We've got a 304H Deere loader that has grease zerk that won't take grease. All 3 would take grease when we got the machine, but they were all difficult right from the get go compared to the rest of machine. All have steadily gotten worse to the point that 2 of them wouldn't take any grease. Both bucket tip pins and 1 lift cylinder pin. I tried one of those grease joint rejuvenating tools that you fill with oil and tap with a hammer. Didn't seen to do anything for the 2 that stopped taking grease, but it did help open one of tbe bucket tip pins to accept grease better. The lift cylinder pin I drove out, cleaned and drove back in and that fixed it. My question is for the other bucket tip pin. This machine has a JRB quick coupler where the bottom pins are integrated in with the quick connect hydraulic coupler. How do you rejuvenate this grease joint? I can't just knock the pin out like the rest and the tool had no effect on it. Thoughts?
the hole in the pin is either blocked with dirt or has been sealed with a piece of metal from the pin, the only way I know is to disassemble and clean, nothing is going to clean out the hole otherwise, I have the same issue with a JD track loader now, I have to remove the pins...
There may be a thin chance to fix it by removing the fitting and cleaning out what you can, put a new fitting back in and use corn head grease from john deere . Head grease is pretty thin and will sometimes flush the pin joint out a little better than lith grease. If you aren't worried about the paint a little heat can be your friend as you pump the head grease through. Yeah I know this isn't the proper solution and may not work at all but sometimes you gotta do what gets you by.
I was considering heat, but I'm concerned about damaging any seals or orings that are part of the quick coupler right there. We have corn head grease on the shelf too, might try that first.
While some various methods like those posted above can sometimes work the only real solution is to disassemble and clean out all passages then grease every time it is used even if only used for half an hour. You need to flush out the dirt that gets in before it has time to harden. Some like to grease at the start of a job which is okay if a machine is used everyday. However I much prefer to grease after machine is used and things are warm and mud and dirt have not had a chance to harden. I guess it all depends on what kind of material the machine is being used in. I know the stone dust at the quarry could dry out to be as hard as cement over night sometimes.
Machine only handles forage and feed commodities on a dairy farm. It gets used 6-8 hours a day, but spread out through out the day. Not run for more than 2 hours straight at any point in the day. I certainly agree that greasing daily is best, though neither operator seems to know how to use a grease gun. Working on that, but it doesn't seem to click with everyone.
Maybe needs some negative reinforcement, time off with no pay might be a start!
What I have done is take out grease fittings and clean out with a drill bit by hand ,heat a LITTLE with a torch to soften grease ,put some fuel in ,fitting in ,grease it,move machine so pin moves while greasing. If this doesn't work take a part.
In addition, to what others have posted, after cleaning out, spray some kroil in, that stuff can eat its way through hardened grease, like lye through a hair clog. Next beg, borrow, or steal a porta-power unit, and take the hyd end off, and install a grease gun fitting and size adapters, if needed. Then try pumping that into the fitting. If you get the hyd oil flowing in, then remove the porta power, and try greasing. Grease will push the oil out. Sometimes, you can help things along, by having the machine running, and articulating the joint, in question, as you pressurize the porta-power. I had an ASV rubber track loader with a dry suspension fitting, that I took the grease fitting out of, and added a pipe coupler to, and made sort of a reservoir, and cap, that I sprayed Kroil into, every time I walked by, for a month and a half. When I smelled kroil on the tracks, I knew it was flowing through the fitting. At that point I took the reservoir off, and put the fitting back on. Worked like a charm, and I didn't have to r&r anything big, to get the job done.
I hadn't thought of a Porta power. The zerk is 1/8" so making an adapter shouldn't be too difficult. I'll try manipulating the joint while greasing when we get the machine running again. Currently have it torn apart and waiting for the radiator to be completed and sent back to us.
The Porta Power does work good as the light weight oil will go through and soften the hard grease, problem is sometimes I have seen the Porta Power push it's oil between a bushing and the housing instead of between the bushing and pin. But at least it's worth the try! If you have an old/spare Porta Power pump might even be worth filling it with fuel oil instead of hydraulic oil.
It doesn't take much solvent or thinner oil. If you fill the hole and whatever adapters with brake cleaner, kroil, etc. then the hydraulic oil from the porta power will just be pushing on the fluid ahead of it. Once that's worked through, the hydraulic oil will go through fine. Be careful, porta powers put out 10,000 psi so be prepared for anything to let go. Gloves and glasses especially. Another option is an airless paint sprayer if you have one available, lower pressure around 3,000, but it will hold that pressure automatically, and they should be stored with a light oil or diesel anyway, let that sit with pressure in it as long as you're working nearby to hear it and shut it off if it does blow out. Or turn it on for a few seconds to pump it up and the hose will hold the pressure for hours.
boss traded the machine off yesterday. Found a low hour 304k that he couldn't pass up.
three words...automatic lubrication system. Say goodbye to line-boring forever.
Some hand grease guns are 10,000 PSI.
Call in and visit some time and I will disprove the theory that installing autolube removes the need for line boring PDQ........... and IMHO the only decent autolube systems around for large equipment have Lincoln written all over them.
I my opinion autolube systems are only as good as the people maintaining them. Way too many people are sold on the idea that once installed maintenance is solved for life. That is far from reality! At the very least you still need someone who will visually inspect the equipment to confirm that all points are getting the proper lubrication. Also the amount of lubrication can vary substantially between two identical machines due to environmental operating conditions!
^^^^^^^x2 Worked for a paving outfit that wouldn’t let me grease the paver when it was hot to purge the asphalt out of bearings because he didn’t want to pay over time. He would have the grease truck do it in the morning when the asphalt was rock hard . We went through a lot of bearings
I have made it very easy for my crews to grease the equipment. Both crews have 18V Milwaukee drills, saws, impacts, etc. so both also have a Milwaukee electric grease gun with Lock N Lube tips and an inverter in each truck for battery charging. It's about as effortless greasing as you can get. I don't mind paying overtime to grease the equipment and I expect the equipment to be greased. If there is a piece of equipment that is not properly greased I have no issue with chewing an ass or two.
Now that's one of my favorite jobs if you need any help chewing ass let me know, I'm a professional
Absolutely agree with previous comments on auto lube systems. They can screw up, have blocked ports etc. If not checked properly you’re back to square one. I have a power pack line with a grease adapter on... use it for all sorts including clearing blocked ports. Rarely do I have to r and r pins to clean.
Seen my share of auto lube failure. Lease company bought into them and before two years were out they were ALL Gone, then the quarry manager in Augusta MO saw them as his answer to saving TONS of money WOOHOO was a gravy train for awhile but the work was incessant. One broken line or a popped fitting or have a pin stop lubing and the heat was on!
Well ****. Now how are we going to find out if any of these solutions worked?
I am a thinking he needs to track it down and keep us informed!
I have no idea where that machine ended up. It disappeared fast, equipment jockey found it a new home right away after we cleaned it up and shipped it off.
LOL!!