First, I cannot stand getting filthy while greasing so I just purchased the new 1884 20v Li Lincoln PowerLuber which I would definitely recommend to anyone who needs to grease but would rather not look like they rolled in it afterwards. Second, I own a grease fitting rejuvenator but for the life of me cannot locate the thing. Does anyone have a recommendation on a good one in the event I decide mine has fallen into the "space-time rift"? Lastly, what is the preferred method of rejuvenating a grease fitting, I have read where some use a solvent along with the rejuvenator and some where not? If using solvent this would require pumping a great deal of grease to clear the solvent which to me would seem costly. I am attempting to remedy the abuse and lack of proper maintenance on the 2007 Case 650K Series 3 Dozer I have been assigned. I loathe lazy operators who either have no clue how much these machines cost or simply do not care enough to take care of them. I'm working for a small outfit that does not have a full-time mechanic or lube truck/driver so we Operator's are left to our own devices to maintain and do simple repairs. The last mechanic who attempted to repair the dozer's A/C bypassed the low-pressure switch which for all intents and purposes has rendered the A/C useless. Thanks in advance for any assistance!!
If you haven't already, here's an old thread you might want to take a look at, SeaMac... HeavyEquipmentForums OCR...
Thanks OCR that was a helpful read. If I can locate my rejuvenator I'll try that first.
Dont use solvent! It will break down the grease, if anything use a light oil.
IF the grease has hardened in the joint thats what you want to do is break it down to force it out and get new clean grease in there. I normally take the fitting out and dig out as much old grease as I can get with a small flat screw driver or old drill bit ( by hand) and then fill it up with good penetrating oil let set for a little while put the fitting back in try greasing if it's still stuck some times you can tap on it with a hammer while hold pressure on the fitting and it will break free
also if you have a bad one you can hook a porta power with some adaptors directly to it (remove) fitting and pump in oil from it most of them will give you a least 10,000 PSI
Case Penertrine oil is the best, if you can get it.
I appreciate all the input, the dozer with zerk "issues" has been moved to another project so its up to whoever is operating it now. I never was able to locate my rejuvenator so I purchased a new Zerk Zapper and some Marvel Mystery oil. My Lincoln cordless grease gun will do 10,000psi. But again, the dozer is now in the hands of another hopefully they actually care enough to get the matter addressed. Thanks!!
the port power is hyd oil so it's thinner and will penetrate better
So this seems like a good place to ask everyone this question. How many of you out there follow the manufacturer grease schedule? I refuse to follow this nonsense. 1000 hrs???? I do the bucket hinge pins (40 pumps in main/20 in link) and linkage (20 pumps each) every other day. All others except Rotec once a week. Rotec gets 10 pumps each fitting at oil change. That's a discussion for another thread but I change oil every 250 hrs. I actually got into a somewhat heated discussion with the salesman about the schedule. Grease is cheaper than pins and bushings. He didn't feel the same way.
Shimmy, I would follow the OEM recommendations, but once 1000 hrs seems ridiculously crazy. Over greasing can be as harmful as undergreasing. If your grease isnt staying where it needs to be switch greases. Its always better to grease less volume and more often.
Yeah, the Case guy claims "graphite impregnated bushings" don't need much grease. I also think its funny that the manual says "If bushings are replaced with non-genuine CNH parts, grease intervals shall be every 10 hrs." So I grease about every 20-25 hrs on the bucket pins instead of every 50.
I don't believe that B.S. about 1,000 Hrs either I've never seen an excavator pin and bushing that could go more than a couple days with out greasing. I've had air grease gun's with hose reels mounted on 100,000 pd machines so they could be greased every day . I think grease helps purge the dirt out I always grease until I see clean new grease coming out
Ya buddy. :thumbsup
To SeaMac, I have regularly seen the clean guys stay clean while greasing by having a nice heavy pair of coveralls folded in the tool box: quickly put em on, grab a rag or two, put on gloves, grab grease gun and have at it.
Thanks for the tip, where can one find the adapters needed? I'm also a firm believer in grease, rather have to much grease instead of broken parts and down time. I've always used penetrating oil to free up stuck fittings, but I like the idea of using the porta power unit.
Same here with front end loaders in quarry applications. And even worse with skid steers used to clean up spillage, operators seem to think they are amphibious. The only problem I have with the purging is trying to get the operators to stop when they see a little fresh grease. They seem to think that if they pump five punds of grease through once a week of two it makes up for the lack of grease for the last week. Then are the guyswho come to shop near the end of shift and say, "I think it might need some grease, it's been creaking all day!" Or worse is when they have to be told by one of the truck drivers their machine is making bad noises!:Banghead