In 2021 I had literally every steering and suspension part replaced in my daughter's 2000 Ford Mustang. This was a job that prior to 2019 ( my bad year) I would have done myself, but in 2021 farmed out to good mechanic friend that works on the side.
Traditionally I always use Moog for my front end parts. This time I did not. I only did that because my daughter swore up and down she was selling the car after I had the frontend straightened out. Well, part of the lesser brand parts I used were the lower ball joints which are AC Delco brand. Sadly, those were sealed BJ and not grease zert equipped.
Fast forward to 2023. The car she swore she was selling she finally got around to. The front end squeaks and squawks something awful. I took it for frontend alignment knowing some part previously replaced was likely shot. I asked them to find the squeaks. In short order they reported back that it was lower ball joints. No way could the cost of replacing them be recouped in selling the car. So, I had them re-align as best they could. End result being it drives and steers decent.
Now, here is my plan to loose the squeaking ball joints. I plan to drill holes in the center of each BJ where they are usually found. Next poke a small diameter magnet in the holes to capture any stray shavings. Tap holes, then repeat magnet fishing followed by inserting zerks, then greasing the BJ in the hope of eliminating the squeaks.
So, there you have it. Has any of you ever done this? I think I once recall my dad doing that decades ago when times were tough. Only time I ever bought a frontend part that was not grease zerk equipped thinking the car was going away and it has ended up biting me in the ass. I figure as bad as the thing sounds I have little risk of making things worse as long as I am careful with the drilling, tapping and chip retrieval.
So, please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas about my plan.