Dirt Moving proper care with grease

[SDAnnette]

Hello,
I have read(and practice) cleaning zerk points before greasing my tractor. As a person new to tractors, do you clean the joints where the grease exits as well? Does the old grease protect the joint, or act like a scouring agent since it is dirty? I bought my Case 45 used and in this condition, see attached photos. I use it in a very fine dirt environment leveling roads and moving dirt. I never cleaned the old grease because the prior owner hadn't. I have attached pictures for clarity. I am doing the maintenance of blowing out air filters, checking oil etc. in the manual, but I can't find any info about how clean to keep things that are habitually dirty.

thank you,
Annette

 

[4570Man]

That’s way too much effort to clean for me. I leave it there as does pretty much every construction crew and farmers.

 

[SDAnnette]

That was kind of what I thought.... I didn't want to "make a clean spot", but some people on here have tractors and garages that are pristine. I have a shed covering here in CA, gravel and dirt.

thanks for the reply,
Annette

 

[Roadworthy]

If you wipe the grease that exits that just leaves that much less surface for the dust to stick to.

 

[Thomas]

I wipe grease fitting of first also any extra gobs but not to point showroom condition.

 

[txdon]

I like to keep the excess grease that oozes out the side to a minimum, not showroom clean, just clean enough to see the new grease bead appear when greasing.

 

[big bubba]

like everyone said.
occasional power washing a time or 2 during season wouldn't hurt. & do it where you won't track the excess grease in the house, etc

 

[TomIre]

I give the zerk fitting itself a quick wipe before greasing but other than not overdoing the grease that comes out of the joint that's about it.

 

[Captain Dirty]

Being a tight old yankee, I use the exuded and usually dust-contaminated grease as a source for grease on exposed applications where contamination is of little concern. I'll take a popsicle stick or similar and scoop any gobs of grease off the machine and store the contaminated grease in a wide mouth plastic jar. Then I'll spread the grease on the pins of the 3 point hitches of implements that are seasonally unused (e.g. snowblower) as a rust preventative or use it as a lubricant on turnbuckle threads, the wedges of feathers and wedges for stone splitting, etc. I am certainly not "cleaning" the grease away, but reducing the amount of grease one might casually contact.

 

[deezler]

I do a quick wipe of the fittings off before applying new grease; wouldn't want to try to force sand/dirt into the fitting. As for extra grease, it's a tractor so I just let it stay greasy.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Really, you could just wipe the tip with your finger. You are only trying to prevent a little bit of dirt from being forced into your zerk.

Wiping off excess grease will help stop dirt sticking to it. BUT, in reality, that would have to be pretty clean, well beyond wiping it with a rag.

Greasing is FUN. Nothing like wiping up a big glob of grease with a rag, only to grab that rag later to wipe off your hands.

 

[SDAnnette]

Thank you for all the ideas. It does seem like a little clean up could keep the adhesion of dust down on the non-articulating surfaces. I like the idea of covering some of my bare metal areas with the excess for a little protection. We do get a little marine layer around here through the valley even though we are not "coastal". Any recommendations on zerk fitting covers? I was looking for something that would fit inside the recess, but most of what I see look like short pen caps and seem like they would fall off rather easy.

 

[crashz]

Just give your zerks a quick wipe before you grease. Keeps the dust out of the fitting.

I grease the loader every time I run the tractor for a significant time. Which means it sheds a lot of grease. Occasionally I wipe it off, but mostly I let it fall off or is gets blasted when I wash the machine.

 

[BRMyers]

I wipe the zerk off and leave the other grease.

I clean the tractor thoroughly once a year to allow for a good check up to make sure there are no issues that I have missed on the routine checks/maintenance.

 

[Industrial Toys]

As far as enviromental considerations. A friend likes to ask sarcastically, where do you think those many millions tubes of grease end up?

 

[ericm979]

I wipe off the fitting before greasing, and wipe up the fresh grease left on it when I'm done. And I wipe off the grease that oozes out of the bearing or pivot as well. Not to concours condition, just cleaning up the easy parts. It does not take long.

 

[Molalla1]

Thank you for all the ideas. It does seem like a little clean up could keep the adhesion of dust down on the non-articulating surfaces. I like the idea of covering some of my bare metal areas with the excess for a little protection. We do get a little marine layer around here through the valley even though we are not "coastal". Any recommendations on zerk fitting covers? I was looking for something that would fit inside the recess, but most of what I see look like short pen caps and seem like they would fall off rather easy.

They do make them . . . the ones I have seen are like a pen cap with a holder on them to alleviate loosing them.

 

[newbury]

I like to spread the "ooze" around. My tractors are old and there are plenty of rusty spots that were there when I got them that a little dab will help.

 

[RalphVa]

I just wipe the tips of the zerks. Only time I clean up where the grease exits is maybe once/yr pressure wash them before greasing.

I just pump until I get a little bit of grease out somewhere except on Ujoints. Be easy on them. Usually, about 3 or 4 pumps of a normal grease gun is enough to make grease come out. Ujoints typically only need 1 or 2 pumps. If hard to pump, you make have to take some pressure off the joint some way.

Ralph

 

[Redlands Okie]

I clean the zests. Any grease sticking out of the movement points I figure is keep the dust out of them.