Hi there - I have a 2015 Bobcat E55 I bought used and I just noticed that one of the grease nipples that greases the pin that holds the bucket was missing. I bought a replacement grease nipple but it would not screw in - almost like the female thread on the arm is stripped. I was thinking there was a reason as to why it was missing.... To check I had the right size grease nipple and to ensure it wasn't a problem with the grease nipple i just purchased I unscrewed another grease nipple and screwed in the new one I bought (it was fine) so its definitely the female thread on the machine. Its a pretty important piece to grease as the bucket is constantly in use. Anyone else had this problem ? Do you get a tap and try and rethread the female thread on the machine ? Other suggestions Thx Ron
Can't say for sure on your machine but 90% of the grease nipples that thread in are 1/8 inch pipe thread. So could be the threads in the machine are damaged and just need a bit of cleaning up with a pipe tap. Just in case you are not aware those threads are a tapered thread so I would only turn the tap a couple turns in then try the fitting.
Okay - thanks. Much appreciated
Where was your Bobcat E55 made? It may have been manufactured with metric components, including grease nipples. Below is a couple of good web pages for grease nipple thread identification. https://greaseextensionhoses.com/grease-fitting-thread-identification/ https://www.saeproducts.com/metric-grease-fittings.html
Dang! I've been out of the trade too long, plum for got about that possibility! Forgot about metric grease fittings, I had a small supply of those I believe for the WA600 Komatsu or was it the JCB 185? Been seven years this last April.
Doesn't apply here, but I got caught out the other day with an old seeder, couldn't get imperial or metric to fit, although metric was close just not quite right. Bloody things ended up being Whitworth thread.
And lets not forget the occasional drive-in fitting that uses almost the same size as a 1/4-28 size but is in a place where you can’t see clearly
https://shop.bobcat.com/10h25-grease-fitting
Tap a few turns in to clean up the probable burr
Those drive in fittings fit everything.
And it works too!
Honestly, a few times it's happened where I needed to swap a fitting, and ended up screwing a 1/4" fitting into a metric spot. They fit a bit snug, don't attempt it with an open end wrench. I've never tried installing a metric into a standard, I'm guessing that might not even work.