Do you grease the loader settled on the ground or lifted up?

[sixdogs]

Do you grease loader pins with the loader settled to the ground or lifted a bit? One way takes the pressure off the loader and one way doesn't. It must matter in some way because I've taken loaders apart with worn pins but it sure looked like the pins were greased. How do you do it?


Below is an old thread with pictures of a loader pin that didn't get grease from a plugged fitting. I've seen others that apparently were greased but not enough grease and they looked just like these pics.

Here's why you grease your loader faithfully.

Here's why you pay attention to greasing loader pins and why plugged grease fittings mean pay attention now and not later. Look at this picture of the pin out of a 2002 Kubota M6800 loader with only 400 hours on it. I posted photos in another thread but this is more direct. The enlarged photo...

www.tractorbynet.com

 

[Shawn T. W.]

I usually grease while loader or BH is in the air ... There are two zerk fittings on the BH though that I need to drop the bucket on the ground and put a tiny bit of pressure on it for them to take grease, just setting on the ground won't do ...

I'm not bashful about using grease often!

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/threads/how-do-you-clean-your-greasy-loader-pivots.592155/

 

[oldnslo]

I grease my loader in what ever position it happens to be in. I have replaced most if not all of original zerks since they quit taking grease.

I believe wear is not so much position greased in vs frequency of greasing during use.

 

[Wagtail]

I grease my FEL whilst it's on the ground, before starting the tractor.

At the very least for safety.

 

[jaxs]

Do you grease loader pins with the loader settled to the ground or lifted a bit?

I don't grease,paint,repair,wash or otherwise screw with equipment in a position that can cripple or kill with an accidental bump of control or resulting from leaky hydraulics.

 

[Torvy]

Few people have ever been injured or killed for being overly careful with equipment. It would be easier on my back to lift it up. Not worth the risk.

 

[dieselscout80]

It depends mostly on the ground.

That said when servicing the tractor I use two pieces of thick aluminum angle to block the loader cylinders up.

While in that position I have greased the zerks I can reach.

 

[oosik]

Had to think about it for a minute. I grease with everything on the ground and tractor off. Safety sake. Really - if the pins are machined correctly it should make little difference. Up or down.

Down and off is for safety.

HOWEVER - FEL is up with tractor off for ease of getting at several zerks. I block the FEL with a short, heavy chunk of angle iron.

My electric DeWalt grease gun makes this go easier/quicker.

Still have not figured a way to do a complete grease job ( 32 zerks ) without greasing me - along the way.

 

[Mtsoxfan]

I've always greased with bucket on the ground. Only because that's how I leave it when I pull into garage to work on it. Does it really matter in terms of greasing properly?

 

[bigtiller]

The ground is to far away.
It's up in the air for me.

 

[oldnslo]

Does it really matter in terms of greasing properly?

Not as long as the zerks will take grease. Sometimes the weight of the loader will prevent a zerk from taking grease so then it must be repositioned to remove the load on that joint.

 

[SPYDERLK]

In whatever position it will take the grease. Force on the pivots can aid or resist in many cases.

 

[pmsmechanic]

The ground is to far away.
It's up in the air for me.

I'm with you on this. I can grease my whole loader without getting underneath it. I don't shut the tractor off either because sometimes you need to move the hydraulics enough so that the fitting will take grease.

 

[WranglerX]

Raised up so I don't have to bend down and "can't get up".....

 

[jyoutz]

Most zerks can be greased with the bucket on the ground. There are a few that are easier to grease with the bucket raised. If I have to get under a raised bucket, I chain it to the trusses in my barn so it can’t drop due to hydraulic failure.

 

[RayIN]

Lowered completely and bucket upsidedown.
Ever seen how quickly a loader can drop when a hose bursts? It's much faster than lowering it with the lever.

 

[alexbennet]

It is best to grease the pins with the loader lifted slightly. This takes the weight off the bottom of the pin so the grease can actually get all the way around. If the loader is sitting on the ground, the pressure blocks the grease from reaching the spots that wear out the fastest.

 

[John0829]

Greasing is a lot like mowing the lawn... we each have our own way of doing it. Doesn't mean one is any better than the other it is just what works for the individual. Main thing is that: "It is getting greased"

 

[WinterDeere]

I suspect the OPs reported greasy-but-worn pins came from some period in their history where they were not greased sufficiently often, despite the fact they might be bathing in the stuff at time of disassembly.

I’d accept that there’s some merit to the thought of a pin getting more evenly greased when unloaded versus loaded, but the reality is that with everything pivoting back and forth repeatedly, the grease is going to find its way everywhere around that pin in a short time. Just look at the way the damn stuff finds its way onto your shirt, every time you do the job!

 

[dodge man]

On the ground for me.