I am about to start assembling my control system for the final time, starting with the flaps but soon moving to the other flight controls.  I am using the rod end bearings that came with the kit in 1994.  In general, these have been attached to the pushrods and sitting on the shelf for up to ten years.  The grease was squished into the bearings when I originally screwed them on, and the stuff that sqeezed out of the bearings has picked up a little dirt.  There's a little more friction than I would like, but mechanically they remain sound.

This would be a good opportunity to clean and lubricate them.  I'm quite certain that the friction would be reduced with a good cleaning.  Also, I may not need to screw them down as far as they have been, so there would be an air gap between the threaded rod end and the beginning of the grease inside the female rod end if I don't add more grease. 

I have to remove every rod end to install check nuts anyway, which I did not install when I was originally making the things.  It would be easy to clean and repack these puppies.

Okay, so, how do I do this, and what grease do I use?  Or am I wasting my time?

Thanks in advance.

- Rob Wolf