New experience. Perhaps someone can explain.

[Sysop]

The Kioti folks. think you should grease those every 50 hours, along with the rest of the chassis fittings. Of course the loader is every 10 hours. My last Kubota has a "releif plug" you unscrew this little plug, pump in some grease until you start to see it come out, and then you put the plug back in. Kioti does not have one.

I realize my pumping grease every ten hours is what some would call excessive, but I've seen various fittings/joints in my lifetime that you can set and pump grease into until it is pumping out of the fitting/joint all over the place and still not have all surfaces within the fitting/joint coated (ever pumped grease into something and it only pushes out in one small spot?). In my experience on those types of joints, the only way to get grease into the "hard to reach" places is to grease frequently and operate the joint normally to work the grease all the way in. I've found sometimes using less grease, on a more frequent schedule, can be more beneficial than just pumping it in till a blob hits the ground on the manufacturer's schedule... I generally "over lubricate" any new machine and I have never had anything "bad" happen because of it (granted this is my first tractor, but greasing joints and fittings aren't unique to tractors). Thanks for the reply!

 

[sixdogs]

This is the answer and it happens on lots of grease applications. Close tolerances and the grease is being forced in under tons of pump pressure. Use it for 5 seconds and it's back to normal.

G'day is your grease fitting on the end of the pivot? If so then as you pump grease in you are forcing the axle back and it tightens up against the thrust washer, thus making it hard to move if you had let it sit for 10 min or so then you would prob find it easy to move again as the grease would have worked it's way along the pin and taken the pressure off the thrust. Nothing unusual just means your pin and bush must be in good shape.


Jon

 

[farmgirl19]

Grease is cheap. Replacing parts is not. I grease often, usually much more frequently than manuals call for. No problem greasing every 10 hours!

 

[Sysop]

This is the answer and it happens on lots of grease applications. Close tolerances and the grease is being forced in under tons of pump pressure. Use it for 5 seconds and it's back to normal.

Grease is cheap. Replacing parts is not. I grease often, usually much more frequently than manuals call for. No problem greasing every 10 hours!

+1 farmgirl19, and I feel it is most important to grease new hardware very frequently just to ensure it gets worked even into the tightest of places early on in the machine's life. As sixdogs says some things can be under tremendous pressures. I think manual recommendations are good enough to get you through your warranty. I've never heard of something failing cause the lube was too fresh. :laughing:

I've just never personally found anything under such pressures adding grease would actually cause such a drastic effect, or at least it's the first I've noticed...

I appreciate the input, thanks bunches!

 

[sixdogs]

You know, that brings up the point of using the right grease for the application. There is lithium grease and then lithium with molybdenum (moly) added. The moly grease is dark and nasty and lots of loader and other applications call for it. I'm careful to use it because if I ever tracked it inside--or the dogs did--I'd be singing a couple octaves higher when the wife saw it.

I've learned to use the moly grease in more applications because it seems to stick harder and take pressure better. For a better explanation of greases, search here or the John Deere website for greases. There's really only a few kinds and not all kinds are created equal.

 

[Sysop]

Here's the pics of the pivot joint and the location of the fittings as promised.


Front

Rear
(the fittings have a bit of red/pink/purple colored grease on them)

I also spoke with the service guy at the dealer, his explanation was the same as banjodunn and sixdogs explained. This is apparently a common thing, I just never experienced it on anything I've worked with cause I just put grease in it and move on.