grease fitting MIE hydraulic thumb

Mainahs70 · Jul 5, 2018

Heyas, picked up my Kioti 2 weeks ago and just noticed the top link on the MIE hydraulic cylinder has a rusty hole where I think a grease fitting belongs. Any idea what size it would be, machined or pipe? Tried calling MIE but no answer.

Thanks

dfkrug · Jul 5, 2018

Lots of zerk sizes out there. It could be SAE, say 1/4"-27, or metric (M6, M8).

Although I have one of those zerk collections that you can get at HF, it does not have
all the common sizes. I just bought a bunch of M8-1.00 since the kit has M8, but
only in 1.5 mm thread.

In your case I would remove the broken-off zerk remnant and match it up with a bolt
of known size. Then pick up some zerks at your local auto supply.

Note that the threads are tapered, like pipe thread, so a bolt will not easily thread into the
hole.

Coyote machine · Jul 5, 2018

Take out one of the other zerks on your thumb setup and match the threads at auto parts store. It's probably SAE spec, but could be metric. Most likely tapered, but check the threads closely.

Fallon · Jul 6, 2018

A kit of several dozen assorted angle & thread size zerks is $15 or so on Amazon, Harbor Freight or the local farm store. You are so much better off getting the kit(s) now so you have spares on hand than paying $4-5 a pop. They are generally a SAE kit & a metric kit, so it's usually best to grab one of each. They break or plug up often enough. Easier to replace them at 25 cents a pop than try to clean them.

I have yet to try one, but see zerk wrenches around. For cleaning, removing & reinstalling zerks. Think that 1 of the ends of the 4 sided tool (think lug wrench) is a tapered corkscrew type implement for extracting broken ones like that. They are under $5 or so if I recall.