Lubrication of the main lifting bolts

[stray]

I removed several of the bolts in the front lifting mechanism of my 422 and found that some were dry and some were getting lubricant to them. I use a silicon lithium spray. I am not satisfied with this method as it seems to take a lot of spraying to get little lubricant to the bolts. I was wondering what others have done about this situation.

 

[pajoube]

Interesting, have you seen any unusual wear on the bolts? Like you I have been using silicon lithium spray every 8 hours (normal maintenance) and have not noticed any problems.
Not sure what else a person would use.
PJ

 

[Clarke]

I don't think the lifting assemble should rotate on the bolt shaft at all. Myself and another board member have shimmed the bolts so the lift arms rotate on the ball joint like it is supposed to. Do not try to just tighten the bolt because it just bends the attachment which is to far apart. On my machine I think I had to shim about 6 of these joints to make them work proper. When they work as they should you just lube the ball..

sg

 

[J_J]

I have always thought that the ball assembly should rotate around the bolt or pin. and that the movement of the ball was designed so the operator could align the implement. If the ball assembly is forced to rotate, more wear will occur in the ball and arm. A worn bolt is much less expensive than a new lifting arm with new ball joint.

If I can't get any lube on the bolt , I just remove the bolt or pin and put some water proof grease on the bolt and slide it back on.

 

[Clarke]

I would have to take a look but you can most likely weld on a new joint. My way of thinking if the bolt wears so does the bore of the joint. In that case replacing the bolt may not snug the joint.. My theory may be wrong but inspection of the machine revealed three of the ball joints rotating on the ball and the rest on the bolt from the factory. You are right to lube the bolt properly you would have to remove it. My machine works very smooth rotating on the ball even the steering cylinders..

sg

 

[jol1269]

ok now im concerned , i was told to use this stuff called superlube for the ball joints and its a teflon type of dry product is this the same type of things you guys are refering too . the stuff im using drys after your spray it and it forms a white to grey color film on the ball joints

 

[Clarke]

When I first started to lube the machine I used the same as you are using. I noticed the link ends or ball joints really never rotated so lubing them would make no difference. njbill brought up the question about the ball joints rotating on the bolt rather then the ball. This made a lot of sense to me so I shimmed or tightened all the ball joints so the bolt and ball did not move and rotation was on the ball only. Now I lube the ball with 14's mixture. You can move most of the joints on my machine after the lube is applied to make sure it is on the wear surface..

sg

 

[stray]

pajoube The bolts were not worn but showed discolorization as in starting to wear. I have only 190 hrs on the 422. I guess maybe if I sprayed a little longer and harder the ones that didn’t get any lube would have. It is just a lot of expensive lube going nowhere.

J.J. I did as you and greased it and put it back in. In fact I just greased all of them and put them back in. I’m like you in thinking that the ball is for alignment and the rotating surface should be between the bolt and inside the ball. The main bolts that hold the two halves of the machine together have grease fittings that grease the bolt and inside of the ball don’t they? So I guess I may be waiting to see if someone has tried drilling the bolts with a small hole and placing a zerk in them or replacing them with a greaseable pin. Or maybe I am waiting for someone to say that they have umpteen hours on their PT and have done so and so and have had no trouble out of the bolts and ball and that there is little play in them.

I will keep researching this and post my findings. Please you all do the same.

 

[jol1269]

does this silicon lithium lube attract dirt and other non wanted items to the joint and what brand are you guys using , and ofcourse whats every one else using on thier machines

 

[J_J]

If you want something to resist dirt, someone mention that they used Teflon lube, it goes on wet but drys. That is also what people use on motorcycle chains.

Just use what ever you have available.