PT425 Steering Valve Noises

[ponytug]

Dear MossRoad,

Sorry for the poor choice of words. I spray enough on to wet everything and have enough excess to have some drip off. (Just a few drops.) I'm just trying to follow the eight hour lubrication suggestions made by Terry. My thinking was that having an excess will help washout any grit in the "eye".

I did not mean to imply anything about the absorption properties of steel or that I remove the bolts and dunk the ends into buckets of SuperLube.

Some hardware stores stock SuperLube, but, around here, not reliably.

All the best,

Peter

The training from PT says to lube everything every 8 hours of operation. I try to do that religiously. I have been using white lithium spray grease. No problems in 11 years until now. I'll be looking for some super lube. (thanks for the link Ponytug).

 

[MossRoad]

Dear MossRoad,

Sorry for the poor choice of words. I spray enough on to wet everything and have enough excess to have some drip off. (Just a few drops.) I'm just trying to follow the eight hour lubrication suggestions made by Terry. My thinking was that having an excess will help washout any grit in the "eye".

I did not mean to imply anything about the absorption properties of steel or that I remove the bolts and dunk the ends into buckets of SuperLube.

Some hardware stores stock SuperLube, but, around here, not reliably.

All the best,

Peter

It wasn't a poor choice of words. I knew what you meant. :thumbsup:

I usually take a paper towel and wipe off any visible dirt/debris. Then I hold the paper towel up behind the joint so I don't overspray the tractor and blast it with the lithuim grease. I also physically rotate the cylinder tube to get the ball joint to rotate and spray the underside of the joint.

The problem does not appear to be the ball in the socket. That is nice a free moving.

The problem appears to be the bolt in the ball that is making the noise I think.

I am still toying with drilling a small hole down the center of the bolt and then cross drill where the center of the ball is to create a grease channel midway inside the ball/bolt area. Then I'll drill out the top of the hole larger and tap it for a grease zerk. I'd proabably put some sort of small steel tube around the zerk to protect it, yet be able to get a socket on it for install/removal.

Sometime over the winter I'll remove one of those bolts, get a spare, and practice on that. If it works, I'll do the rest.

 

[Gravy]

David,

Don't do it.

All of that drilling will weaken the bolt by quite a lot, and grease tends to attract sand. Just change to a different lubricant.

Spray lithium grease is formulated to stick to whatever you spray it on, and stay right there. It sits on the surface of the ball joint, and doesn't ever reach in between the ball joint and the bolt. The PT design uses the bolt as the primary pivot point, with the ball joint serving to accommodate the oscillation motion. That bolt needs lubrication.

You want something that runs and wicks into every available space before the carrier evaporates. Super Lube does that, along with TriFlow, Slick 50 OneLube and my current favorite, Bel-Ray Spray Chain & Cable Lube. There are plenty of others - just make sure to get something that penetrates before it congeals. If it doesn't make a drippy mess, try something else.

I like the Bel-Ray because it sets to a waxy consistency that doesn't attract & hold dirt. Off-road motorcycle riders use a version of it on their drive chains because it lubricates without turning into grinding compound.

 

[cqaigy2]

I am still toying with drilling a small hole down the center of the bolt and then cross drill where the center of the ball is to create a grease channel midway inside the ball/bolt area. Then I'll drill out the top of the hole larger and tap it for a grease zerk. I'd proabably put some sort of small steel tube around the zerk to protect it, yet be able to get a socket on it for install/removal.

Sometime over the winter I'll remove one of those bolts, get a spare, and practice on that. If it works, I'll do the rest.

I did that on the bolts that connect the 'fast attach' plate. I drilled the size of the zerk first then switched to a much smaller one for the grease channel to the middle of the bolt, then small one crosswise the bolt thru to the other side. Then i took a file to the holes to clean off holes making them slightly flatter to reduce sharp edge area that might cause extra wear. I found if i used the larger drill first then the smaller one that it was much faster because the small drill bit i was using would snap quite easily. Got the tap in zerks and everything still working well. I'll probably be doing the rest of the bolts, but its slow going. It does a good job of washing the dirt out. Year two on this mod.

 

[MossRoad]

David,

Don't do it.

All of that drilling will weaken the bolt by quite a lot, and grease tends to attract sand. Just change to a different lubricant.

Spray lithium grease is formulated to stick to whatever you spray it on, and stay right there. It sits on the surface of the ball joint, and doesn't ever reach in between the ball joint and the bolt. The PT design uses the bolt as the primary pivot point, with the ball joint serving to accommodate the oscillation motion. That bolt needs lubrication.

You want something that runs and wicks into every available space before the carrier evaporates. Super Lube does that, along with TriFlow, Slick 50 OneLube and my current favorite, Bel-Ray Spray Chain & Cable Lube. There are plenty of others - just make sure to get something that penetrates before it congeals. If it doesn't make a drippy mess, try something else.

I like the Bel-Ray because it sets to a waxy consistency that doesn't attract & hold dirt. Off-road motorcycle riders use a version of it on their drive chains because it lubricates without turning into grinding compound.

I did that on the bolts that connect the 'fast attach' plate. I drilled the size of the zerk first then switched to a much smaller one for the grease channel to the middle of the bolt, then small one crosswise the bolt thru to the other side. Then i took a file to the holes to clean off holes making them slightly flatter to reduce sharp edge area that might cause extra wear. I found if i used the larger drill first then the smaller one that it was much faster because the small drill bit i was using would snap quite easily. Got the tap in zerks and everything still working well. I'll probably be doing the rest of the bolts, but its slow going. It does a good job of washing the dirt out. Year two on this mod.

Well thanks, guys! I just got over decision making on election day and now this! :laughing:

 

[ponytug]

Just to add my $0.02, I agree with Gravy on this particular bolt, since we all know it is a high stress bolt. In general, I like Craigy2's solution because you get clean lubricant to the center of the bearing surface.

BTW, I use a DuPont teflon spraylube other places, but not on this joint, as I was concerned about how well it penetrated and how good it was under pressure. I look forward to seeing how it goes with your joints. I think Gravy's analysis of the logic of the lubricant choice is mine as well.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Bob999]

Shop DuPont Teflon 11 oz Teflon Multi-Use Lubricant at Lowes.com

Just to add my $0.02, I agree with Gravy on this particular bolt, since we all know it is a high stress bolt. In general, I like Craigy2's solution because you get clean lubricant to the center of the bearing surface.

BTW, I use a DuPont teflon spraylube other places, but not on this joint, as I was concerned about how well it penetrated and how good it was under pressure. I look forward to seeing how it goes with your joints. I think Gravy's analysis of the logic of the lubricant choice is mine as well.

All the best,

Peter

I have been using the Dupont teflon spraylube after the local Lowes store stopped carrying Super Lube.
Shop DuPont Teflon 11 oz Teflon Multi-Use Lubricant at Lowes.com

I have been very satisfied with the results--particularly as compared to when I used Super Lube.

It sprays on very "wet" which allows good penetration of the joint but dries to a nice film wich does not attract dirt--the joint stays quite clean.

 

[MuncyBob]

Good to hear this was a fairly easy and inexspensive fix...but,...unless I missed something here, what was the source of the leak you mentioned and how was it resolved?

 

[MossRoad]

Good to hear this was a fairly easy and inexspensive fix...but,...unless I missed something here, what was the source of the leak you mentioned and how was it resolved?

There was no leak while the unit was running, just a horrible squeal every time I turned the wheel.

However, when the unit was off and I was horsing the steering wheel with a good amount of force, it leaked around the steering shaft. Now that everything is back together, I ran it for a good 7 hours and there is no leakage.

So, I would recommend that no one try to crank the wheel while the unit is off.

 

[MossRoad]

Bump for reference on PT425 steering valve.