Patent ID: 7862250

Claim:
A grease relief assembly including at least one grease relief route for relieving excess grease from within a dust boot of a ball joint assembly, said grease relief assembly comprising: a joint housing including a joint housing body having an annular peripheral surface and an internal housing cavity having an opening; a ball pin including a ball pivotably received within said housing cavity and a ball extension extending from said opening of said housing cavity; a grease relief insert including an insert body having a trunk having a first trunk end and a second trunk end and two radial flanges, a first of said two radial flanges coupled to said first trunk end and a second of said two radial flanges coupled to said second trunk end; a dust boot including a dust boot body defining a dust boot cavity for receiving grease and having a first end sealingly coupled to said annular peripheral surface of said housing and a second end sealingly engaging said ball extension, said dust boot body defining a dust boot aperture bounded by a first edge at said first end of said dust boot, said dust boot including a covering connected to and extending along at least a portion of said periphery of said first edge, an inwardly facing surface of said covering being matingly coupled to an outwardly facing surface of said second radial flange of said grease relief insert, said ball extension extending within said dust boot cavity and from said second end of said dust boot and at least one grease relief route being defined between said grease relief insert and said annular peripheral surface of said housing, each grease relief route being defined by a respective axial channel recessed in an inner wall of said trunk of said grease relief insert and extending through said two radial flanges and a respective radial channel recessed in an outer surface of said second radial flange, an inner end of said radial channel intersecting an end of said axial channel, said inwardly facing surface of said covering sealingly mating with an outer end of said radial channel distal said axial channel prior to an introduction of said excess grease; wherein excess grease within said bust boot cavity is vacated from said dust boot by passing into a first end of said grease relief route defined at an end of said axial channel distal said radial channel and passing through and vacating said grease relief route at said outer end of said radial channel.