ZERKS WILL NOT ACCEPT GREASE

[Tollster]

I have been trying to grease the zerks on my MMM for 2 cuts now, to no avail. Tried after mowing, zerks were hot to the touch, tried all three spindles, but nothing but excess everywhere else. Did the balancer with no problem. The I tried the spindles again before mowing when they where cool, still no good. I always wipe zerks before and after greasing to prevent dirt from entering the fittings. What gives? Deck is new with less than 15 hrs on it. I did grease the **** out of it when I recieved it, do to other threads on the 60"MMM Kubota factory greasing issue.

 

[firemanpat2910]

2 options I can think of. remove the fitting and soak in parts cleaner, or just replace the zerk. I would choose option 2 most of the time.

 

[JimR]

Remove the zerks, check the spindle hole to make sure it is not plugged, install new zerk and grease away.

 

[kentrodngun]

I had the same problem, replaced the zerks and STILL had the problem. My brother (old Sears repairman) suggested I remove the (new) zerks and heat up the area until the grease liquefied. Did so, replaced the zerks, greased em up and it worked like a charm. Of course my equipment was old and the fittings were probably impacted and needed such radical treatment but it worked for me.

 

[AndyMA]

I've done the heat trick and it ususally works well. I recently bought a tool from Gemplers that allows you to inject (with hammer force) oil into a grease fitting to loosen it. works good.

Andy

 

[AndyMA]

Here is the URL for the Gempler tool
http://www.gemplers.com/a/shop/product.asp?T1=109643&UID=200607211632105623282132

 

[gotrocks]

I've had success using a small punch and light tap on the little ball bearing in the fitting. That knocked it loose and the grease went in OK.

 

[tglass]

All good responces, but if it were mine with only 15 hrs. I'de be talking to the dealer that sold it to me for advice, repair or warranty. That new of mower shouldn't need you to work on it to do routine maint. There's a chance someone at the bearing factory might have missed initial greasing and if the bearing or bushing has already gotton hot, it might be gone already and need replacement. I've seen this with new sealed bearings I've never installed after removing the seals. No grease. Hopefully not the case, but def. get with whoever sold you the mmm.

 

[AndyMA]

I didn't notice it was only 15 hours. I'd bet on paint clogging the hole.

Andy

 

[PineRidge]

Zerk's are inexpensive, you can buy a whole assortment of them at Harbor Freight for less than 5 bucks in SAE or Metric your choice. Replace any that won't take grease, and you can get back to work.

 

[woodchuckie]

I've had zerks not accept grease because I had the FEL raised. When I lowered it the grease went in easy. Maybe you can reposition your MMM and try it again.

 

[dieselsmoke1]

Does the gun lever actuate but no grease is pumped, or does the gun lever pump up tight? Wondering if the problem could be at least partially caused by the gun.

I have 2 fittings on my FEL that I cannot grease with the cheapo lever gun...not enough pressure. Work the lever till the cows come home and all you'll get is exercise.

The little pistol grip mitey-mite apparently has no internal pressure relieve and pushes grease into these fittings fine.

 

[Tazz]

I had the same problem on my New Holland MMM where the zerks on the front wheel spindles became plugged with old dry/dirty grease. I ended up removing the spindles and zerks to clean out everything. Lots of soaking with WD40 helped loosen the crud. Even though the tractor has low time on it, it may have been sitting on the dealers lot for over a year letting the grease dry out. Good dealer prep should have caught that.

 

[Theowegian]

Bearings can be overgreased. Suggest you remove the zerks and let the mmm run in a clean area, such as over a driveway for 10 minutes and let the bearing expel what grease the bearing does NOT want. Then check the zerks to be sure they are functional or replace them and then reinstall.

A bearing that is overgreased can get hot and lead to premature bearing failure. Bearings should not be "FILLED" with grease, but only filled with to about a 30% of the cavity capacity to operate correctly.

Lastly, a good rule of thumb is that if you cannot leave your finger on a metal surface for more than 2 seconds, then the temp is over 135 F.

 

[Tollster]

I will replace the zerks and see if that helps. I wear hearing protection when I mow, ussually after about 20 minutes I hear a different harmonic sound coming from the deck. It has the same frequency over 3-4 second duration, and continues for the balance of the chore. I hope this is normal, as I always beleieved a bearing failure would be a high pitch metal to metal sound or complete lock up. I am inthe habit of 2-3 pumps after every 9 hrs of mowing.

 

[David Jackson]

Here is my suggestion;

If you have any kind of a shop repair manual for this mower check it and get in touch with whoever sold it to you.

I found, after a period of time; that the set up people the dealer uses don't bother to read instructions and set up equipment incorrectly. An example is a Howard Rotovator, 72" wide. Lassen Tractor in Chico put the tines on exactly the way the manual said not to; I found out when I had to replace a complete set because they kept breaking. The set up people did not bother to read, or were too stupid to understand, or both; the directions which came with the Rotovator. It took a couple of years to break all the tines (or most of them) so it was too late for warranty but I will always remember it.

If that's not it then maybe there is some kind of warranty issue going on.

I agree that with only 15 hours you should not have to rebuild your equipment! After a few years, sure; but not brand new.

Regards;

David Jackson

 

[tglass]

I will replace the zerks and see if that helps. I wear hearing protection when I mow, ussually after about 20 minutes I hear a different harmonic sound coming from the deck. It has the same frequency over 3-4 second duration, and continues for the balance of the chore. I hope this is normal, as I always beleieved a bearing failure would be a high pitch metal to metal sound or complete lock up. I am inthe habit of 2-3 pumps after every 9 hrs of mowing.

Have you talked with the dealer or salesman that sold it to you? I had a non related prob. with mine and he told me if it happened again to let him know. They would fix it and needed to know of it. No charge. After all, their reputation (and sales), as a salesman, dealer, and also manufacturers have alot to do with our input after the sale (hehh,as you can see by reading this forum). First thing to do is give them a chance. Possibly just a plugged zerk, but give em a call first so they can't say it was something you did. They should pull thru.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

...I did grease the **** out of it when I recieved it, do to other threads on the 60"MMM Kubota factory greasing issue.

If you put that much grease into a new bearing and only ran it 15 hours there's a small chance that it's still full. I'd use caution with some of the afore mentioned "brute force" methods on a new machine like this. An attempt to break loose the zerk may actually just break the seals.