BH76 Backhoe zerk won't take grease

Texasmark · Oct 7, 2017

BHD said:
Try to reposition the unit, some times depending on how some thing sets will seal off the path for the grease to get into the shaft/bearing, especially if there is tension on the area where the grease goes in,

I have a lift on a disk and to get grease in it one needs to set the disk on the ground and raise the wheels if pressure is on the wheels you can not grease this zerk,

That works. Also have used a drill bit to see if any material is packed inside. Zerks are easily obtainable and cheap. I'd just go with new ones after you do what BHD suggested. If you aren't sure what position that is, with your new zerks installed, have someone run the controls or run the grease gun while you work the controls putting the machine in different positions.

Branson Bob · Oct 7, 2017

LouNY said:
some times you may need to remove the zerk and use brake cleaner and wire to clean out the grease passage as much as possible then reinstall and try again.
I have had some limited luck with the hammered hydraulic type tools after cleaning all I could with a piece of wire.

Thanks Lou. Me and my buddies spent some time in the Catskills this summer and I'm originally from NYS. It was great to be back there. Washington County is really beautiful. I love Saratoga and Ballston and that area.

Branson Bob · Oct 7, 2017

Texasmark said:
That works. Also have used a drill bit to see if any material is packed inside. Zerks are easily obtainable and cheap. I'd just go with new ones after you do what BHD suggested. If you aren't sure what position that is, with your new zerks installed, have someone run the controls or run the grease gun while you work the controls putting the machine in different positions.

Thanks Mark. I like the drill bit suggestion. I'll let y'all know how I get on with this.

LouNY · Oct 8, 2017

Branson Bob said:
Thanks Lou. Me and my buddies spent some time in the Catskills this summer and I'm originally from NYS. It was great to be back there. Washington County is really beautiful. I love Saratoga and Ballston and that area.

It is beautiful country, if we could get rid of some of the bureaucrat regulations and insane spending and taxes it would be great.
I was stationed in Tennessee, Milington, North Carolina, Cherry Point, California, El Toro. And I've lived in Idaho, Texas and Colorado,
worked in the Dakotas, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Kansas, Utah, Oklahoma and NY, Vermont and PA;
used to do Instrumentation and Controls.
The taxes and regulations are all that keep this state out of being one of the better, I was born and raised here grew up on a dairy farm, and still help my
brother on the farm but he has switched over to beef now.
View attachment IMG_20170922_164715949_HDR.jpg View attachment IMG_20170922_164916413_HDR.jpg View attachment IMG_20170922_164558816_HDR.jpg

Branson Bob · Oct 8, 2017

LouNY said:
It is beautiful country, if we could get rid of some of the bureaucrat regulations and insane spending and taxes it would be great.
I was stationed in Tennessee, Milington, North Carolina, Cherry Point, California, El Toro. And I've lived in Idaho, Texas and Colorado,
worked in the Dakotas, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Kansas, Utah, Oklahoma and NY, Vermont and PA;
used to do Instrumentation and Controls.
The taxes and regulations are all that keep this state out of being one of the better, I was born and raised here grew up on a dairy farm, and still help my
brother on the farm but he has switched over to beef now.
View attachment 524038 View attachment 524039 View attachment 524040

I miss the lushness of New York. Cali is dry whereas in NYS if you have a large parcel of land, chances are you have a pond or a stream, maybe some good producing wells, a spring, or some good supply of water.

The thing both states have in common is lots of taxes, fees, government, etc. Some government is necessary but both states have too much AFAIC. That said no regrets moving out here. It's been good for us and I don't miss the lake effect snow and long winters we used to have.

Herefords and Angus? Beautiful photos. Looking out over that would NEVER get old.

art · Oct 9, 2017

Funny but we were assembling a new machine and we had a zerk that would not take grease! With removal we found the bottom of the fitting fine with the spring still in place and a ball to seal the joint in good shape. There was one thing that stuck out, someone forgot to drill the hole in the top of the fitting where the ball should have been seating! It does happen!

Branson Bob · Oct 11, 2017

art said:
Funny but we were assembling a new machine and we had a zerk that would not take grease! With removal we found the bottom of the fitting fine with the spring still in place and a ball to seal the joint in good shape. There was one thing that stuck out, someone forgot to drill the hole in the top of the fitting where the ball should have been seating! It does happen!

In this case both fittings previously accepted grease but thanks for the input. Appreciated.

TSO · Oct 11, 2017

Like somebody already mentioned, you probably have to clean out the grease passages behind the zerk. The other day I had to remove my lower bucket pivot pins and curl cylinder pivot pins from my skid steer, because none of the zerks would take grease anymore. When I took the pins out, I found that all of them had the grease passages completely clogged. Used a small drill bit to clean them out, reinstalled, and they all take grease again nicely. I had thought that maybe my zerks were bad, so I had purchased them a package of new zerks. Turns out I didn't need any of the new zerks.

Branson Bob · Oct 11, 2017

TSO said:
Like somebody already mentioned, you probably have to clean out the grease passages behind the zerk. The other day I had to remove my lower bucket pivot pins and curl cylinder pivot pins from my skid steer, because none of the zerks would take grease anymore. When I took the pins out, I found that all of them had the grease passages completely clogged. Used a small drill bit to clean them out, reinstalled, and they all take grease again nicely. I had thought that maybe my zerks were bad, so I had purchased them a package of new zerks. Turns out I didn't need any of the new zerks.

Thanks.

We're weekenders up there so Saturday I'll unscrew the zerks and clean out the orifices as much as I can. Hopefully they'll take grease. If not I'll try to move the backhoe to a position where they'll take grease.

I'll let y'all know how it turns out.

Branson Bob · Oct 17, 2017

Update:

I should mention that these are the 2 zerk fittings which belong to the main pivot assembly for the backhoe... one above the other on the pivot point.

As I mentioned upthread, I soaked and cleaned the zerks and this weekend I removed them and confirmed that they allowed grease flow through them so the problem is not the zerks themselves. While they were off I inserted a drill bit and "excavated" some of the grease within and below the zerks.

I was able to squeeze a tiny bit more grease into the cavity before it was full again.

In viewing the exploded schematic I see that the zerks allow grease into vertical cylindrical chambers with each having a grease outlet that is not accessible. I believe that this outlet is what is clogged... no grease out, no grease in.

I'll try moving the backhoe into different positions this coming weekend to see if it makes a difference. It also brings to mind the best grease to use for the tractor. Wonder if I'm using an inferior product.