Newbie question on FEL grease fittings

[willr524]

I am a very happy owner of a new BX1850 w/ a LA203 FEL on it. I know that it is small by tractor standards but it is all my property needs and does mostly lawn mowing duty.

I wanted to make sure that I am maintaining everything properly and since the loader has about 11 hours on it, I wanted to make sure that I lubricate it properly. The manual indicates greasing the joints on the FEL which I understand but I also mentions the grease fittings. The only fittings I could find were at the ends of the three hydraulic cylinders on the loader.

So I have to questions:

1) Those are grease fittings right? I am new to hydraulics and I wanted to make sure that they aren't hydraulic bleed valves or something like that?

2) Am I missing any other fittings? Everything else looks like you just lube the pins at the joints.

I saw someone's post about making sure the fitting is clean before lubing it so I don't force direct back into the fitting. I bought the right grease (HP stuff from Kubota) at the dealer. Any other tips or tricks that aren't in the manual.

Thanks for you help on this one.

 

[DiezNutz]

1) Correct, those are the fittings. There should be one at every joint, i.e. pin bushing.
2) The manual should point out all of the fittings. I also smear a film of grease on all of the FEL attach points... i.e., the bottom fixed pins, the top removable pins, and the corresponding slots & holes in the FEL arms... everywhere you see a contact point. This helps eliminate some wear, FEL goes on & off a little easier, and it also keeps from tearing off so much of the powder coat. Wipe off and put some fresh on when it starts getting dirty.

Let's see... wipe the fittings clean first... make sure you see some old grease come out of both sides of the pins/bushings... leave a dab of grease on the fitting when you're done to protect it... if grease squirts out around the fitting instead of going into it, tighten the connection on the end of your hose a little... install/remove hose by working it on & off the fitting at an angle... that's about it.

 

[jesseb3@att.net]

There should be more fittings than that. Dietz is right, check the manual. You should find several that are hidden inside the loader's frame work. A hole about 3/4" diameter is drilled in the frame, which allows you to access those fittings.

One word of caution... one of my zerk fittings was missing, and several came off as I tried to remove the grease gun. It appears that they weren't tight from the factory. (It also makes you wonder how good my dealer is at inspections!)

I used channel-locks to pull them out of the grease gun, and threaded them back in.

Good luck,

Jesse

 

[canoetrpr]

From one newbie to another..

I HIGHLY recommend a flexible hose on the grease gun. Makes it so much more likely that you will get a good fit between grease fitting and coupler.

Get a good quality coupler. I threw the one out that came with my gun and got the best coupler from the Napa store.

Get the needle coupler also. I have the odd fitting that I find I just cannot get grease into with the coupler. I use the needle fitting and I am good to go.

You might also want to keep some extra fittings on hand to replace the odd one that is stubborn.

Be gentle when you take off the coupler from the fitting. Don't fight too hard with it if you find that its not coming off easy. I broke one of the fittings one of my bucket pins and I had to buy a new pin.

 

[DiezNutz]

...Be gentle when you take off the coupler from the fitting. Don't fight too hard with it if you find that its not coming off easy. I broke one of the fittings one of my bucket pins and I had to buy a new pin...

It should pop right off if you pull it at an angle... if it doesn't, you might have the coupler too tight, just loosen it a bit. The coupler doesn't have to be super tight on the fitting, just snug enough that grease doesn't shoot out around it.

 

[willr524]

Thanks All! I appreciate all of the clarification and tips. I did turn up a few more fittings on the FEL. The manual was not a lot of help. It did have a picture but it wasn't very descriptive nor did it give me a count of the number of fittings or lubrication points on the FEL. I guess I should not expect more from a 20 page document.

I did get a flexible hose grease gun and the coupler appears to be adjusted correctly. It was a little tight going on and off but nothing that would appear to be at rish of damaging the fitting.

Thanks for getting me started on the right foot.