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No Grease 2020 Chevy 2500WT Duramax

Lightenup
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Lightenup Enthusiast

Lightenup

Posted
Posted (edited)

I replaced the idler with a SuperSteer one and I took apart the original.  Zero Grease!  I decided to check the ball joints and tie rods, guess what.. Zero Grease.  I don't know if this was just my truck or if the standards of building things here in America have just ceased to exist.  I highly recommend you all check to see if you truck is greased in the front end.  There should be a total of 9 zerk fittings.  This should be at least done by the dealer before sale is my thoughts.  I purchased my truck from "Dale Earnhardt Chevy" in Tallahassee.  I realize after a ton of issues with that dealer that they are all crooks!

Edited by Lightenup
MORSNO Enthusiast

MORSNO

Posted
Posted

That is just another reason foreign cars assembled in the US by non-union workers are pulling ahead of the big 3, shabby assembly by all three.

davester Senior Enthusiast

davester

Posted
Posted

This isn't a union thing.  This is a bean-counter thing.

 

GM demands the parts be as cheap as possible, and skimping on grease is one way to do it.  The assembly line is setup with the assumption the parts are pre-greased sufficiently, so there is no greasing station that the union workers are just ignoring.

 

It has just enough grease to get it out of warranty.  For GM, that's good enough.

 

Now, if you want it to last, definitely get under there and grease it yourself.  And perhaps replace the bits without grease nipples with ones that have them as they wear out (it's my understanding GM has been reducing the number of grease nipples over the last 10 or so years).

 

And I would also assume, if you get the truck serviced by the dealer, that they also don't bother greasing anything.

unit Enthusiast

unit

Posted
Posted

I read this post and decided to grease my new LTZ just to make sure everything was lubed.  I was pleased that this truck is easier to grease than either of my two prior HD's.  two less zerks and the remainder are more accessible.  That said, it was obvious that all points had grease from the factory and there weren't any issues.  My thoughts are that the one thing any HD owner should do himself or herself is to buy a grease gun and grease the fittings yourself.  It's not hard, it can be done with the truck sitting on the ground and takes about 30 minutes.  The front skid plate  under the radiator needs to be removed to get to three of the fittings.  Four 15mm bolts hold it and it comes down out of the way.   I doubt many, if any dealers or oil change shops ever grease all of the fittings because it's too time consuming and bothersome for them.  Just my two cents worth!

C/K Man Enthusiast

C/K Man

Posted
Posted

Supposed to be greased during PDI.  I grease all my new vehicles right after I buy them just to be sure.  Even grease the new trucks at work when we get them.  It's hit or miss if the dealer does it.  At least GM trucks still have zerks!    

XY74 Enthusiast

XY74

Posted
Posted

Mine was not greased by the dealer, I pointed that out and they claimed it is not needed as they are greased at factory.  I claim otherwise, they were all pretty dry.  Bean counter thing, imagine how much grease GM saves at a couple ounces per truck.  Dealer said they always grease them at the first free oil change.  Gee thanks!   

Sask Farmboy Enthusiast

Sask Farmboy

Posted
Posted

You won't burst any fittings.

The grease-able steering linkage joints are all made to let grease to ooze out, otherwise, you couldn't get the grease in.

Pump grease in until it oozes out.

That way you know the old grease is flushed out of the wearing parts of the joint and only new grease is in there.

The same goes for grease-able u-joints, grease-able sliding driveshaft yokes, etc.

newdude Senior Enthusiast

newdude

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 6/2/2020 at 6:26 PM, Lightenup said:

I replaced the idler with a SuperSteer one and I took apart the original.  Zero Grease!  I decided to check the ball joints and tie rods, guess what.. Zero Grease.  I don't know if this was just my truck or if the standards of building things here in America have just ceased to exist.  I highly recommend you all check to see if you truck is greased in the front end.  There should be a total of 9 zerk fittings.  This should be at least done by the dealer before sale is my thoughts.  I purchased my truck from "Dale Earnhardt Chevy" in Tallahassee.  I realize after a ton of issues with that dealer that they are all crooks!

 

 

They are greased.  Most likely from whatever department at the assembly plant installs the front suspension or by the supplier who supplies GM the components.  They just are filled with a bare minimum amount of grease.  Just like front and rear diffs are all volume filled by the supplier.

 

On 6/3/2020 at 10:59 AM, redwngr said:

Dealer should be doing the PDI they are getting paid for. 

 

 

 

They are doing the PDI.  Greasing the zerks is not part of PDI.  They even stopped doing fluid level checks under the vehicle and the test drive starting late 2018.  

 

On 6/4/2020 at 1:30 AM, C/K Man said:

Supposed to be greased during PDI.  I grease all my new vehicles right after I buy them just to be sure.  Even grease the new trucks at work when we get them.  It's hit or miss if the dealer does it.  At least GM trucks still have zerks!    

 

False.  Here is the 2020 HD PDI form.  No where on there does it mention "grease the fittings".

 

 

2020 PDI.pdf

Edited by newdude
redwngr Senior Enthusiast

redwngr

Posted
Posted
11 minutes ago, newdude said:

 

 

 

 

 

  Here is the 2020 HD PDI form. 

2020 PDI.pdf 86 kB · 3 downloads

Thanks for posting!

 

Any idea how much def is in the tank from the factory?

I'm assuming the 2.5 gal added at pdi doesn't 'fill the tank'? 

 

 

 

 

 

C/K Man Enthusiast

C/K Man

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, newdude said:

 

 

They are greased.  Most likely from whatever department at the assembly plant installs the front suspension or by the supplier who supplies GM the components.  They just are filled with a bare minimum amount of grease.  Just like front and rear diffs are all volume filled by the supplier.

 

 

They are doing the PDI.  Greasing the zerks is not part of PDI.  They even stopped doing fluid level checks under the vehicle and the test drive starting late 2018.  

 

 

False.  Here is the 2020 HD PDI form.  No where on there does it mention "grease the fittings".

 

 

2020 PDI.pdf 86 kB · 16 downloads

Noted.  Wonder when that changed?

  • 6 months later...
DGL New Member

DGL

Posted
Posted (edited)

Just had my new 2020 2500HD Custom in for undercoating. The tech mentioned in the invoice none of the front end joints showed any grease so he greased them. I found this disconcerting for a new vehicle to not be properly quality controlled. 

Edited by DGL
davester Senior Enthusiast

davester

Posted
Posted

That seems to be normal now, fewer zerks, and they don't get any more grease than whatever they got when the part was manufactured...

It's not that someone didn't do their job, but rather, the job was deemed to be completed when the part was made.

Mdb Enthusiast

Mdb

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, davester said:

That seems to be normal now, fewer zerks, and they don't get any more grease than whatever they got when the part was manufactured...

It's not that someone didn't do their job, but rather, the job was deemed to be completed when the part was made.

This could be part of it.  I work at a large state university and rebuild a lot of electric pump and fan motors and the new bearings have very little grease in them now.  

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