Ford 3000 front wheel bearing zerk issue

johneic · Aug 15, 2014

OK, I was off by a few hours, (My memory is not as good as it was in the past) the Ford Owners Manual I was referring to says front bearings are a 600 hour service.

(Its still a crappy description in the book and nothing in the service manual) I admit I know little which is why I ask here.

So for me front wheel bearing greasing is a once a year service, I think my points are still valid.

RickB · Aug 15, 2014

Not sure what points you are talking about. You've proved it impossible to thread a zerk into an unthreaded tapered blind hole. And you can't retain service interval information read from a manual. What Am I missing?

HakanTh · Aug 15, 2014

Thanks johneic, I will keep that in mind.

By the way, zerks are good when they work as they should. Best way is to screw a bolt and a fibre washer in the hole, instead of the zerk. When it is time to grease you change to a fresh zerk, grease and switch back to the bolt again. If you put zerks into the steel caps, they are not only exposed to dirt and water, you will sooner or later have one smashed or dented.

I am not sure about the need for it on a hub in normal use, better to take apart, clean and repack with fresh grease.

Reminds me of the, never used, small grease guns that came with every new chainsaw for greasing the bearing in the sword's tip. As an oldtimer said: "If you never had dirt in there before, you will get it when you pump with that thing".

bajabum · Aug 15, 2014

600 hours?

I'd bet the grease in there is what left the factory...

Slow speeds, not much weight, probably good for another few decades.
Regrease if it makes you feel better, but probably not needed.

johneic · Aug 16, 2014

Thanks for the help HakanTh and bajabum, I never thought of them breaking off and a few decades will be the most this retired bookkeeper will need, I will be in the earth by then. Thanks again for the helpful tips, I worked in an office my whole life and never did things like this, I need the good ideas from here.

HakanTh · Aug 16, 2014

Glad to help with the little I know.
These machines do not have modern technology in them, so they can be understood pretty easily. It is PBL (Problem-based learning) all over, "Good judgment comes from experience, experience comes from bad judgment."

By the way, you have got a Private Message.

bumperm · Aug 16, 2014

When drilling thinner metal that will be tapped for threads, instead of drilling the hole to the size called for by the tap spec, drill a much smaller hole. Then tap a tapered awl into the hole to enlarge to correct hole size. This will create a inward "cone" that will provide much more threaded surface.

bumper