steering knuckle

[72GT]

After detaching the tie-rod arm from the steering knuckle on my GT, I noticed the movement is tight. Is this a problem with the ball joints or is this normal? I wasn't expecting the knuckle to flop back and forth easily, but it does seem to offer a bit of resistance.
The factory manual states the ball joints are maintenance-free. Does this mean there's no easy way to grease them?

Thanks,
Bob

[kwilford]

When ball joints and tie rod ends wear they get "sloppy", but tighteness might be an indication of abrasives (road crap) inside the joint. Usually the reason that tie rod ends (and the ball joints) fail is when the rubber boots tear and the grease gets contaminated. If you want to be sure, remove the tie rod ends and GENTLY remove the retaining wire clip and the boots. Then you can clean out the old grease and replace it with a good quality (preferably synthetic) chassis grease.

If the boots are torn or perished, Gil at OGTS sells new polyurethane boots. But they just slip over the joint body without the retaining clips, and are held in pace when the nuts are tightened in place. Frankly, I am not too fussy about that solution, but if the rubber boots are torn but the ball joints or tie rod ends are otherwise good, it is much cheaper that replacing them.

HTH