grease zerk threads

[buzzinduzzin]

On my mower deck the spindle zerks are tucked away under the drive pulleys making it hard for a fat boy with bad knee to grease ! Hoping the threads would be 1/8" NPT & a trip to the hard ware store for three nipples to make extensions ; I removed the zerk & it is 1/4"-28 . I called a hydraulics shop who has made grease hoses before & they said they couldn't handle the 1/4"-28 . in summary I am looking for three metal nipples or hoses 4" long with 1/4" - 28 male threads ( that mimic the male threads on the zerk ) on one end & 1/8" female NPT on the other end ???

TIA

 

[wore out]

On my mower deck the spindle zerks are tucked away under the drive pulleys making it hard for a fat boy with bad knee to grease ! Hoping the threads would be 1/8" NPT & a trip to the hard ware store for three nipples to make extensions ; I removed the zerk & it is 1/4"-28 . I called a hydraulics shop who has made grease hoses before & they said they couldn't handle the 1/4"-28 . in summary I am looking for three metal nipples or hoses 4" long with 1/4" - 28 male threads ( that mimic the male threads on the zerk ) on one end & 1/8" female NPT on the other end ???

TIA

https://greaseextensionhoses.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoo2rqlFiYUHqNhp4wenm4RubIdepg15c7xOgIbGTYwZAl4KWTTz

https://locknlube.com/products/grea...b_mt=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19697562718

 

[504]

Just tap them to your size, cover the tap with grease and it will trap the fillings

 

[caterpillar guy]

I like the options Wore out posted .Has the threads you need and the cost you don't want but better than not greasing it at all.

 

[rustred]

On my mower deck the spindle zerks are tucked away under the drive pulleys making it hard for a fat boy with bad knee to grease ! Hoping the threads would be 1/8" NPT & a trip to the hard ware store for three nipples to make extensions ; I removed the zerk & it is 1/4"-28 . I called a hydraulics shop who has made grease hoses before & they said they couldn't handle the 1/4"-28 . in summary I am looking for three metal nipples or hoses 4" long with 1/4" - 28 male threads ( that mimic the male threads on the zerk ) on one end & 1/8" female NPT on the other end ???

TIA

i agree with them zerks being a pain to grease, you would think those companys would have figured this out already. those most overlooked thing on them mowers. and them spindles are not cheap. just went through all this this spring replacing and greasing them.

 

[Ark68SS]

Some spindles use non-greasible, shielded bearings, even though there are zerks on them.
BillL

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

i agree with them zerks being a pain to grease, you would think those companys would have figured this out already. those most overlooked thing on them mowers. and them spindles are not cheap. just went through all this this spring replacing and greasing them.

Oh they have figured it out already...

 

[buzzinduzzin]

My old X Mark lost it's first spindle brg at 900 hrs & the brg was sealed both sides. This Scag has zerks but I don't know how the brgs are configured as far as sealed on just one side or both .

 

[Mule Meat]

This Scag has zerks but I don't know how the brgs are configured as far as sealed on just one side or both .

Depending on your model. The bearings could be either ball bearings sealed on both sides or tapered roller bearings sealed on one.

A lot of homeowner Z mowers use sealed bearings and put a zerk fitting on the spindle. Thing is. It takes almost if not a full tube of grease just to fill the void in a spindle before grease ever gets to the bearings. Especially the top one. So why do manufacturers even put zerk fittings on them? It's to make Joe homeowner feel good about maintaining his mower. Two or three pumps from a grease gun each season and it takes a few years to even fill the void. By the time it gets full enough to do any good the bearings are pretty well shot. But Joe made them last five years by properly maintaining them..

The majority of commercial Z turn mowers do not even have zerk fittings on the deck. It is not uncommon to see them with clock 800 - 1000 hours and still going.

Bottom line. If your mower has spindles with ball bearings. You are basically wasting your time greasing them.

 

[jhwis]

Oh they have figured it out already...

Well played

 

[rustred]

Oh they have figured it out already...

I am talking about running hoses to one spot , not crawling around trying to find the spindle grease nipples.

 

[Roger in Iowa]

And some grease zerks are now with metric threads! And you can buy them at TSC!

 

[Russ from MN]

Depending on your model. The bearings could be either ball bearings sealed on both sides or tapered roller bearings sealed on one.

A lot of homeowner Z mowers use sealed bearings and put a zerk fitting on the spindle. Thing is. It takes almost if not a full tube of grease just to fill the void in a spindle before grease ever gets to the bearings. Especially the top one. So why do manufacturers even put zerk fittings on them? It's to make Joe homeowner feel good about maintaining his mower. Two or three pumps from a grease gun each season and it takes a few years to even fill the void. By the time it gets full enough to do any good the bearings are pretty well shot. But Joe made them last five years by properly maintaining them..

The majority of commercial Z turn mowers do not even have zerk fittings on the deck. It is not uncommon to see them with clock 800 - 1000 hours and still going.

Bottom line. If your mower has spindles with ball bearings. You are basically wasting your time greasing them.

I'm glad you said that, Mule! I agree, a good, sealed bearing will last as long as one that is greased, longer than one that's over greased. An engineer explained it once at a lubrication seminar, go to the beach and run in ancle deep water, then go out and try to run in waist deep water, that's what an over greased bearing experiences. If a bearing is over greased, the balls or roller will slide in the unloaded zone, causing friction and heat. I have seen it numerous times where someone was concerned about a bearing being hot, so more grease was pumped in, and it got hotter. We have a 42 inch Husqvarna tractor mower that's about 25 years old, no zerks, no problems, used every week every summer.

 

[caterpillar guy]

I've heard all the tales about over greasing and have even been told you can over grease a fifth wheel on a semi. I can't say that I've ever seen evidence to prove I had a bearing go out because of over greasing yet. A fifth wheel would just squeeze the excess grease out the sides if it were over greased. Not saying you can't over grease a bearing. Just have not seen it yet ,or what I thought appeared to be over greased and I believe more bearings still go out from a lack of grease then over greased. As for the spindle bearings on mowers .I'm dealing with similar problem with dad on one. It greases from the top and he wants to drilll a hole from the bottom up to get grease to the top bearing while I told him it is not getting enough grease to fill th3e void around the shaft inside the spindle housing. I greased the mower the other day and had to put a lot of grease in things to get grease to even show up it was greased. No pop from expelled air just appears around the outside a bit to know there was new grease added like the steering shafts and pedal pivots and such.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

On my mower deck the spindle zerks are tucked away under the drive pulleys making it hard for a fat boy with bad knee to grease ! Hoping the threads would be 1/8" NPT & a trip to the hard ware store for three nipples to make extensions ; I removed the zerk & it is 1/4"-28 . I called a hydraulics shop who has made grease hoses before & they said they couldn't handle the 1/4"-28 . in summary I am looking for three metal nipples or hoses 4" long with 1/4" - 28 male threads ( that mimic the male threads on the zerk ) on one end & 1/8" female NPT on the other end ???

TIA

Have you ever thought of a mower hoist?
I put a chain around the front axle of my mower and lift the front of a mower with the loader.
A lift makes sharpening blades easier too.
I took a metal chair and shortened the legs to 7 inches.
It is easier on my knees sitting in a short chair vs rest my knees on concrete,

 

[Dusty MI]

I've got an engine removal hoist, I could use.
Z-Turn mower.

 

[504]

I've got an engine removal hoist, I could use.
Z-Turn mower.

I bolted a loop on the front of my zero turn and lift it with the cherry picker.

 

[Keith Williams]

Have you ever thought of a mower hoist?
I put a chain around the front axle of my mower and lift the front of a mower with the loader.
A lift makes sharpening blades easier too.
I took a metal chair and shortened the legs to 7 inches.
It is easier on my knees sitting in a short chair vs rest my knees on concrete,
View attachment 123684

George et al,
I just put the mulching baffles under my Gravely ZT HD.
I used a set of car ramps and backed the mower up the ramps. I then used a floor jack to raise the front and placed jack stands under the wheel supports. This added 7 inches of clearance in back and about 10 inches in front.
This gave me plenty of room to work under the deck safely.
If you used ramps in back in combination with your hoist in front, you could gain even more clearance for working under the mower.
Keith

 

[Steven Allen]

I have used a come-along to lift the front end of a mower up to change drive belts, but, for deck work on my mower, it's a whole lot easier just to pull five hairpins and slide the deck out. I don't even bother with that for blade sharpening/replacement: a wrench and my arm under the deck works just fine to pull the blades off. I'd rather sharpen on the bench grinder than flail at them with an angle grinder.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

George et al,
I just put the mulching baffles under my Gravely ZT HD.
I used a set of car ramps and backed the mower up the ramps. I then used a floor jack to raise the front and placed jack stands under the wheel supports. This added 7 inches of clearance in back and about 10 inches in front.
This gave me plenty of room to work under the deck safely.
If you used ramps in back in combination with your hoist in front, you could gain even more clearance for working under the mower.
Keith

The OP has difficulty with his knees. Yours will work for most of us. I made some for all 4 wheels.
Some people who get down on the floor, need to have a plan to get back up. LOL
Loader and a chain works best for me.