Tie-Rods: Poor Quality

[moship]

There isn't any grease fittings on the front end of a Grand L? Very surprised.

Neither the L3130 or L4740-3 have grease fittings for the tie rods. Considering the number of grease fittings on a tractor especially with a FEL, two more grease fittings wouldn't be an inconvenience. Same tie-rod is used in the newer Grand 60's, so they don't have them either.

crashz - Agree grease helps to keep water out and to flush out other contaminants or wear particles when a zerk fitting is provided. That's why I prefer tie rods with them.

 

[moship]

I disliked the idea of the new tie-rods not having grease fittings. Neither the stock ones which were destroyed nor the new ones from Kubota have grease fittings. I don't mind them being maintenance free, but given their short life span and crazy cost for such cheaply made ones is a slap in the face.

I've elected to add grease fittings.

Used a drill press and sturdy vice to hold the tie-rod and drilled slowly until white plastic was hit.

Will they last longer? Who knows without data. I do feel a bit better knowing they can be greased and any moisture can be flushed.

Just thought I'd share...

 

[Smokeydog]

Good write up and good fix.

The ends are similar on the M59 with no grease fitting. 2014 model, 1213 hours. Squeezed the boot and couldn’t “feel” grease. Couldn’t pull the boot down easily without disassembly. Used the grease needle option to puncture boot up toward the ball and did about 10-12 pumps till moly grease came out the puncture. No water. No old grease. Massaged the boot to try to push grease toward the ball. Can tell it’s got grease in it now. 10-12 pumps is a heathy amount of grease. That’s a thick and sturdy rubber boot.
I used similar technique to increase lifespan of auto CV joints.

 

[rScotty]

Good write up and good fix.

The ends are similar on the M59 with no grease fitting. 2014 model, 1213 hours. Squeezed the boot and couldn’t “feel” grease. Couldn’t pull the boot down easily without disassembly. Used the grease needle option to puncture boot up toward the ball and did about 10-12 pumps till moly grease came out the puncture. No water. No old grease. Massaged the boot to try to push grease toward the ball. Can tell it’s got grease in it now. 10-12 pumps is a heathy amount of grease. That’s a thick and sturdy rubber boot.
I used similar technique to increase lifespan of auto CV joints.

Thanks for mentioning the tie rod ends.... I completely overlooked that on my M59. Just ordered a grease needle from ZORO tonight to do mine. That's one of the few places where I'll use my hand grease gun loaded with moly grease. Many thanks. BTW, NAPA Auto parts carries a moly grease with a higher level of moly in it than any other I've found. I hate moly mess, but do use it in a few select few places. One place being the main backhoe swing pivot.

There are a couple of other places on the M59 Kubota - and maybe other models of Kubota that can benefit from some innovative greasing. Rather than drift off the subject here I'll start a different thread for that.
rScotty

 

[moship]

Thanks Smokeydog.

You provide a good workaround.

 

[rScotty]

Thanks Smokeydog.

You provide a good workaround.

Yep, and thank you Moship for a real good write-up on the tie rod ends.
rScotty

 

[radios1]

they are using plastic, probably nylon for the bearing surface. I know that petroleum products are bad for plastic and rubber, it can make them harden and crack, so a fully synthetic grease is best for this.. btw, this is the first time I've ever seen plastic used as a bearing surface for a tie rod, it must be a cheaper method to manufacture, but, you see it wears out fast..

 

[rScotty]

Ah, yes. Grease compatibility rears it's ugly head. There's not only petroleum vs plastic but also the grease thickeners - which make up most of the grease itself - can be soap, bentonite, barium, or poly urea type. Use the wrong combo and they will harden. Since it's a Japanese part, I'd suspect the original grease to be a poly-urea type thickener.
Lubrisense has a whole series of white papers on the subject of greases for evening armchair reading. Here's one to get started with:
https://www.ocsoil.fi/upload/whitepapers/Lubrisense2.pdf

It seems like the problem with the tie-rod ends in this thread was due to no grease at all...but who knows? As you point out, They may have used incompatible materials in manufacture. I'm still bothered by why moship's tie rods failed at 600 hrs when the boot was still good.
rScotty

 

[radios1]

Ah, yes. Grease compatibility rears it's ugly head. There's not only petroleum vs plastic but also the grease thickeners - which make up most of the grease itself - can be soap, bentonite, barium, or poly urea type. Use the wrong combo and they will harden. Since it's a Japanese part, I'd suspect the original grease to be a poly-urea type thickener.
Lubrisense has a whole series of white papers on the subject of greases for evening armchair reading. Here's one to get started with:
https://www.ocsoil.fi/upload/whitepapers/Lubrisense2.pdf

It seems like the problem with the tie-rod ends in this thread was due to no grease at all...but who knows? As you point out, They may have used incompatible materials in manufacture. I'm still bothered by why moship's tie rods failed at 600 hrs when the boot was still good.
rScotty

nylon soaked in water will usually last a long time against a metal part, without any grease used!.. this is what was used here, the nylon acting as a bearing surface, but perhaps it encountered too much stress, and failed. or it got contaminated by a petroleum product, in any case, this is the very first time I've seen a tie rod with nylon as a bearing.. it does seem to be a weak point using plastic!..

 

[jimainiac]

My 2004 L3830 had a worn out tie rod end in 2014, at 1030 hrs. The new one was $75 then and I thought that was a lot.