O.T. grease fitting

[Robert Zack]

i have a couple grease fittings that won't take grease. i replaced them & they still won't take grease
i know grease is coming thru the gun because grease is going very where but thru the fitting. i also
put a couple new fittings in my vise & they won't take grease. could there be an issue with the grease
gun?? background- i cannot find my main grease gun. this gun gas been idle for a long time & had
hardened grease in it. i cleaned it out & put fresh grease in it. when pumped grease flows freely. any
ideas??

 

[Jim.ME]

(quoted from post at 12:28:28 09/15/23) i have a couple grease fittings that won't take grease. i replaced them & they still won't take grease
i know grease is coming thru the gun because grease is going very where but thru the fitting. i also
put a couple new fittings in my vise & they won't take grease. could there be an issue with the grease
gun?? background- i cannot find my main grease gun. this gun gas been idle for a long time & had
hardened grease in it. i cleaned it out & put fresh grease in it. when pumped grease flows freely. any
ideas??

I quicker expect there is an issue with the new fittings if grease won't pass through the fitting when clamped in a vise. I have heard of others finding defective grease fittings, often when they come from the cheap assortment kits.

 

[Robert Zack]

well i answered my own question. sort of. i found my go to grease gun. all fittings old & new took
grease. grease was coming thru the other guns. i removed the end & disassembled it. nothing looks
obstructed. the pieces are soaking in diesel fuel overnight. i do not see why one gun will work over
the others. after cleaning i'll try again tomorrow. i'll try putting the workin tip on the non working gun & see if that changes anything.

 

[Jim L WA]

It will be interesting what you find when you swap gun fittings. I wonder if the springs that clamp around the grease fitting are weak on your old gun and they just allow grease to leak past rather than sealing off the pressure so the grease can push in on the little button on the grease fitting.

 

[wore out]

No big deal, grease gun couplers are a
''wear item'' and need to be replaced
every now and then.

 

[PopsH]

Robert - I've had great luck with locknlube couplers on my grease guns; they're great at persuading zerks to take grease!

 

[Robert Zack]

in 50 years i've never had to replace a coupler on a grease gun & now i need to replace 2. go figure. i looked up that locknload. kinda pricey. does that lever get in the way in tight places?

 

[Tim PloughNman Daley]

Is your issue with the tractor or implements? An implement is more likely to have this problem if it hasn't been used in a long while. The tractor if properly maintained during lifespan, should be free and clear of obstructions. It's most likely old grease in the Zerk that has waxed up and hardened and not the grease gun itself. If gun works fine on other places, it's not the root cause problem. Try heating the Zerk with a butane torch. Take a nail and press Zerk in to loosen up flow area. Can also remove the Zerk and poke nail into grease path. Use Caution as sometimes these old Zerks will break off due to age and brittleness.


Tim Daley (MI)

 

[Jim L WA]

(quoted from post at 04:10:52 09/16/23) Is your issue with the tractor or implements? An implement is more likely to have this problem if it hasn't been used in a long while. The tractor if properly maintained during lifespan, should be free and clear of obstructions. It's most likely old grease in the Zerk that has waxed up and hardened and not the grease gun itself. If gun works fine on other places, it's not the root cause problem. Try heating the Zerk with a butane torch. Take a nail and press Zerk in to loosen up flow area. Can also remove the Zerk and poke nail into grease path. Use Caution as sometimes these old Zerks will break off due to age and brittleness.

Tim, go back and read his original post.


Tim Daley (MI)

 

[Jim.ME]

His second post really is the one best pointing to his problem, which was the coupler on the grease gun he was using. A weak coupling may leak on many fittings, but to not put grease through a new fitting is what made me think of bad new zerks (I've encountered a couple). I guess his coupler was either two thirds unscrewed so the jaws were not gripping at all, or the coupler is total crap. Either way, problem solved.

 

[lastcowboy32]

(quoted from post at 17:43:42 09/15/23) in 50 years i've never had to replace a coupler on a grease gun & now i need to replace 2. go figure. i looked up that locknload. kinda pricey. does that lever get in the way in tight places?

I had the same question about the lock and lube ends... so what I did was, I bought the extended lock n lube. That puts the lock lever far away from the zerk. Works great on PTO universals and stuff like that. For places that are really tight, I bought a little elbow adapter. As I walk around machinery doing lubrication, I go back and forth between using the lock n lube straight, or clipping on the elbow.

It seems to be a pretty good compromise, and it still makes use of the lock n lube's functionality, as I can clip on the elbow easily, and I don't have to worry about that joint when using the elbow...only the connection between the elbow and the zerk itself.

 

[Robert Zack]

i took both errant couplers apart, cleaned, reassembled & reinstalled them. one had plastic jaws & did not work, the other had steels jaws & is now working. i'm guessing the old caked up grease was prevent the jaws from gripping since the grease was flowing freely. anyway lesson learned. don't leave old grease in the gun. nothing likes being idle. i have a rifle scope with A.O. & variable power. i hadn't moved the variable power ring in 15 years & it stiffened up. i had to wrap the ring with leather & work it with a channel lock to free it.

 

[Robert Zack]

B.T.W. thanks for y'alls input!!

 

[Mad Farmer]

While we are on the subject, on old fittings, after I wipe them off, I give the ball/inlet a poke with the head of a nail.

Makes the balls free on any stuck ones.