Power Trac Lube

Charlie_Iliff · Mar 1, 2003

i don't think there is enough material to drill and tap for a zerk fitting.i think a small 1/16 hole with a slight taper on the out side and use a pointed grease end like on some u joints would work 

Question: If the spherical rod end does have enough metal to insert a zerk, or a hole is drilled (assuming you can get to the inside to deburr) will the grease that is injected distribute properly? Or stated another way, are spherical rod ends with grease fittings also designed with grease passages to channel the grease all the way around before it squirts out between the ball and housing?

johara1 · Mar 1, 2003

this is not an ideal situation but it is a fix to a bad one. it should have a grease groove on the ball.most people will not pay for the added cost. the grease will come out but it will migrate around the ball, as it is moved. now you can help this by greasing the machine then cycle everythine a couple times then grease again.now you grease in each ball ,if you get a dry spot it will cause heat,that will cause the grease to go to that spot. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

johara1 · Mar 1, 2003

one little thing,lithium grease will mix with water.then it will freeze

Charlie_Iliff · Mar 1, 2003

one little thing,lithium grease will mix with water.then it will freeze 

Although I am certainly not a lubricant expert, I am afraid I have to take issue with that one as a general statement, based on my own experience, prior discussions on the board and some research. Lithium is used as a filler in a lot of different greases, both petroleum based and synthetic. Maybe there are some lithium products which aren't suited for Power Trac applications, but if you look on Amsoil's website, their racing grease, their specually formulated water resistant grease, and their spray lube all use lithium, and test extremely well not only as lubricants but for water rejection, in the harshest service.
It is rare that anything will go into solution with water without substantially lowering the freezing point of the combination. That's how antifreeze works. If grease is not miscible with water, and most greases are not, the freezing you may expect are droplets of water entrained with the grease, but not in solution. That may happen with some lithium greases more than others, but it seems a predictable syndrome with almost any grease, petroleum based or synthetic, since most will only physically mix with water, without going into solution. Although it is possible, I doubt that the presence or absence of lithium has much effect on whether or not water can be entrained as droplets.
Do you have any particular brands and references for chemistry or testing of the type(s) of lithium grease(s) that should not be used, for instance, to lube the spherical rod ends which I think probably are the culprit in the noises that Sedgewood and I have encountered?

johara1 · Mar 1, 2003

befor i wrote that i checked with a chemical engineer, and that is does ,work with oil and grease.i myself work on heavy equip. for the past 50+ years.you can still lead a horse to waterbut................the end bye!

bubenberg · Mar 1, 2003

PLEASE! ( befor i wrote that i checked with a chemical engineer ) please, get another opinion , this person must have gotten his degree in a paperbag!
/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
the ski industry, the lifts, the tracked vehicles, the army their vehicles and the packhorse troops on the rack clamps, are all using lithium lubricant to keep going during the winters in Switzerland. which in my youth sometimes was not possible.

we used lithium grease for our tracked vehicles in Bardoe, Norway in the NATO maneuvers in January through March,1970. that is around 180 miles north of the Nordic Circle. their summers are only three month long.