Z-Force 44 blade pulley grease zerks??

[MesquiteMan]

I posted this in the Cub forum and then realized I should have posted it here instead.

I bought a z-force 44 a couple of months ago largely due to you guys influence. I have been maintaining it like clock work and have come across something that I don't think is quite right.

The manual shows the count for blade pulley grease zerks as 3. I assume that is one for each blade. For the life of me I can not find one for the center blade pulley. I pulled the deck out from under the machine and noticed the nut on the center pulley has a threaded hole in it where I assume a zerk should have been installed? It is in the same place where the zerks are located on the other pulleys.

Am I right to assume a zerk should have been installed there and was just missed at the factory? If so, is this something I can just pick up at the local autoparts store and how would I know what to ask for?

 

[Spiffy]

There's always something to prove me wrong, but you just won't see a deck that combines greaseless and grease type bearings, so I think your assumptions are dead on. I have seen decks with side zerks situated in nasty positions sideways under the pully, but there again, I doubt they'd combine arrangements. I have no idea what all models are top/center, but from the couple I know well, I always think of top/center zerks on a CC deck, including the middle blade.

The good news is that zerks are pretty standard; just to be sure they aren't using an odd size you can pull out one of the other ones and bring it along. If the auto-stores don't have one, a TSC type place will (probably cheaper, but we're talking <<$1); maybe even the place you bought it from [Home Depot?].

Also good news; bearings often have a little lube from the factory, so I'm betting that you didn't do any damage on a new machine [I'm saying 99% you're probably OK....so don't lose a wink of sleep over it]; but if there is someone to complain about it to, it couldn't hurt [I'd say dealer, but if I remember right you were in the area where the box-store was fairly knowlegable and the dealer....well....much less so].

I think you've posted about it a couple times, but how's it treating you?

Also, you grease your bearings!! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif A little maintenance will pay you huge dividends. It makes me cringe when someone spends good money on a machine, then won't spend $20 on a grease gun. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif Poor machines.....