How much grease into the rear axel zerks?

[Pstrang]

Greasing up all the zerks on my "new-to-me" 2004 Jinma 284. The two rear axel zerks (facing rearward) don't seem to be getting full? Did the previous owner not ever fill these? I've put in about 1 1/2 cartridges of grease. No sign of getting full.

Thanks for the help!

 

[goodolboydws]

I don't know anything specifically about your Jimna, but do you actually know for certain what those particular zerk fittings are supplying grease to? It might not actually be for the axles, as many drive axles are being supplied lubrication as oil either by the transmission fluid or by a separate differential oil reservoir. If that's the case, any excess grease being put into teh rear axle housing will likely be dropping into and mixing with the rear axle/transaxle/differential lube.

Depending upon where they are located and what all is contained by the rear axle housing, (and if yours has a 3 point lift) some of the rear zerk fittings that are on some tractors rear axle housings (like on my Ford 2000) might only there for greasing the 3 point lift's pivot shaft, and if that's the case with yours, they wouldn't need much at all, certainly not as much as you mentioned.

Do you have an owner's or repair/maintenance manual for the tractor? If so there might be a diagram or photograph that shows what's inside of the housing.

 

[Bob Rooks]

I've put in about 1 1/2 cartridges of grease. No sign of getting full.

Only a track tensioner on a crawler would require that much grease. My guess is there is an axle bearing there inside the housing, and that you have immensely over-greased it.
RESnapshot - Lubrication April 2003: The Science and Art of Greasing

 

[jcliburn]

I had the same experience on a Farm Pro 2420 (Jinma 204). The rear axle had two rear-facing zerk fittings that I put an indeterminate, but vast, amount of grease into over the seven years I owned the tractor. Never did I see a drop of grease emerge from a seal anywhere. In the end, I'd just put in about 20 or 30 pumps a year, shrug, and go about my business using the tractor.

I didn't see any fouling in the transmission fluid when I changed it. It remains an unsolved mystery just exactly where all that grease went.

Jay

 

[jcliburn]

And by the way, the manual was silent on how much grease to apply to these fittings, and I no longer have the tractor or the manuals to check the parts breakout to see what's behind them.

Bob's advice seems sound.

 

[greg_g]

Yeah, conventional wisdom suggests about 4 pumps a year is sufficient. Hopefully the extra grease didn't force its way past the outer oil seal. But if your wheels start getting wet from gear oil some day, you'll know the likely cause.

//greg//

 

[erj]

As Greg said limit the grease in those 2 rear fittings.
There are also 2 more on that 284 that you want to limit in the same way.
RonJ

 

[Diamondpilot]

I just put about 5 or 6 pumps in mine once every 100 hours. Never had a issue in over 800 hours of operation since 2003.

Chris

 

[GuglioLS]

On my Jinma 354 there are grease fittings on the front and rear axle bearings somewhat similar to your 284. What I have found (on my 354) is that those bearings are immersed in the differential lubricant and those fittings do not need any grease at all. All the grease that gets pumped into those fittings just winds up mixing with the front and or rear differential fluid. To verify my statement is correct, take one of those fittings off, poke a wire into the grease "dam" that you created, and see if the differential / axle fluid starts coming out. I stopped greasing my axle bearing fittings years ago knowing these was no need to do so.

Here is my proof:

OK the red grease - Those Zerk's on the front and rear axle that everyone wonders where the grease goes? It's supposed to grease the front and rear wheel bearings. Not needed, I see absolutely no reason to grease those fittings, there is plenty of gear oil, in fact the bearings are swimming in gear oil so the grease does nothing except mix with the gear oil and eventually dissolve away into the gear oil.




Keep in mind this is a Jinma 354 so any other tractor may be different.

Larry

 

[Pstrang]

Strange, I'm glad I stopped when I did. All the other zerks gave me signs when to stop.

Thanks for the comments!