Reply to "Cracked control arm"

My car came with two zerks in each carrier for lubing the shafts, but sometimes it's tough to get them to take grease.

So each winter while she's up on stands with the wheels off I back off one of the two big 22mm nuts on the ends of the shaft until it's almost off. Then I put my ratchet on the other end of the shaft and turn that nut in a tightening direction until the shaft spins in the carrier while I pump in the grease. Next I reverse the operation and loosen the nut I just tightened and tighten the one I first loosened until the shaft spins again and grease it some more. Finally I adjust the shaft with the nuts until I see an equal projection on each side and snug them both down again.

This moves each shaft longitudinally in the carrier about a quarter inch or so and spinning them seems to help it take grease. When the nuts are loose the shafts seem to spin quite easily.

Even without grease fittings this procedure on a regular basis should keep your shafts from freezing in the carrier. Doesn't take long.