Can't get the grease gun off the grease fitting..am I retarded?

[EdC]

One last thing before I have to go off to work: I cut threads rarely so as a last doublecheck I hold the tap up against the threads (of the zerk in this case) and make sure they match. The threads of the two should intersect with almost zero gap. Sometimes the labeling on the package ain't what it should be.

 

[Eagleview]

Sorry chaps , im in bed while you guys are talking . God should have made the earth flat and it would'nt be a problem . Whatever size thread you want to cut be it a bolt hole or a grease nipple hole , hold the bolt/nipple up to the light and put the shank of a drill bit in front of it (between you and the nipple). If you can see ALL the thread on the bolt/zerk protruding above and below the drill bit you have chosen the correct drill for the job . I would'nt bother taking out the pin , use a hand drill and leave it in situ . The grease in the pin will catch the swarf and you can remove it with a piece of wire . When using a tap make sure you don't go further than a 1/4 turn clockwise before turning back counter clockwise to remove the swarf , then proceed forward another 1/4 turn and keep repeating these steps untill you are in far enough with the new thread . If you go further than 1/4 turn you will break the tap in the hole , HELLO NEW PIN . 1/8th gas is an imperial sized nipple , it's one i use when i need a bigger nipple for the same purpose . Its hard to diagnose something you have not seen half way around the world . But before you go to the trouble of going to a bigger size have a good look at the hole you have . If the nipple is simply broken off , the center portion of the nipple can be drilled out and be tapped the same size as the original so an identicle nipple can be inserted . This usually chases the old male thread out and cleans the old female hole to take another nipple the same size . To determine what size drill to use for this proceedure take out another nipple from another pin and look at what size the shank on the nipple is without the thread . Drill the hole to this size , get a tap that will screw into the good pin you got the nipple from and screw into the crook pin using the steps above . (Tip) NEVER grease the loader while it is raised , doing so will force grease to the loose side of the pin as the other side (the working side)is metal to metal (pin against bush) and wont get any grease . The pins dont rotate far enough to spread the grease around the pin so undue wear will result .

 

[Eagleview]

Pretty sure what he means by "1/8 gas" is 1/8" NPT--Pipe Thread-which is a tapered thread commonly used on piping for air, oil, water and electrical conduits. Also for grease nipples.
Try the site below--

NPT- National Pipe Thread Taper- ANSI B1.20.1

Yes 1/8th NPT has 27 threads per inch and is tapered , 1/8th BSP has 28 threads per inch and is straight which is the one i was refering too , it's a pooftenth bigger than the metric equivalent which helps fill the hole .

 

[canoetrpr]

Iron Horse - Mission accomplished! Thanks a bunch for your help.

All said and done I spent more in stuff than a new pin, but, I now have 99 spare grease zerks, a 1/4" 28 tap, nice tap wrench etc. which I'm sure will come in handy somewhere else.

The one thing that didn't go so well is that I might have gotten some metal shavings into the pin. My neighbour whose drill press I was borrowing suggested that I just cycle some fresh grease flowing through it (in the zerk and out the pin) before I put the pin on the tractor. What do you think?

 

[Eagleview]

Yes , pumping new grease through the pin will flush it out . Good to hear it went well and its also good to have some feedback as others on this site just seem to fade away and we never hear of the results of everyones imput .

 

[brandoro]

I agree, good to hear the outcome.
Never a bad thing to have more tools at the end of a job.

Side note to Iron Horse, where is Orstraya?? I'm taking a guess that you are way south of most of the rest of us here.

 

[Sniggle]

I agree, good to hear the outcome.
Never a bad thing to have more tools at the end of a job.

I didn't disappear. I picked up a replacement loader pin and grease fitting, only $13. I plan to replace the pin this weekend, god and tractor willing.

I have put about 4 hours on the loader since I broke the grease fitting, but since I filled the pin just prior to breaking the grease fitting I figure I was good for several hours use.

I did buy an EZ-Out for any repeat performances in the future, and once I change out the pin I will try to extract the nub of the broken tapered extractor and hopefully be able to experiment with the easy out to salvage the pin.

This thread has also shown mde to be in good company as I struggle to decouple the grease gun from the grease fitting

 

[Eagleview]

Sniggle /. I was not refering to you at all . There are a million reasons you have not posted untill now . I was refering to all the thread starters on this site , not just this thread asking for help or advice only to be never heard from again . Some people go to a lot of trouble to give time and advice and do research in their own time to give the best advice they can . Go back through some of the threads that have been started and you will see what i mean , they just stop with no outcome . Canoetrpr /. Now that you have the grease nipples and the tap , look around your equipment and see what else could do with a greasing . For example the bushes on the hydraulic ram on my 3pl were not greasable , as it gets used a lot whilst slashing it was obvious it would suffer premature wear . 15 minutes with the same tools you now have and it gets greased once a week with the rest of the machine . The money you spent on the nipples and tap will be well spent as it will save replacing many parts over the years to come . Brandoro / , Orstraya is a little South of you , Mate .

 

[Sniggle]

OK, I replaced the loader pin with broken grease fitting...it was much easier than I expected. Since it was all greased up, I just had to jiggle the loader bucket and the pin slipped out, and then I slipped the new one in. No need for force. Cost of pin and new grease fitting was $13.

I also tried the new head I got for the grease gun. My old head had 4 leaf springs holding the head onto the grease fitting. It was always getting stuck on the grease fitting.

The new head has only 3 leaf spring to hold onto the fitting, and it is significantly easier to remove (I tried it on all the loader grease fittings)...I am very pleased. I bought that head from Autozone. That might be the solution for others like me that have had the grease gun lock onto the grease fittings.

Well, back to work box blading

 

[Eagleview]

Thank you for letting us know how it all turned out , others may do the same .