Re-greasing front top-mounts.

[Carolyn]

I decided to have a peek at the condition of the top-mount bearings on my silver car.  I popped off the rubber cover in the centre on the top of the strut and they were pretty much bone dry.

What little grease there was had gone hard and crusty and the ball-bearings were visible and obviously dry.

I know most people do this job by taking the strut out, but it occurred to me it could be done without the use of a single spanner.

The challenge was to work out how to force grease into the bearing, and then I realised I had the perfect tool for the job; the rubber cap!  it has a deep lip that reaches pretty much down to the top of the bearing.

I filled the cavity with Multi-purpose grease (as specified in the manual), using my fingers, put some more into the cap, put the cap on, and forced it down with the heel of my hand.  Then I took the cap back off, added a bit more grease and put the cap back.  I had to hit the cap gently several times, with the heel of my hand, to get it to sit back in place.

That process has forced the grease well into the bearing.

Took it for a drive, and the steering felt noticeably lighter and smoother.

[dan944]

Nice tip!! I'll be doing this soon then. I'll put it on the list.

[shnazzle]

Nice! I wonder if the same applies to my BCs... Will have a look

[delhusband]

Just replaced my front top mounts recently, fns was knocking a bit as well as creaking. Knowing this'll be good for me doing a bit of inspection/preventative maintenance from now on. Like yours, mine were bone dry, when a rather helpful chap peeled off the dustcap and had a look after I told them about slight play and noises at front.

[Joesson]

Nice (simple, we like simple) idea @Carolyn .