Trade tricks/Hacks to get grease points to work properly.

[super55]

Several grease points on my FEL on my tractors have some pretty stubborn grease points. They will take grease but a lot of times only lubricate one side of the bushings. Anyone have any tricks to get them to work properly again?

Sometimes I get the old grease to break free but heating it with a torch for a bit but even that a lot of times only has marginal results.

 

[Tx Jim]

You could acquire & use a grease zerk cleaning tool.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

After greasing, rotate the FEL to a higher or lower position, same with the bucket and re-grease, this should get grease to other areas of the pins.

 

[dlctcg]

Make sure the tension is of the pins when greasing... If you have a second person, have them move the pin joints via the FEL controls very slowly while you grease the fittings.

Worse case you may have disassemble the pins & clean them up really good & then reassemble...

 

[dodge man]

I see that on my tractor, on mine it’s not clogged and after I use it a while grease comes out the other side eventually.

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

I have seen this a few times on various equipment. I have taken them off and cleaned them.

Good ideas here so far, I'll be watching to see what I can take away too. Gonna get a zerk cleaning tool...

 

[ericm979]

Sometimes it helps to position the thing whose pivot you're lubing in a different position. So the load is on a different side of the bushing.

The zerk cleaning tool looks useful, but it fixes a different problem than grease not getting to one side of the bushing.

 

[super55]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm definitely going to get one of those cleaning tools.

Any particular fluid that works best for breaking down 20 year old grease. Thinking something like acetone or lacquer thinner might work good at weakening rock hard grease.

 

[Topzide]

Just fill grease fitting cleaning tool with some lightweight oil, then place it on fitting and hammer home! It's the pressure that loosens everything up.

 

[chim]

I never had a zerk that wouldn't take grease. As mentioned, you could try shooting the grease in with weight on / off the arms, etc.

 

[Hay Dude]

If you grease fittings on U-joints when they are warm, they will pull the grease into the U-joint better than when the U-joint is cold.

 

[SARG]

I suspect I would replace the zerks before spending $38.

 

[RayIN]

I have seen this a few times on various equipment. I have taken them off and cleaned them.

Good ideas here so far, I'll be watching to see what I can take away too. Gonna get a zerk cleaning tool...

A cheap as they are, I have a small assortment of Zerks in a cabinet drawr. Much less time to replace vs unstop.

 

[nyone]

I suspect I would replace the zerks before spending $38.

I'm with you on this. Zerks do wear out or just get plain clogged. Once you replace the zerk and it still dosnt work right you now know it's time to pull the pin.

The best cleaning method I have found to clean hard grease out is a drill bit.

 

[fidowanttobe]

I wouldn't be without a zerk buster. Only need to change a zerk now when it is broken. Much faster.

 

[5030]

If you use synthetic high quality grease instead of the cheap, clay based grease, the Alemite (Zerk) fittings will never clog up nor will the grease passages (relief's) machined in the pins and the synthetic grease is usually easier to clean up the excess grease that usually comes out.

Cheap, clay based grease usually is the issue why things get clogged up. I have one of those unclogger tools and never use it.

As with most everything, you get what you pay for and that includes cheap clay based grease.

 

[WranglerX]

Had one single zerk in my FEL bucket that would not take grease... Period.... Pulled the pin and cleaned the channel cleaned and tested zerk, and all good, putting back to gether and pin would still not take grease.... Raised bucket and changed angle on buchet , it took grease.... Problem seemed to be the pin contact with its sleeve was so precise it actual blocked the grease port in pin... Moving bucket changed everything....

 

[ultrarunner]

Very Heavy Entry Gate sounded horrible when I went to visit a friends new place… I thought the hinges would break.

He didn’t have a grease gun and bought an inexpensive one and no luck.

I brought my high pressure gun and it was really struggling… I then took a propane torch to heat the block and it worked… greased it until fresh grease oozed out…. no more problem after that.

The good thing is now he realizes it’s a maintenance item.

 

[mikester]

Less than $20

 

[kneedeep]

I use hydraulic oil in my zerk buster.
Works best on the junky treeline equipment with old grease plugging zerks.
Moving FEL & BH is required to grease my stuff.