Zerks and tears

[Moxie 15]

Cheap grease is in reality nothing but clay.
Under heat clay dries and goes hard.
Either grease daily (keeps the zerk open) or upgrade to a synthetic grease.
The clay based greases are in all practical purposes very effective but in this day and age there is much better.

Grease is made of three primary parts, Base oil, Thickener, and Additives

Base oil can be Mineral, Vegetable, or Synthetic

Thickeners can be Calcium, Aluminum, Lithium, Barium, Bentone (Clay), and others

So it is entirely possible that a synthetic grease is clay based
Bentine clay has been used just about forever and makes a very good grease. In some applications it is the best, in some it is not. It does not make it a 'cheap' grease.

 

[ljjhouser]

Ditto on using better grease, Piloon!!..... The Lucas Oil 10330 X-TRA HEAVY DUTY grease has the "highest rating given." That water proof (poly-urea base) green grease in a Ryobi 18 volt (Home Depot) grease gun with a "Lock-n-lube" makes me a happy grease monkey! I carry a HFT "test probe" (pointed small rock, nail, etc. works ok, too) to loosen any old 'frozen' zerk balls I might encounter before putting 10,000 lbs of pressurized grease to it.

Looks like very good grease. I couldn't find it in a tube, Where do you get it?

 

[ljjhouser]

Looks like very good grease. I couldn't find it in a tube, Where do you get it?

Lucas Oil 103301 looks like the same grease in a tube. Maybe that's it.

 

[Oaktree]

2) I bought a Ryobi battery grease gun from Home Depot (about $139 and $10 more with battery) and replaced the end with the LockNLube I purchased. The grease gun can develop 10,000 lbs of pressure. A totally EXCELLENT combination.
RYOBI ONE+ 18V Grease Gun (Tool-Only)-P3410 - The Home Depot

Huh! Didn't realize they made one, I've got a bunch of other Ryobi 18V tools, think I'll look into getting one. Nearest HD that has them is about 2 hr. away, guess it'll keep 'til next time I'm down that way.

 

[fried1765]

Grease is made of three primary parts, Base oil, Thickener, and Additives

Base oil can be Mineral, Vegetable, or Synthetic

Thickeners can be Calcium, Aluminum, Lithium, Barium, Bentone (Clay), and others

So it is entirely possible that a synthetic grease is clay based
Bentine clay has been used just about forever and makes a very good grease. In some applications it is the best, in some it is not. It does not make it a 'cheap' grease.

Clay type is..... "Bentonite"

 

[Moxie 15]

Clay type is..... "Bentonite"

my error, good catch

 

[xBBx]

I've had this problem on equipment occasionally. I've found a that sometimes moving/manipulating the bushing/arm/shaft/yoke (whatever) can help get the grease to push out whatever is in the way. Sometimes a 2 person job. Also, I'll remove the zerk and test it to make sure that grease can flow through. Then, as others have mentioned, I keep a small supply of zerks available for a swap out. You can find kits that have several options included at RK, Amazon, etc. Finally, yes better grease is often worth it in the long run. Good luck!

 

[IndyJay]

I've had this problem on equipment occasionally. I've found a that sometimes moving/manipulating the bushing/arm/shaft/yoke (whatever) can help get the grease to push out whatever is in the way. Sometimes a 2 person job. Also, I'll remove the zerk and test it to make sure that grease can flow through. Then, as others have mentioned, I keep a small supply of zerks available for a swap out. You can find kits that have several options included at RK, Amazon, etc. Finally, yes better grease is often worth it in the long run. Good luck!

I keep a scratch awl with me to give a little nudge to the check ball to make sure it is free.

 

[MEMEMEME]

I work on a lot of older forestry equipment and bucket trucks. It is common place to find a few neglected grease fittings. I've tried the hammer type grease busters
and the lock on grease tips. What I've found that works for me is to use a good quality hose on the end of your gun with a working pressure of 6-8000Lbs or more.
When I run into a fitting that won't take grease, even when holding it on the zerk, I take the zerk off and put on a new one. If that doesn't work I take off the hose
on the end of the gun and put on a hose that i blew out most all of the grease and fill it up with PB Blaster. I put the hose back on the gun and squirt it in. It may
take 2 or 3 shots of this to loosen up the old grease. I then move whatever the fitting is trying to grease up and down or rotate a few time in both directions and
then grease it. Had best luck doing it this way. The worst one I ever had, I had to heat up the joint and put the PB Blaster to it 3 or 4 times before it would take
grease, but it did. Like I say, this works for me.

I recently bought an old Ford 4500 TLB that had SEVERAL fittings which had not been greased probably since before the turn of the century.
My secret sauce is to remove the fitting, use a pick to clean out any old hard grease I can, fill the zerk opening with brake cleaner and follow that with a squirt of PB Blaster.
Quickly insert a new zerk. Screw it in tight, wait a few minutes to overnight, then grease.
Make sure you have a grease coupling in good condition and that it is not halfway unscrewed at the point where it can be separated.
Have not yet had this fail and my old hoe never sounded so good!

 

[Ddh1961]

Looks like very good grease. I couldn't find it in a tube, Where do you get it?

In my area Wal Mart has it in individual tubes, but I buy it by the case from Amazon for about $45 for 10 tubes. Excellent grease.