Schedule for greasing FEL

[mefyj]

My 2=cents....
I grease every 8 to 10 hours of use with one full pump of grease. However all the zerks are done at every 50 hours on the clock.
Too much is not a good thing but a little bit often is more efficient with lubrications of metal to metal, as FEL pins.

 

[CurlyDave]

I pump it in every fitting on the FEL and backhoe until I see grease come out. Sometimes it comes out the other side of the fitting and I don't see it until a great big wad has come out, but grease is very inexpensive.

I do this every 10 hours on the clock or as soon after that as possible. For instance yesterday I greased and it was 11.3 hours since the last time. I didn't lose any sleep over the extra 1.3 hours.

 

[sixdogs]

I pump it in every fitting on the FEL and backhoe until I see grease come out. Sometimes it comes out the other side of the fitting and I don't see it until a great big wad has come out, but grease is very inexpensive.

I do this every 10 hours on the clock or as soon after that as possible. For instance yesterday I greased and it was 11.3 hours since the last time. I didn't lose any sleep over the extra 1.3 hours.

CurlyDave--Do you use a moly grease?

 

[CurlyDave]

CurlyDave--Do you use a moly grease?

No, I use a non-moly grease.

There is a reason behind this. Moly greases are black, and at least in my perception, almost impossible to clean off the carpet if I track a blob into the house.

I always use a red-colored grease, which I have been able to clean from our carpet. Not easy, but possible. To me the trade off is my wife insisting on new carpet when I track moly grease in, vs. more frequent greasing and possibly having to replace pins/bushings somewhere down the road.

This is one of those cases where the best grease is not the one that is best for the machine, but the one that is best for my life and my finances overall.

 

[Ford tractor]

i use all my stuff commercially. we grease our stuff every morning. no equipment leaves the shop with out every grease fitting greased, fuel, oil, water, and hydraulic fluid checked, loose debris removed, radiator blown out, and visual inspection of the hole machine. that is probably over kill for non commercial use, but i would rather spend the time doing routine maintenance than have premature wear.

^ that's the way to make it last!

 

[crashz]

I grease my entire machine each time I use it. Not just the loader, but the whole machine. Usually before I use it. I check/top off the fluids and fill with fuel. Check and fill the tires with air (constant problem with old, weather-cracked turf tires). At the same time, I give it a once over and visually inspect the machine as well as sweep any accumulated debris off (it has to sit outside occasionally).

It's certainly overkill, as it probably translates to greasing every 3 hrs on average, but I have a reason for it. The machine sits unused for many months at a time, and by greasing and inspecting at each use, I'm keeping all the fittings free and lubed as well as protecting it from moisture damage as much as I possibly can.

 

[Elcid76]

I do it like "CurlyDave," even to the point of the red lube. At first I wondered if every 10 hours was to much, then I recognized that every time my machine moves (even without using the loader), the pins and connections are "rubbing." I have bush-hogged pastures for well over 10 hour intervals, and that loader bounces around with me (I use it as a radiator "guard" when taking out "challenging" bushes (ha ha)...
Grease is cheap, and I have even found some leaks, and loose stuff not associated with the greasing when spending the 20 minutes or so doing it.

 

[rjkobbeman]

Here is how I look at it:

Greasing too often does not hurt anything.
Greasing not often enough can hurt.

So I grease my FEL ever 10 hours on the hour meter (10, 20, 30,... 100, 110, 120,... etc.). Too often? Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

I don't have to think about how much I have used the FEL and whether or not it is time. (Anyone who tries to keep track on FEL hours is going to lose track unless they are **** about keeping a log.) If my FEL gets greased too often, so what. Grease is cheap and too much/often doesn't hurt a thing.

 

[JDgreen227]

Here is how I look at it:

Greasing too often does not hurt anything.
Greasing not often enough can hurt.

So I grease my FEL ever 10 hours on the hour meter (10, 20, 30,... 100, 110, 120,... etc.). Too often? Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

I don't have to think about how much I have used the FEL and whether or not it is time. (Anyone who tries to keep track on FEL hours is going to lose track unless they are **** about keeping a log.) If my FEL gets greased too often, so what. Grease is cheap and too much/often doesn't hurt a thing.

I put about 90 hours on my JD a year, the FEL rarely gets used for anything heavier than rocks or gravel and then only 10 hours a year. I grease the FEL linkage twice a year, once in the spring and fall when I change the oil and filter. Grease is cheap, I just wish the fittings were sealed because every time I power wash the tractor the excess from the fittings splatters all over the tractor...and the excess always collects dirt and mowing chaff to add to the mess.

 

[ultrarunner]

I bought a case of the MOLY 880 and always grease everything at the end of the day... this way the tractor is always ready.

I found it is also easier to clean out any packed dirt/rock around the fittings sooner as opposed to later.