Grease - is there no better way? Can we talk about this?

[tradosaurus]

So I guess we need to be more specific. Bucket and loader arms are not considered part of the tractor.

 

[WinterDeere]

I don’t think any manual is calling for grease on the loader pins every 50 hours of actual use.

My memory and personal records indicate my Deere 855 manual must have specified a 50 hours schedule for greasing the loader, but I don't have the manual handy to reference anymore (machine sold), and it's possible one of two things happened:

1. Manual was referring to greasing the rest of the zerks on the tractor, but not the loader. I can't even remember if Deere made a separate service manual for their loaders way back in 1986, but I think probably not.

2. Deere assumes that 50 hours on the machine is almost certainly less than 10 hours of loader uppy / downy action.

I did just run out to the barn and pull the manuals for the 3033R tractor and 320R loader, to check their maintenance schedules. The 3033R specifies front axle trunions at 50 hours, and "everything else" at 100 hours. But 320R manual does indeed say 10 hours.

To me, it's all the same. Each 50 hours on the tractor likely yields less than 10 hours of actual loader articulation, based on my usage.

 

[WinterDeere]

Oh, I do have a question for you folks greasing the loader damn near every time you climb on and off the tractor: How are you cleaning those hateful little Zerks that recessed into the pin ends?

All of my old loaders were so easy to grease, right thru the side of the cross tube at each cylinder end. Easy-peasy, nice exposed Zerk you can easily wipe clean with a paper towel before attaching the grease gun.

Then they went to these stupid fittings recessed into the ends of the pin, with are a total mother f'er to clean, mine are always cakes with chainsaw wood chips (like big "dust", for those of you with dull saws ) from running saws near my tractor. Getting a paper towel, screwdriver, anything in there to get the Zerk clean before attaching the grease gun is like an exercise in frustration, especially when the old way was so much easier and more convenient.

I can do an oil and filter change on a tractor in probably 10 - 15 minutes, but it probably takes me close to double that time to grease it, largely because of this stupid new loader pin design.

 

[dodge man]

It’s more of a car detailing thing but they make these Q tips of different sizes. I have a bag of different sized ones, small to giant. I don’t need them for my loader pins as I can get rag in there.

I’ve been shuttling loaders full of gravel and dumping them over a hill side near my house, a one way trip is about 800 feet. So I’m using the loader constantly. I rarely sit on my tractor 8 hours in a day but maybe 3 or 4 hours. On the third day I realized it was time to grease it. Like most people though I’m not usually using the loader constantly so you just have to guess when it’s time.

 

[WinterDeere]

Maybe I'll have to start keeping boxes of Q-tips in the barn, for this. I prefer the exposed zerks that I can just give a quick wipe with the paper towel, but after some bitching and moaning about it, I can adapt.

Even in that project, if drive between scoop and dump is 800 feet, the actual duty cycle on the loader versus tractor hours can't be too terribly high.

 

[pmsmechanic]

Oh, I do have a question for you folks greasing the loader damn near every time you climb on and off the tractor: How are you cleaning those hateful little Zerks that recessed into the pin ends?

All of my old loaders were so easy to grease, right thru the side of the cross tube at each cylinder end. Easy-peasy, nice exposed Zerk you can easily wipe clean with a paper towel before attaching the grease gun.

Then they went to these stupid fittings recessed into the ends of the pin, with are a total mother f'er to clean, mine are always cakes with chainsaw wood chips (like big "dust", for those of you with dull saws ) from running saws near my tractor. Getting a paper towel, screwdriver, anything in there to get the Zerk clean before attaching the grease gun is like an exercise in frustration, especially when the old way was so much easier and more convenient.

I can do an oil and filter change on a tractor in probably 10 - 15 minutes, but it probably takes me close to double that time to grease it, largely because of this stupid new loader pin design.

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

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A grease fitting adapter would probably get it out far enough for you.

 

[4570Man]

Oh, I do have a question for you folks greasing the loader damn near every time you climb on and off the tractor: How are you cleaning those hateful little Zerks that recessed into the pin ends?

All of my old loaders were so easy to grease, right thru the side of the cross tube at each cylinder end. Easy-peasy, nice exposed Zerk you can easily wipe clean with a paper towel before attaching the grease gun.

Then they went to these stupid fittings recessed into the ends of the pin, with are a total mother f'er to clean, mine are always cakes with chainsaw wood chips (like big "dust", for those of you with dull saws ) from running saws near my tractor. Getting a paper towel, screwdriver, anything in there to get the Zerk clean before attaching the grease gun is like an exercise in frustration, especially when the old way was so much easier and more convenient.

I can do an oil and filter change on a tractor in probably 10 - 15 minutes, but it probably takes me close to double that time to grease it, largely because of this stupid new loader pin design.

I use a screwdriver to scrap out enough dirt that I can get the nozzle seated in place and call it good. I don’t bother cleaning them to perfection.

 

[Eagle1]

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

A grease fitting adapter would probably get it out far enough for you.

I would promptly knock it off using the loader or backhoe next to something or in dirt/rock. Seems that every exposed grease fitting is broken quickly.

 

[wagne223]

The two items on my tractor that are the most grease sensitive are the lower loader bucket pins and the rotary cutter tail wheel.

Moving a lot of dirt one day and the bolt that holds the lower bucket pins in place sheared off. Seems under load and lack of grease created a rotational torque on those pins that was enough to shear off those small retaining bolts.

Rotary cutter tail wheel does not track property and will actually start to plow if it is not greased properly.

Those two spots get greased prior to any days work. Rest of the loader greased after 5 days of light duty or every day of heavy duty.

Rest of the machine gets greased when I change the oil.

I wear disposable latex gloves , use a manual pistol grip grease gun, and wipe off the excess.

Grease does not have to be messy!

 

[4570Man]

Oh, I do have a question for you folks greasing the loader damn near every time you climb on and off the tractor: How are you cleaning those hateful little Zerks that recessed into the pin ends?

All of my old loaders were so easy to grease, right thru the side of the cross tube at each cylinder end. Easy-peasy, nice exposed Zerk you can easily wipe clean with a paper towel before attaching the grease gun.

Then they went to these stupid fittings recessed into the ends of the pin, with are a total mother f'er to clean, mine are always cakes with chainsaw wood chips (like big "dust", for those of you with dull saws ) from running saws near my tractor. Getting a paper towel, screwdriver, anything in there to get the Zerk clean before attaching the grease gun is like an exercise in frustration, especially when the old way was so much easier and more convenient.

I can do an oil and filter change on a tractor in probably 10 - 15 minutes, but it probably takes me close to double that time to grease it, largely because of this stupid new loader pin design.

I’m not seeing it as being that hard. The skid steer has no shortage of pins to grease and they’re every one recessed. If they weren’t they would be broke off the first day. It takes me maybe 5 minutes to grease the machine.