grease in gear case

Citydude · Apr 18, 2014

i bought a used 6' Howse rotery cutter a couple of months ago. The weather warmed up and I thought I would go over the mechanics of the machine. I discovered that there is grease in the gearbox mixed in with the gear oil. Why would someone do that and should I clean it out and put fresh oil in it?

Loadstar · Apr 18, 2014

May have done it preventatively or because there was something going on. As long as it's grease it probably won't hurt a thing. Sometimes when I would rebuild gearboxes I would pack bearings with grease. They could not be stored full of oil and I figured some yo-yo would install one without filling it. Well sure enough they put one in and it went for a month before the gears chewed from no lube. Bearings still looked good though

Citydude · Apr 18, 2014

Loadstar said:
May have done it preventatively or because there was something going on. As long as it's grease it probably won't hurt a thing. Sometimes when I would rebuild gearboxes I would pack bearings with grease. They could not be stored full of oil and I figured some yo-yo would install one without filling it. Well sure enough they put one in and it went for a month before the gears chewed from no lube. Bearings still looked good though

OK, Thanks Loadstar. I'll leave the grease in there. It sounds fine when engaged and up to speed.

lumberjack1986 · Apr 18, 2014

Sometimes people will pack them with grease when the seal goes out.

sandman2234 · Apr 18, 2014

I think the best thing is corn head grease for a leaking seal...
David from jax

tift104 · Apr 18, 2014

I bought a new Massey hay cutter 2 years ago and the gear box on it comes from the factory with grease. I had the same question because every other mower I own has gear oil in the gear box. Read the book and it said that the recommend lube for the gear box was that high heat grease. But as a general rule of thumb if there is grease in the gear box on a mower there is a good chance the seal is gone. Kinda like the old used car salesman trick of putting saw dust in the rear end of a car if it leaks. Does good if you test drive it but get down the road after you paid for it and the rear end locks up.

Citydude · Apr 18, 2014

tift104 said:
I bought a new Massey hay cutter 2 years ago and the gear box on it comes from the factory with grease. I had the same question because every other mower I own has gear oil in the gear box. Read the book and it said that the recommend lube for the gear box was that high heat grease. But as a general rule of thumb if there is grease in the gear box on a mower there is a good chance the seal is gone. Kinda like the old used car salesman trick of putting saw dust in the rear end of a car if it leaks. Does good if you test drive it but get down the road after you paid for it and the rear end locks up.

Yep, I thought of that. There is no "oily" residue underneath it but that doesn't mean the seals still good. I guess I'll find out when I put it to work. Thanks

Xfaxman · Apr 23, 2014

Citydude said:
i bought a used 6' Howse rotery cutter a couple of months ago. The weather warmed up and I thought I would go over the mechanics of the machine. I discovered that there is grease in the gearbox mixed in with the gear oil. Why would someone do that and should I clean it out and put fresh oil in it?

It may have come from the factory with grade 0 grease in it. Do a search for corn head grease, or NLGI grade 0 (zero).

Here is a thread on it: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/271324-grease-rotary-cutter-gear-box.html

hhsco · Apr 23, 2014

My 30 year old bushog had the seals go out and I was advised to simply replace the oil with cornhead grease. I did so a couple years ago and it seems to function flawlessly with no leakage or heat buildup. From what I understand it is very important to use this particular grade of grease or the gears will simply "throw" the grease to the sides of the housing and no longer be lubricated.

RDrancher · Apr 23, 2014

Xfaxman said:
It may have come from the factory with grade 0 grease in it. Do a search for corn head grease, or NLGI grade 0 (zero).

Here is a thread on it: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/271324-grease-rotary-cutter-gear-box.html

Right after I bought it, my new-to-me ctl developed a leak in the cone seal between the final and drive motor. I'm trying to buy some time before the inevitable $3.5k fix. Straight 140w was a no go and even Lucas hub oil leaked out pretty good. I found the corn head grease searching for an answer. I filled it full of JD Corn Head Grease yesterday. After two full days of hogging out baseball to truck tire size rock it's still full. Checking it with a point and shoot laser t-meter, the grease filled side actually measured 5 degrees cooler. :thumbsup: