83 Merc Marquis (mid-size) Ball Joints

JON R

MEMBER
1983 MERCURY MARQUIS

83 Mercury Marquis (mid-size)
3.8L V6 - rear wheel drive
Power rack and pinion
80,600 miles

Hi,

My question has to do with greasing the ball joints.
This car has MacPherson struts so only has lower control arms. There are no grease fittings for the ball joints. The manuals I have available don't cover this specific model, but describe removing solid plugs and installing grease fittings. The "plugs" I see do not appear to be removeable because they are smooth domes. I have had a couple of folks suggest that these might be factory sealed and unserviceable. As far as I know, these are the original ball joints. They do not appear to be worn or need to be replaced at this time.
Can you tell me if this model was built with factory sealed ball joints?
If so, am I better off leaving them alone until they need replacing?
It just seems wrong not to grease them.?

Jon R

1 Reply

MIKE H R

MECHANIC
3,094 POSTS

If the domes are smooth, the ball joints are not serviceable, on older cars they would have grease fittings in the center of the dome. Even most of the new replaceable ones do not have grase fittings. If you have no problem with them I would leave them.