# Grease fittings help needed



## Randy Rooster (Dec 14, 2004)

Back in the fall before it got too cold, I tried to grease up several pieces of equiptment. It seemed like half of the zirk type fittings wouldnt take grease and the grease would just pour out the side.

Could it be my gun tip is worn out? What can I do to get grease into those fittings if it isnt the gun? Help - ive got an old set of discs for my tractor that one of them appears to be partially bound up, but I cant get the fittings for that bearing to accept fresh grease.


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## opus (Sep 15, 2004)

Good luck! You can remove the zerk and see that it is free. You can get a new tip for you gun. You can heat where the fitting it to help open it. You can have at it with WD-40 or the such. You can then put it all back together and have it not work just like it did before. )

It might work for you, might not.


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## Cosmic (Jan 19, 2005)

Yup more than likely is your gun tip if it is happening on a bunch of them. If you are holding off at an angle can have an effect if the tip is worn, trying being spot dead straight on the fitting.

You can buy replacement Zerks at most auto or home centers.

Could be too that whatever you are attempting to grease is frozen and the grease path is a bit tough. Got to check what type of seal is built into it. Can back off the Zerk a tad and see if you can force grease out its threads. Tells you the greased area is at least under pressure, leaves the question why it won't flow.


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

Sometimes you'll find a zerk is frozen by hardened material. There's a tool available that will "unfreeze" zerks that won't take grease. Go to the link below and scroll down.

http://www.mytoolstore.com/kd/kdsusp02.html


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## Beeman (Dec 29, 2002)

An old trick is to rap the part with a hammer while trying to grease it. Many times the vibration will loosed up the grud blocking the grease from flowing. I would definetly try a new tip on your grease gun also.


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

Remove the zerk if possible and clean the zerk and the threaded hole in the disk as best you can. Fill the mounting hole for the zerk with a solvent and reinstall the zerk. Now get a thin rag with a high thread count weave (old trouser pocket) and place the rag over the zerk. Now force the nipple of your grease gun on the zerk as do as Beeman suggests. A good hand operated grease gun will deliver more pressure than an air activated one. PS.... it would help if you were to jack the disc up so that there is no pressure on the joint you are attempting to grease. Any thing can be made to work if you work on it long enough


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## Randy Rooster (Dec 14, 2004)

Darren,


Have you ever used one of tose tools to clean out a fitting? Do they work? Are they worth the money?


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## rambler (Jan 20, 2004)

Randy Rooster said:


> Darren,
> 
> 
> Have you ever used one of tose tools to clean out a fitting? Do they work? Are they worth the money?


Here on the farm, grease zerks fill up with dirt. The bearing if run dry or the seals are shot will fill with iron, rust, and dirt. If not greased in 2 years, the old grease in the zerk body hardens into something like dried playdough.

When you use one of those tools, it will slam the dirt out of the zerk. So, that means it works, right?

But, where does the dirt, rust, & hard stuff go? It gets forced into your bearing. Is that really what we want?

Best way is to get your small tiny wrenches, and take the troublesome zerks out. Take a wire & tiny screwdriver, scratch all the dirt & crud out - of both the zerk itself, & the hole it screws into. Take a can of penertating oil & spray the zerk hole, and any part of the bearing you can access. Flex the joint if that is possible, get the penetrating oil to flow into the path the grease takes. This will loosen rust & dirt, soften old grease.

Before putting the zerk back in, stick your grease gun on it & give a pump or 2. This will clear out the zerk & clean it good.

Put the zerk back in, pump it up.

Either grease a lot, and or grease a bit often for the first use, to flush all the crud through the join & get good fresh grease through the whole thing.

So, I don't know how to answer your question? Those grease busters work, yes. I don't think they are worth the damage they can cause tho....

--->Paul


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

I have never used one of the tools. When I grease stuff I wipe the zerk off first to make sure no dirt gets in. Then I wipe the excess off so it doesn't foul with dirt. Most of the zerks on my equipment are to grease sleeve type bearings. I'd use one of the tools if I had it simply because I'm not going to get dirt or rust into the zerk. I don't think the dirt would be as critical with a sleeve bearing as compared to a precision needle or ball bearing setup.

I have maybe one fitting that's caused me problems. It's not easily accessible but it isn't worth spending $25 on a special tool either.


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## dreadstalker (Dec 22, 2004)

for the zerk that is not easy to get to try a needle tip on your grease gun.the tip fits into the ball on the zerk .most of them are a couple of inches long but you can cut them down if space is tight


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## ex mek (Nov 22, 2004)

If push realy comes to shove try a little heat , seals in engines take high temperatures, bearing seals do the same just dont melt the seals


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## Neville Aponte (Feb 19, 2005)

Hi. Im Randy Rooster.

Update- I got a new fitting for the end of my grease gun at autozone for about $3 and tried it-it went on the zirks so tight that every single one of them took grease this time. On the down side-on my disc a couple of the zirks threads were stripped when I removed the grease gun and the whole zirk came out. 

Does any one know anything about tapping for over sized zirks?


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## fordy (Sep 13, 2003)

.............Might see if you can Heeillcoil(I don't know the proper spelling) ....they sell it at most auto parts stores I think . Fills in around the damaged threads and then you can rethread with a new Zerk , Maybe . Anyway , I'd check into the possibility . fordy..


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## rambler (Jan 20, 2004)

Neville Aponte said:


> Does any one know anything about tapping for over sized zirks?


The new style zerks do not have threads - they have concentric rings, and are pounded into an un-threaded hole. (It makes manufaturing go much faster - I don't care for this style myself.)

There are several different thread sizes for zerks.

Among all that you should be able to find something that works. I don't think they make helicoil that small, but I never really looked.

I would look closely at the zerk, to see if it is the collar, non-threaded type first.

--->Paul


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