Grease Zerk Possessed

[RedMF40]

As I was putting away my Cub Cadet mower I decided to hit it with the grease gun. Bad idea. I started with the little wheel that flops around and allows the mower deck to travel over uneven ground. The grease would lubricate the spindle that lets it flop and twist this way and that. Then I’d move on to the blade pulleys. I never got one squirt of grease in. The fitting grabbed onto the zerk just fine. But it never let go. Ok, this is going to be a battle. Just take a deep breath. I didn’t so much mind the mower deck not getting a lube job, but I really wanted my grease gun back. I gave the hose a good yank, much stronger than the previous yanks. Yes, it broke free, and took the zerk with it. There was a tiny bit of it protruding from the end of the hose, not enough to grab onto.

“Hah! Gotcha!”

Ok, I’ll just unscrew that hose fitting. Never paid it much attention, didn’t even know you could do that. I put it in the vise and tried a center punch, then a nail, to drive the zerk out. Nothing doing. It was in a “death grip.”

I got out the torch, which has increasingly become my answer to most problems lately. I knew super-heating that cheap metal fitting would probably destroy it. At this point the grease gun was useless anyway, until I put a new hose or fitting on. Thought I’d give it a try, and I had the torch out anyway.

It did destroy the hose fitting. Whatever mechanism grabs onto the zerk fell out in tiny pieces. I think the zerk itself must have melted away. I didn’t see any sign of it.
I put the mower away.
That was a twenty-minute lesson on how zerks and grease guns don’t always get along. When I get a new fitting at TSC or some other place, I’ll grab a handful. I imagine this was a “warning shot.”
Next time I want to have some ammunition.

 

[37chief]

As I was putting away my Cub Cadet mower I decided to hit it with the grease gun. Bad idea. I started with the little wheel that flops around and allows the mower deck to travel over uneven ground. The grease would lubricate the spindle that lets it flop and twist this way and that. Then I’d move on to the blade pulleys. I never got one squirt of grease in. The fitting grabbed onto the zerk just fine. But it never let go. Ok, this is going to be a battle. Just take a deep breath. I didn’t so much mind the mower deck not getting a lube job, but I really wanted my grease gun back. I gave the hose a good yank, much stronger than the previous yanks. Yes, it broke free, and took the zerk with it. There was a tiny bit of it protruding from the end of the hose, not enough to grab onto.

“Hah! Gotcha!”

Ok, I’ll just unscrew that hose fitting. Never paid it much attention, didn’t even know you could do that. I put it in the vise and tried a center punch, then a nail, to drive the zerk out. Nothing doing. It was in a “death grip.”

I got out the torch, which has increasingly become my answer to most problems lately. I knew super-heating that cheap metal fitting would probably destroy it. At this point the grease gun was useless anyway, until I put a new hose or fitting on. Thought I’d give it a try, and I had the torch out anyway.

It did destroy the hose fitting. Whatever mechanism grabs onto the zerk fell out in tiny pieces. I think the zerk itself must have melted away. I didn’t see any sign of it.
I put the mower away.
That was a twenty-minute lesson on how zerks and grease guns don’t always get along. When I get a new fitting at TSC or some other place, I’ll grab a handful. I imagine this was a “warning shot.”
Next time I want to have some ammunition.

 

[wore out]

As I was putting away my Cub Cadet mower I decided to hit it with the grease gun. Bad idea. I started with the little wheel that flops around and allows the mower deck to travel over uneven ground. The grease would lubricate the spindle that lets it flop and twist this way and that. Then I’d move on to the blade pulleys. I never got one squirt of grease in. The fitting grabbed onto the zerk just fine. But it never let go. Ok, this is going to be a battle. Just take a deep breath. I didn’t so much mind the mower deck not getting a lube job, but I really wanted my grease gun back. I gave the hose a good yank, much stronger than the previous yanks. Yes, it broke free, and took the zerk with it. There was a tiny bit of it protruding from the end of the hose, not enough to grab onto.

“Hah! Gotcha!”

Ok, I’ll just unscrew that hose fitting. Never paid it much attention, didn’t even know you could do that. I put it in the vise and tried a center punch, then a nail, to drive the zerk out. Nothing doing. It was in a “death grip.”

I got out the torch, which has increasingly become my answer to most problems lately. I knew super-heating that cheap metal fitting would probably destroy it. At this point the grease gun was useless anyway, until I put a new hose or fitting on. Thought I’d give it a try, and I had the torch out anyway.

It did destroy the hose fitting. Whatever mechanism grabs onto the zerk fell out in tiny pieces. I think the zerk itself must have melted away. I didn’t see any sign of it.
I put the mower away.
That was a twenty-minute lesson on how zerks and grease guns don’t always get along. When I get a new fitting at TSC or some other place, I’ll grab a handful. I imagine this was a “warning shot.”
Next time I want to have some ammunition.

Well, at least you didn't get sprayed in the face with flaming grease!

I've had that happen when applying a torch to a U-joint cross!

 

[37chief]

I had the opposite thing happen yesterday. I couldn't get the gun fitting to snap on the zerc fitting on my mower U joint. Time to look for another grease gun to rob a fitting. Stan

 

[DaveBN]

They make hose ends that have a release button on them. I want to try one but haven't yet, they are about $20. If you need a new end any I would try that. Most likely your fitting or spindle is plugged with dirt or old grease so you have that right ahead of you plus trying to get the rest of that old zero out.
Good luck.
Dave

 

[timcasbolt]

Rather than purchase one new zerk to replace your old one, I suggest you purchase an assortment pack to cover future needs.

 

[timcasbolt]

$17 at Harbor Freight will get you an sae assortment of 50 and a metric assortment of 32.

 

[rockcreek4630]

As I was putting away my Cub Cadet mower I decided to hit it with the grease gun. Bad idea. I started with the little wheel that flops around and allows the mower deck to travel over uneven ground. The grease would lubricate the spindle that lets it flop and twist this way and that. Then I’d move on to the blade pulleys. I never got one squirt of grease in. The fitting grabbed onto the zerk just fine. But it never let go. Ok, this is going to be a battle. Just take a deep breath. I didn’t so much mind the mower deck not getting a lube job, but I really wanted my grease gun back. I gave the hose a good yank, much stronger than the previous yanks. Yes, it broke free, and took the zerk with it. There was a tiny bit of it protruding from the end of the hose, not enough to grab onto.

“Hah! Gotcha!”

Ok, I’ll just unscrew that hose fitting. Never paid it much attention, didn’t even know you could do that. I put it in the vise and tried a center punch, then a nail, to drive the zerk out. Nothing doing. It was in a “death grip.”

I got out the torch, which has increasingly become my answer to most problems lately. I knew super-heating that cheap metal fitting would probably destroy it. At this point the grease gun was useless anyway, until I put a new hose or fitting on. Thought I’d give it a try, and I had the torch out anyway.

It did destroy the hose fitting. Whatever mechanism grabs onto the zerk fell out in tiny pieces. I think the zerk itself must have melted away. I didn’t see any sign of it.
I put the mower away.
That was a twenty-minute lesson on how zerks and grease guns don’t always get along. When I get a new fitting at TSC or some other place, I’ll grab a handful. I imagine this was a “warning shot.”
Next time I want to have some ammunition.

Spend the money and get a locknlube coupler or similar.

 

[jimmyjoe]

As I was putting away my Cub Cadet mower I decided to hit it with the grease gun. Bad idea. I started with the little wheel that flops around and allows the mower deck to travel over uneven ground. The grease would lubricate the spindle that lets it flop and twist this way and that. Then I’d move on to the blade pulleys. I never got one squirt of grease in. The fitting grabbed onto the zerk just fine. But it never let go. Ok, this is going to be a battle. Just take a deep breath. I didn’t so much mind the mower deck not getting a lube job, but I really wanted my grease gun back. I gave the hose a good yank, much stronger than the previous yanks. Yes, it broke free, and took the zerk with it. There was a tiny bit of it protruding from the end of the hose, not enough to grab onto.

“Hah! Gotcha!”

Ok, I’ll just unscrew that hose fitting. Never paid it much attention, didn’t even know you could do that. I put it in the vise and tried a center punch, then a nail, to drive the zerk out. Nothing doing. It was in a “death grip.”

I got out the torch, which has increasingly become my answer to most problems lately. I knew super-heating that cheap metal fitting would probably destroy it. At this point the grease gun was useless anyway, until I put a new hose or fitting on. Thought I’d give it a try, and I had the torch out anyway.

It did destroy the hose fitting. Whatever mechanism grabs onto the zerk fell out in tiny pieces. I think the zerk itself must have melted away. I didn’t see any sign of it.
I put the mower away.
That was a twenty-minute lesson on how zerks and grease guns don’t always get along. When I get a new fitting at TSC or some other place, I’ll grab a handful. I imagine this was a “warning shot.”
Next time I want to have some ammunition.

As I was putting away my Cub Cadet mower I decided to hit it with the grease gun. Bad idea. I started with the little wheel that flops around and allows the mower deck to travel over uneven ground. The grease would lubricate the spindle that lets it flop and twist this way and that. Then I’d move on to the blade pulleys. I never got one squirt of grease in. The fitting grabbed onto the zerk just fine. But it never let go. Ok, this is going to be a battle. Just take a deep breath. I didn’t so much mind the mower deck not getting a lube job, but I really wanted my grease gun back. I gave the hose a good yank, much stronger than the previous yanks. Yes, it broke free, and took the zerk with it. There was a tiny bit of it protruding from the end of the hose, not enough to grab onto.

“Hah! Gotcha!”

Ok, I’ll just unscrew that hose fitting. Never paid it much attention, didn’t even know you could do that. I put it in the vise and tried a center punch, then a nail, to drive the zerk out. Nothing doing. It was in a “death grip.”

I got out the torch, which has increasingly become my answer to most problems lately. I knew super-heating that cheap metal fitting would probably destroy it. At this point the grease gun was useless anyway, until I put a new hose or fitting on. Thought I’d give it a try, and I had the torch out anyway.

It did destroy the hose fitting. Whatever mechanism grabs onto the zerk fell out in tiny pieces. I think the zerk itself must have melted away. I didn’t see any sign of it.
I put the mower away.
That was a twenty-minute lesson on how zerks and grease guns don’t always get along. When I get a new fitting at TSC or some other place, I’ll grab a handful. I imagine this was a “warning shot.”
Next time I want to have some ammunition.

Next time just unscrew the end of the hose fitting a little bit. or buy a locknlube end.

 

[Jeff NWOH]

I squawked about the $30 or so a locknlube cost me, but it was money well spent. If mine crapped out today, I'd order another.

 

[caterpillar guy]

If you just loosen the ring holding the jaws in the grease tip it will let go of the zerk and no damage to any of it. I keep mine just finger tight for that reason. Not the tip but that top ring on the tip.

 

[RedMF40]

If you just loosen the ring holding the jaws in the grease tip it will let go of the zerk and no damage to any of it. I keep mine just finger tight for that reason. Not the tip but that top ring on the tip.

I'll try that. I have another grease gun I don't use as often, may be able to swap out the tip until I buy a new one.