases, but not between chassis and wheel bearing grease....

What specification should I look for in a all around grease, BALL, chassis and wheel bearing?

The National Lubrication Grease Institute (NLGI) certifies grease to meet the top-rated performance levels in both the chassis grease category (NLGI LB) and the wheel bearing grease category (NLGI GC).

I found my answer.....

 

[Coop]

Equalizer bars

Arcing,

If someone lubes the equalizer bars they are probably doing it where they fit into the hitch. That is different than lubing the ends of the bars at the dual cam sway control points or lubing the friction bar which controls sway.

Mike

 

[MMLMM]

I say don't grease your ball, it attracts dirt and it will wear quicker than without

5th wheel guys, you should grease the plate every haul, and clean often. I use to have a bunch of grease in packs, you'd throw 2 of them onto the 5th wheel and then hook trailer up (that was for a rig though)

 

[LBZ]

Wow a lot more talk about "balls" then I thought there would be here!!

While I greased up the ball on our hitch, hauling a 13,000lb trailer to Texas and back ground the chrome right off of it. So grease is necessary even on chrome, perhaps every 1000 miles if towing heavy. Yes, it's an equalizer hitch.

The "tennis ball" is to keep grease off your pants and kids.

This is kind of what I figured. As well as to keep it off the dog!!

Grease it. Use a high pressure lubricant like a wheel bearing grease, not a general purpose grease. I use Mobil 1 or Redline (b/c that's what is in the grease gun).

I also use this on the equalizer bars where they plug into the hitch. It doesn't defeat the purpose of the bars as I can assure you that there is a lot of tension in those when I hook up. It just reduces the chance of galling, etc. when you turn. The forces in the fore/aft directions are still very much there.

Arcing,

If someone lubes the equalizer bars they are probably doing it where they fit into the hitch. That is different than lubing the ends of the bars at the dual cam sway control points or lubing the friction bar which controls sway.

Mike

This was my thinking when I first got my new hitch. I figured it couldn't hurt. However, I think the best grease to use in these places and on the ball is the same grease truckers use to grease their 5th wheel plates. It is a very "heavy" grease and doesn't break down easy. I put it on my bars 3 years ago and there is still plenty of grease in there, it doesn't get runny and drip when it gets hot either!

 

[LBZ]

I say don't grease your ball, it attracts dirt and it will wear quicker than without

This has been the only reason that I have been hesitant to do this and decided to post this question. However, my ball is wearing quite badly without grease, so maybe there is no difference except it won't squeek when I drive.

 

[MMLMM]

This has been the only reason that I have been hesitant to do this and decided to post this question. However, my ball is wearing quite badly without grease, so maybe there is no difference except it won't squeek when I drive.

how old is it? Just replace it, its gotta last about a year or so...