Gad zerks!

[prs]

I greased the Ventrac and checked everything out. I tried to figure out a way to access the drive shaft zerks from the right, but although Houdini might have success, my mitts are too large to fit in that way. But, from the left it is not difficult. I used the start motor to "bump" the shaft around so that the rear zerk was straight up; easy peasy. The front one was hidden by the bottom of the radiator, but we know it is aligned with the rear one, so I bumped the shaft around again to get them pointing straight down. Then from the left side the grease hose dives down and back up to the front zerk, not easy in regard to getting to hose end onto the zerk, but doable.


Continuing. I had a couple of stubborn zerk fittings on the rear rollers of the contour mower, but they did take the grease. So I proceeded to get all the zerks on the power unit. All was well until that very last one, the front lift cylinder fitting. That zerk refused to accept lube. I removed the fitting and grease pumped through it like prunes through a goose. I used a fine coping saw blade to clean the threaded hole for the zerk, it was clean. I put the zerk back in, but then backed it out a half turn in case it had been bottomed out on the pin. No flow. I lifted the implement a bit, no flow. I put some mild down pressure on it, no flow. Put back in float and tightened the zerk correctly, summoned my best Superman strength and all my weight on the gun lever and then slowly/reluctantly it started taking lube. I plan on removing the pin and cleaning out whatever the obstruction might be

I suspect I may have encountered a situation where my patchwork quilt collection of NGLI-2 lubes found that elusive incompatibility some folks talk about. All of my Ventrac equipment came lubed with some translucent red grease; maybe Lucas, maybe Mobile. I had guns with partial fillings of Green Stuff, Lucas Red and Tacky, and Valvoline Durablend. One time or another I have used them all. Today, the gun had the Lucas Red and Tacky. I have given up on Mobile because it loses its liquid portion due to separation in storage. So, I need to decide on one product and stick with it.

prs

 

[Wagtail]

I'm curious as to why you simply didn't replace the existing zerk with a new one?

Even if it wasn't/isn't the problem, it couldn't hurt. :confused3:

 

[prs]

The zerk was not the problem and using it saved me from having to go dig through my kit to find a new one that fit.

prs

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Paragraphs, honest.

 

[bumperm]

I have given up on Mobile because it loses its liquid portion due to separation in storage. So, I need to decide on one product and stick with it. prs

I contacted Mobil 1 about a year ago and asked them about this. They must be politicians who flunked out as they immediately reverted to implausible deniability. What? What problem? We ain't got no problem! We don't have no steenkin' separation problem!

 

[Wagtail]

Paragraphs, honest.

Yeah, I know. "WALL-O-TEXT" isn't the easiest thing to decipher.

In a way, I blame Facebook... hitting the Enter key normally means 'start a new paragraph'. In Facebook, Enter means 'send'.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Yeah, I know. "WALL-O-TEXT" isn't the easiest thing to decipher.

In a way, I blame Facebook... hitting the Enter key normally means 'start a new paragraph'. In Facebook, Enter means 'send'.

Dang. I blame the return key and English teachers.

<please for the love of God, do not take this personally>

 

[prs]

Please sir; forgive this unworthy soul. I wuz edjumunkated rite cheer in th' hart o' Applelacha. I restructured the post. Could have been Sammy Adam's fault.

prs

 

[prs]

I contacted Mobil 1 about a year ago and asked them about this. They must be politicians who flunked out as they immediately reverted to implausible deniability. What? What problem? We ain't got no problem! We don't have no steenkin' separation problem!

I believe a post on bobistheoilguy.com explained or made some claim to the effect that the liquid separation is intentional and that the "oil" is the lube agent. I used to purchase cartridges by the 10 or 12 count carton. When M1 came out I purchased a carton. Should last for years with my residential use. Well after about three sloppy cartridges used the rest of the cartridges would pour out about 5 or 6 ounces of thin liquid and the remainder so stiff it would not pump. Trash man got that crap.

Any way (Eric, did you notice the paragraph?), I think XOM believes their product is as it should be and not a problem at all for them or users that use some decent quantity of the product. Not sure which grease I will purchase next, but I intend to select a good one and be faithful to it.

prs

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Any way (Eric, did you notice the paragraph?), I think XOM believes their product is as it should be and not a problem at all for them or users that use some decent quantity of the product. Not sure which grease I will purchase next, but I intend to select a good one and be faithful to it.

prs

I did. Beers all around! FWIW, I use moly-graph high pressure grease.

 

[prs]

Follow-up:

Today I took a bit of time to investigate the reason for the stubborn zerk to be, well, so stubborn. With intention of disassembling the joint and cleaning it before re-greasing, my first step was to try the gun on that fitting again. It took grease this time like it should and old grease exited around both ends of the ball joint until new grease replaced it. I guess the grease I finally was able to force into there softened the jamb.

prs

 

[prs]

Follow-up:

Today I took a bit of time to investigate the reason for the stubborn zerk to be, well, so stubborn. With intention of disassembling the joint and cleaning it before re-greasing, my first step was to try the gun on that fitting again. It took grease this time like it should and old grease exited around both ends of the ball joint until new grease replaced it. I guess the grease I finally was able to force into there softened the jamb.

prs

 

[John Joseph McVeigh]

I greased the Ventrac and checked everything out. I tried to figure out a way to access the drive shaft zerks from the right, but although Houdini might have success, my mitts are too large to fit in that way. But, from the left it is not difficult. I used the start motor to "bump" the shaft around so that the rear zerk was straight up; easy peasy. The front one was hidden by the bottom of the radiator, but we know it is aligned with the rear one, so I bumped the shaft around again to get them pointing straight down. Then from the left side the grease hose dives down and back up to the front zerk, not easy in regard to getting to hose end onto the zerk, but doable.


Continuing. I had a couple of stubborn zerk fittings on the rear rollers of the contour mower, but they did take the grease. [...]

prs

Thank you very, very much for the suggestions with regard to the drive-shaft zerks.... rear oriented to the top, then the front oriented to the left, using the rear zerk as a visual guide. It is much easier to do it the way that you suggested than the way that the Owner's Manual specifies.

I found it much easier to use my Sears Remote Starter Switch (about 33 years old now) to bump the crankshaft than it was to use the key switch. Once I got the zerks within striking distance, I used a pry bar in the yoke of the rear U-joint to get the zerks oriented exactly the way that I wanted them.

As regards the zerks on the rear roller of the mower deck, I found it impossible to get a fitting on the left zerk on my MC600 rear-discharge mower deck. I ended up swapping it out for a right-angle zerk.

Thanks again for the great tips!

JJM