Where is my grease going???

[ByronBob]

I put a tube of grease in my RCK-60 deck and it's gone?? I read earlier about the spindles not having enough grease so I put pump after pump into all 3. It's not spilling out anywhere.

So what should I look for? What is normal.

 

[SkyPup]

Put about 10-12 ounces in each of the spindles (an entire tube) when you first get them, then about 6-8 pumps every 10 hours will take care of it. You'll see the grease come out of the top at the pulley junction when they are full. Be sure to pump them up all the way when new though.

 

[Junkman]

You have heard of the "Grease Monkey"..... he is eating it.. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[ByronBob]

The zerks for the end 2 spindles are on the top of the pulley. But where is the zerk for the center one? I saw a zerk off to the side of the gear box and thought that might be it. Can someone confirm please.

 

[ByronBob]

My wife thinks I'm the grease monkey because when I came in the house I had more of it on me than the deck!! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[SkyPup]

The one on the side of the gear box is the one for the center spindle.

 

[Dargo]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Put about 10-12 ounces in each of the spindles (an entire tube) when you first get them, then about 6-8 pumps every 10 hours will take care of it. You'll see the grease come out of the top at the pulley junction when they are full. Be sure to pump them up all the way when new though. )</font>

I've had a lot of people tell me that doing that is too much. However, I will have to agree with you based on my experience. I've always hit each spindle on my decks with about 5 pumps every 8 hours. The oldest mower deck I own is now on it's 13th year of mowing. I've never had a spindle fail on it, or any other of my mower decks. All things considered, in my opinion, grease is cheap!

I've wondered where all the grease had gone over the years as well. I think my dog answered the question for me. He came up to the house earlier this spring and had a nice big clump of thick grease rubbed into the fur on his back. I was really confused as to where he got that since he has never been off of our property. Later I saw him flop down and roll in the yard. I thought he was rolling in poo. Nope, it was a big wad of grass covered old grease that had dropped out of the bottom of my deck when I was mowing.

Here is my theory (feel free to disagree). I think I must be filling any void in the spindles when I grease them; but I'm not putting enough in for it to run out. As the spindles heat up during operation, the grease expands and some drops out. When I'm finished, the spindle and grease cool, leaving me with a new void to be filled. At 8 hours, this void gets filled with fresh grease, and we start all over again.

What do you think? My dog generally kills and and drags to my porch most any critter that wonders onto my property, (except the deer - but he is still trying /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif) so I think the grease monkey would have been history long ago. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[dholly]

I'm with you Bob... it's amazing when you can pump an entire tube in! I think my 60" deck ate more grease in the first 60hrs than years of (3) old lawn tractors combined! Now I'm seriously considering bulk grease purchase and a new air gun! Better safe than sorry.

 

[ArkCivEngr]

Dargo,

What does your postscript say? My Latin (it is Latin, right?) is quite rusty.

 

[ByronBob]

I'm picking up 2 more tubes and I'm pumping until somewhere I see overflow. The deck won't win because I'm determined.... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Junkman]

Your theory is correct if you are using a low quality grease. If you are using a high temperature bearing grease, it shouldn't thin and run out. I was the one that first discovered the lack of grease in the MMM last spring. When I talked to the Kubota rep, he told me that there was enough grease installed at the factory by the spindle manufacturer to test the decks, and it was up to the dealers to finish filling them. He also said that there would be a service bulletin going out on this subject. I haven't taken mine apart to see how much grease that they actually hold, but I do recall going trough at least one full tube before the spindles were full. I only wish that they would package the grease that the spindle manufacturer used so there wouldn't be a question of cross contamination by mixing grease. I intend to take mine apart and clean them when I have time sometime this winter. After that, I will always use the same grease. I haven't checked them in a while, but it has been 4 weeks since I cut the grass.

 

[Don_Sullivan]

There was a thread on this subect in June 2004. It got my attention so I researched the problem a little. Turns out, on my RCK48-15BX anyway, a fair amount of grease winds up in the spidle guard along with a goodly collection of grass clippings. The spindle guard is the 3" aluminum cup just above the mower blade. When greasing spindles in the research mode I pull the spindle guards off and use a mirror to watch for grease coming out of the spindle bearings. Over time this has averaged out to be about 25 squirts on each spindle. I don't know how much comes out of the top of the spindles.

Don Sullivan

 

[Dargo]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Dargo,

What does your postscript say? My Latin (it is Latin, right?) is quite rusty. )</font>

I'll find a way or I'll make a way would be the approximate English translation. Hmm. Just think, 4 years of Latin and all I can do is repeat quotes from dead Romans. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif I pretty well hide when my aunt, the Latin professor, comes over to the house. She thinks I've forgotten most of my Latin. Don't tell, but I really never learned much of it. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Junk, I use New Holland grease. It's a pretty blue color. I like blue better than red, so I switched from Kendall Tuf Tec II a few years ago. I have a few cases of Lucas EP still in the barn. If I mix the pretty blue New Holland stuff with the red Lucas will I get purple grease?! The dog will look like Barney then. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[dholly]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I only wish that they would package the grease that the spindle manufacturer used so there wouldn't be a question of cross contamination by mixing grease. )</font>

How much of a concern is this, really? Newly purchased, I noticed the spindle grease overflow was a white grease. During the first 60hrs or so, I re-greased with a blue high-temp axle bearing grease. When it came back from the 50 hr (I was a little late /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif), I again noticed more white grease on the zerks. So what grease is the dealer using and am I setting my self up for trouble if I continue to use up my stash of blue? The blue does appear thicker than the white but I figured high-temp bearing grease were all compatible... no?

 

[tawilson]

I buy New Holland grease and it ain't blue, it's just plain old grease color. Do they have more than one?

 

[v8dave]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">(
What does your postscript say? My Latin (it is Latin, right?) is quite rusty.

I'll find a way or I'll make a way . . . )</font>

I never cease to be amazed at what you can find on the web. I copied and pasted Dargo's sig line in Google and hit search. I found this page. Which, in addition to providing the translation, gives a few more good ones.

I particularly like this one: Brevis ipsa vita est sed malis fit longior.
Translation: Our life is short but is made longer by misfortunes.

The one above it isn't too bad either. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

This one's close to my sig line: Nolite id cogere, cape malleum majorem.
But, I'll keep the sig line I have for a while longer anyway.

 

[Mike_C]

I buy tractor grease at TSC (tractor supply). It's red like blood. When you wipe it up with paper towels, it really looks like blood. After greasing the tractor and throwing the paper towels in the trash, the trash men probably think I'm cutting up bodies!

 

[ccsial]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I buy New Holland grease and it ain't blue )</font>

You have to ask for the designer grease. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[ByronBob]

ANY color grease is better than none right?? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[tawilson]

I gotta get me some of that. My dealer is a Kubota dealer too, so maybe he's got some orange grease for my ZD28.