Cleaning Loader Arm Grease

[KennK]

I know that lots of grease on my front loader arms is a good thing (it's being lubed), and many (most) people don't worry about it, I'm getting tired of what seems like the tendency for grease to jump onto my clothes (like porcupines shooting their quills - which they don't).

When it warms up a bit I'm thinking of taking some time to clean the built up grease from the outer painted areas around the arm's grease fittings. I'm NOT worried about the inner areas - just the surface on the outer perimeter.

What would be a good, efficient, safe cleaner - that would dissolve the grease? Mineral spirits on paper towels? Detergent & warm water? I certainly don't want to thin out the grease in the bearings. I don't want to damage the paint.

 

[jeff9366]

'SIMPLE GREEN All Purpose Cleaner' (biodegradable) works well for me.

 

[GeneV]

Wipe it off with a paper towel. If you want it cleaner, spray wd40 on there afterwards, wipe off again.

 

[Rebeldad1]

if you dont want the cleaner to get into bearings or pins spray the cleaner on a rag first.

 

[KennK]

Thanks all! Now that I'm retired I have time to do such frivolous cleaning.

 

[BravoXray]

When I bought my used BX2230, it had been greased pretty liberally, so there was a lot of grease around the pivot points. I tried wiping it off, but that seemed to smear it around, so I just went ahead and unpinned and dropped the bucket and cleaned all the excess grease off the joints and both ends of the curl cylinder. put it back on and then pulled the boom pivot pins and cleaned those joints up. Finally pulled the ends of both boom cylinders and cleaned them up too. Took me about and hour and a half ,a bunch of shop towels and some stoddard solvent, but looked much better, and I don't get grease on me every time I touch anything on the loader.
It's about time to do it again this spring.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

'SIMPLE GREEN All Purpose Cleaner' (biodegradable) works well for me.

No simple green. Make sure it is safe for paint.

 

[Mrsig]

Simple Green will not hurt paint rubber or plastic! We have been using it for over 10 years to clean mud and trail dirt from our motor, rims, tires and under side of our Jeeps.

 

[workinonit]

I use B52 on my track hoe mainly but all of my equipment. I spray it on with a backpack prayer and pressure wash.

 

[Tater John]

I know that lots of grease on my front loader arms is a good thing (it's being lubed), and many (most) people don't worry about it, I'm getting tired of what seems like the tendency for grease to jump onto my clothes (like porcupines shooting their quills - which they don't).

When it warms up a bit I'm thinking of taking some time to clean the built up grease from the outer painted areas around the arm's grease fittings. I'm NOT worried about the inner areas - just the surface on the outer perimeter.

What would be a good, efficient, safe cleaner - that would dissolve the grease? Mineral spirits on paper towels? Detergent & warm water? I certainly don't want to thin out the grease in the bearings. I don't want to damage the paint.

I just went through same thing last fall when I cleaned up my Mahindra 2538. I worked it quite a bit this past year and it had copious amounts of grease at
the loader pins. Tried a few things but had some old Kerosene, put that in a spray bottle and that worked magic sprayed on paper towel and wiping off the grease. The grease just melts away. and I don't think it hurts the paint at all. Kerosene isn't cheap these days but it really worked like a charm for that application. I suppose it took about a pint to go over the loader and some of the rest of the tractor. Hope that helps.

 

[4570Man]

I wouldn’t know because I never clean it lol but the mineral sprits should work fine. Or diesel isn’t much different from mineral spirits.

 

[Sberry]

Mineral spirits. We do it all the time, use it on outer glass also before using glass cleaner.

 

[4570Man]

Mineral spirits. We do it all the time, use it on outer glass also before using glass cleaner.

Mineral spirits dries oily. I’d switch to alcohol or if you need harsher acetone for glass. Don’t put acetone on fake glass though because that doesn’t go well.

 

[oosik]

I don't mind, so much, getting a little grease on my work clothing. Then, I come in the house and have to change OR the grease transfers to my furniture. I don't like that.

A couple years ago - Simple Green - lots of old shop rags - lots of scrubbing - looked as good as BravoXray's - post #6.

Since that time - I "clean-as-I-go". Once you get it clean - keep up with it.

 

[5030]

Cheap clay based grease that has dried on is much harder to remove, no matter what solvent you use.

 

[GeneV]

Mineral spirits dries oily. I’d switch to alcohol or if you need harsher acetone for glass. Don’t put acetone on fake glass though because that doesn’t go well.

I'd be real careful with acetone around painted surfaces as well. But acetone will eat away any grease, yeh.

 

[Locoweed]

Dismount loader to keep from getting grease all over the tractor. Move tractor. Pressure wash the loader. Wait a bit for it to dry. Remount loader. Give it a fresh grease job.

 

[crashz]

I'm a liberal greaser too. So my loader has blobs of grease at each joint. Periodically I will grab a hand wipe (the orange ones) and clean up the big stuff. Regular washing of the tractor and a grease job after keep it manageable.

 

[Williy]

I like simple green works great for me.
I purchased some cleaner with purple in
the name suppose to clean all but the
things that I wanted to clean didn't work
and never found out the "ALL" that it did
clean.

willy

 

[TCSavage]

I use diesel and shop towels. Does the trick nicely.