How do you clean your greasy loader pivots?

[tacticalturnip]

Shawn TW, you and your little Fergy are a glowing testament to the quality and durability of current production Massey Fergusons,

They make a good tractor for sure.

 

[JRH02]

My big TLB has the loader to frame pins right in front of the steps into the cab. Getting in or out either side often gets me smudged. Or especially opening the hood or doing anything forward under the hood. Same for the cylinder pins below.

I give all the pins a squirt of gunk engine cleaner and let it work. Repeat. Then pressure wash. I don't like a thick buildup because when I grease the pin connections I want to see how the grease distributes.

 

[JasperFrank]

I have two, very separated forms of clothing. There is the good stuff, and there is the work stuff. The work stuff is all second hand: Nearly free and completely, one off, if need be.. I don't think I've ever, even attempted to recover clothing, after working cement. And some times, if working on the tractor, these second hand clothes do become one offs. Hell, its only $3 for the shirt and pants.

 

[JRH02]

I have two, very separated forms of clothing. There is the good stuff, and there is the work stuff. The work stuff is all second hand: Nearly free and completely, one off, if need be.. I don't think I've ever, even attempted to recover clothing, after working cement. And some times, if working on the tractor, these second hand clothes do become one offs. Hell, its only $3 for the shirt and pants.

Yup. The next day some of my clothes become shop towels.

There was a time when I wore oxford white shirts and a jacket. I now use those for work clothes and have gotten some strange looks from a neighbors. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with ties though. Some of them have come back into style and gone again.

 

[dicktill]

Shawn TW, you and your little Fergy are a glowing testament to the quality and durability of current production Massey Fergusons,

Yes! Fergie just hit 500.0 hours! I bought her 10/31/2023, and on 10/31/2024 she had a whopping 421.0 hours! This year has been slower so far as I had her taken apart for many "winter modifications", and then was delayed by shoulder surgery (me, not her), weather, laziness, etc.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Cleaning? Denatured alcohol. Buy it in 1-gallon cans and load into spray bottles. It removes anything "greasy" and is way, way cheaper than brake cleaner.

KLEAN-STRIP GSL26 Denatured Alcohol, 1-Gallon: Household Paint Solvents: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

KLEAN-STRIP GSL26 Denatured Alcohol, 1-Gallon: Household Paint Solvents: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

www.amazon.com

 

[mjonesnh]

Cleaning? Denatured alcohol. Buy it in 1-gallon cans and load into spray bottles. It removes anything "greasy" and is way, way cheaper than brake cleaner.

KLEAN-STRIP GSL26 Denatured Alcohol, 1-Gallon: Household Paint Solvents: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

KLEAN-STRIP GSL26 Denatured Alcohol, 1-Gallon: Household Paint Solvents: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

www.amazon.com

used that in a gauge shop where .00005 tolerances were the norm. went through gallons of that stuff in 17 years I was there. Definitely a degreaser and cleaner

 

[TractorGunn]

As I said on GTT, I clean the excess grease off of my tractor by wearing my best shirt near it.

It is guaranteed to work every time.

 

[SmallChange]

I use my shirt to clean the top rear pin area on the left loader arm.

For all the rest of the greased locations, I don't like giant globs of grease that build up over time (my greasing method is three pumps or when I see grease coming out, whichever comes first). The globs can fall off in the barn, where my floor is asphalt paving, which grease can make deteriorate. So, I usually do a bit of cleaning right after greasing outdoors. I often cut a heavy cable tie and use it like a narrow popsicle stick. I don't want to get all the grease, just what looks like it could fall. I do NOT like the idea of forceful spraying of cleaners around pins, especially water based cleaners. I do keep a plunger can stocked with a light mineral naptha (a distillate with properties similar to kerosene but without the stink of kerosene). It's similar to paint thinner or mineral spirits. Unfortunately all these petroleum terms get used somewhat flexibly and interchangeably. I stock those red shop towels in a plastic bin with hinged lid, and occasionally use it to get what my shirt missed in more open areas, but not down near the pin.

 

[JRH02]

I finally found one of these for a solvent mist with compressed air:

 

[grsthegreat]

I put even less grease in my zerks. I used to pump until it comes out, but since i keep it greased anyways, i dont overdo it. I simply give a few squirts to each point and be done with it.

In over 30 years of tractor ownership i have not damaged a pivot point yet.

If i was doing this commercially, id use electric grease gun and let it fly. Would not care less. But mine isnt used hard.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

I put even less grease in my zerks. I used to pump until it comes out, but since i keep it greased anyways, i dont overdo it. I simply give a few squirts to each point and be done with it.

In over 30 years of tractor ownership i have not damaged a pivot point yet.

If i was doing this commercially, id use electric grease gun and let it fly. Would not care less. But mine isnt used hard.

IMO electric grease guns stink because you're still using those lousy 20oz tubes of grease. Either a bulk air-driven grease gun or a G-gun is the way to go.

 

[mapper]

Yup. The next day some of my clothes become shop towels.

There was a time when I wore oxford white shirts and a jacket. I now use those for work clothes and have gotten some strange looks from a neighbors. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with ties though. Some of them have come back into style and gone again.

My mom used to use my dad's old white work shirts for gardening shirts, us kids used them while picking strawberries and raspberries. Nothing better in the hot sun than a loose white shirt. This was in the 60's when kids could work summer jobs.

 

[RayIN]

I have two, very separated forms of clothing. There is the good stuff, and there is the work stuff. The work stuff is all second hand: Nearly free and completely, one off, if need be.. I don't think I've ever, even attempted to recover clothing, after working cement. And some times, if working on the tractor, these second hand clothes do become one offs. Hell, its only $3 for the shirt and pants.

Afterwards they make good rags for wiping away grease.
I get dressed in old clothes to do tractor work and before I can get out the door, DW says "are you gonna wear that?"
That''s when she told me other women look at how a man is dressed and judge his wife. Ain't never seen a woman while doing tractor work, what's up with that?

 

[JasperFrank]

True,

Afterwards they make good rags for wiping away grease.
I get dressed in old clothes to do tractor work and before I can get out the door, DW says "are you gonna wear that?"
That''s when she told me other women look at how a man is dressed and judge his wife. Ain't never seen a woman while doing tractor work, what's up with that?

I have my work clothing. And some mornings the wife says, "You can't go out with that"......... And I say "I'm not going anywhere today. " LOL.

 

[JRH02]

"are you gonna wear that?"

Either of us could be arrested for our clothing but not at home, in the woods where there is NO ONE. But if going to town we have a different mode.

We even have an outdoor shower. And we lay on the deck afterward in our birthday suits to dry off in the summer sun. It's lovely. Not so much in the winter.

A fun story: I have BUNCHES of white or light blue oxford cotton button collar long sleeve shirts from the office days. If they aren't too bad I'll wash - otherwise its burn pile. Once I had a neighbor see me in an old office shirt. It was fresh and starched. I got long looks.

 

[thebmrust]

That''s when she told me other women look at how a man is dressed and judge his wife. Ain't never seen a woman while doing tractor work, what's up with that?

Everyone must hate my wife.

I often wear the same thing Friday night, Sat & Sun when working outside. Torn up sweatshirt, thread bare ratty ball cap, work pants and boots. All clean but looking very very worn.

When asked by the Mrs, I’ll go get groceries, gas, to go food, pharmacy, whatever. When I’m in work mode clothes aren’t anything I think of. But I think even less of anyone judging my wife because of what I wear.

Small minds according to Mrs. Roosevelt.

 

[Dustin12]

On the rare occasion I clean greased pivot points, I use a power washer with a Rotox nozzle. Not sure why but it doesn't splatter the grease as much as a standard nozzle. I still do it away from other equipment and wear old clothes though.coc mod apk th 18

Does that rotary nozzle actually cut the grease better without blasting water into the sealed bearings? I've always been terrified of pressure washing near the pins (per @Runner's warning), but if the rotary motion keeps the spray from being a direct high-pressure injection, that might be the game changer I need.