Zerk fittings can wear out or get clogged. They’re easy to replace with a little box end or open end wrench. When I bought my (used) tractor, I replaced all the grease fittings. They’re cheap.

If grease isn’t squeezing out all over when you work the handle, it’s probably going thru the zerk. Most joints you can see grease start to squeeze out (not thru the zerk, but around the pin or whatever) when it’s full. Wipe off the extra grease that oozes out, it collects dirt. Not uncommon to see some grease on the zerk when you take the gun off.

 

Hmmmm , I hate grease guns .
It sounds like you are on the fitting , if you are sure grease in coming out of the gun you should be ok .
I like to pump until I see some grease squeezing out from around the fitting . Then wipe off the excess .
You have had it a while and should be greased more often .
Back hoe arms need a lot of grease I give them a squirt of grease one pumps every morning and a pump at lunch .
Keep it clean .
Your bucket needs good grease all so . Fill them until the squeeze out the a pump every day
if your tractor is new and you have never filled it with grease now is the time .
A lot of the joints are not filled at the factory When new you should make sure they are full
Ps all ways use the same grease .

 

Any particular kind/brand/type/weight of grease?

 

All zerks are not the same, some fit better than others. Same with the fitting on your grease gun. Yes the ball can rust in place and not let grease pass threw, replace that zirk. Good plan to buy a new set and a fitting that fits them.

I like Mystic JT6 grease and they have a hitemp version.

 

Also hand pump guns can get air locked at the plunger and not move the grease

Some places can get to much grease and blow out a seal, and if on electric motors it can foul the windings
.. harbor freight sells bulk sets with different threads and caps.

 

I like to get the grease gun tip twisted just right so it will snap on and release with out having to adjust the tip while moving from zerk to zerk.

I like to think of greasing as both lubricating and more as a way to keep pushing dirt out of the joint

I Grease often, manual says every ten hrs I am more like every 4 or 5 hrs. All you need for motivation is price out new pins and bushings. Grease is cheap

 

Reading this makes me feel just so....old.

 

You mean you didn't grow up with a grease gun like this laying around? RYOBI ONE+ 18V Grease Gun (Tool-Only) P3410 - The Home Depot

 

Thanks, everybody.

I am seeing grease on and around the Zerk when I remove the grease gun.

Wyomike said, "You have had it a while and should be greased more often."

Yes, I've had the tractor since last summer, but I haven't used the bucket (that is, the front-end loader) very much. According to the user manual for the front-end loader, I'm supposed to lubricate all the Zerks on the front-end loader after every ten hours of use. I've been keeping track of how much I use the front-end loader (bucket), and I'm just about at ten hours now.

 

First up... you wont necessarily hear a click or feel a click. Not all zerks are made the same. Clean the zerk off and make sure it is free of dirt/debris. Firmly hold the hose end on the zerk straight on and pump the handle on the gun. As long as grease isn't coming out around the end of the gun, it is passing through the zerk.

Now if you are doing this and you can't get the zerk to take grease, it is likely frozen/stuck. Not uncommon. They are cheap and typically easy to replace so I would just replace the ones that are stuck. You can get replacement grease zerks at any parts store or online sources like amazon. You can also try to heat the zerk up a bit. It could have moisture in it causing the ball to stick to the seat. If heat doesn't work, just replace it.

They also make replacement hose ends for grease guns that lock in place. These are nice as long as there is room to get the fitting in place as they are typically longer.

For grease, I like Lucas Red N Tacky or Lucas Green.. but that's just a preference. Just read the tube and it will say what it is for. You are looking for a high pressure grease that has a wide temperature range but not necessarily high temp.

 

Your manual might tell you what kind of grease to use, in there somewhere. The most important thing is don’t let a big blob fall in your hair.

 

I use red tacky for all the equipment , then there is the heavy duty for trailer wheel bearings
Jut don’t mix .

 

I use the stickie/tackie Mystic brand from the farm stores. It's been around since dirt was invented I think.
On the zerks, before replacing, first use a pointed awl and try pressing the very small ball in, that is in the center of the zerk. May have to tap on it (gently) if it won't push in. Sometimes they just stick.

 

In the navy we had a grease gun that would shoot a blob 40 or 50 feet if you hit the handle hard enough. So whenever two or three ships were tied up to the pier next to each other, abeam, we could easily reach a unwary guy on the next boat over with an ounce of flying grease.

 

Just pump the handle on the gun a little bit to prove grease is getting out. and if it is then wipe the blob off with a rag and you should be good, then just put the end on the zerk fitting and pump the gun a few times and you should be done.

 

OP get on a tractor forum and do some reading. Removing snow and ice from around a zurk is mandatory just like dirt and rocks before greasing something. If its ice and cant be removed heat it.

Protective plastic zirk covers are nice for things you hardly grease and are not going to be in the dirt. On lower loader arms they wont last. After a while you will get tired of all of them and leave them off. They removing a cap with a greasy finger a few times.

Also the suggested grease hour is total BS. Grease more often, grease is cheap and works.

 

get yourself a variety of the correct size for your tractor - there's different angles & lengths to make some zerks more accessible for the gun - change these out for sure - and - then there's quality - get some brand name American made zerks - some of those OEM zerks that come on foreign equipment are plain junk ...

don't go crazy with the covers - there's some simple plastic caps that are good enough ....

 

If the equipment was painted it can clogs up zerks.

SD

 

The grease is to make things slide easier. If you inject dirt you are working against the grease.

Clean the zerk and then squirt a little grease into a rag to clean the grease gun tip. The grease will catch dirt if the tip is even close to anything.

 

Check out this website LockNLube Grease Coupler | End Greasing Frustration This is where I buy my grease fittings, they also have the protective caps. I like their locking grease coupler, makes it easy to grease.

 

You shouldn’t need to rotate the gun. I’ve generally used a gun with a flexible hose- you would never rotate it. I can allways feel a click- that is the higher force as the ball on the zurk pushes into the coupler. Similarly it will take force to remove.

you can buy a new zerk for less than a dollar and clamp in a vise or vise grips to see what it should feel like.

With a loader, your can’t overlube the pins. On you first attempt, squirt in enough grease until it comes out ( which could typically be either end of the pin). You will quickly be able to tell what the force should feel like.

Of course when you load the gun, make a few squirts in the trash can- if you screw up loading it, it will never pump grease.

 

I find grease guns - the one's I've used to be a pain, but few observations from what I've done. The click isn't really much of an audible click - you can feel the fitting pop onto the zerk, or click on, saying it should click isn't a good way to describe it. The adjustment, you can just set it. You don't have to put it on and turn it, and then turn it back again to get off the zerk. For the size zerk, you just set it where it will click on the zerk, grease will go into the fitting, and you can just click it back off. You can tell when you squeeze the handle if you are pushing grease even if you can't see it. If you can't see it coming out by the fitting, it is going into the zerk. I don't know the spec for any of the fittings on that machine, sometimes you have to be carefull and not put too much pressure in the fitting with hydraulic pressure from the grease, you can pop seals out and sometimes - it will explicityly say - pump three times, or until you see it coming all out around a bushing that is in there. Most of them from my experience you pump them, and will see old grease or water come out somewhere. You just slowly continue to pump in grease until you see new grease coming out that same spot.

 

More bearings are ruined with a grease gun than any other way..

A couple of squeezes on the grease gun is sufficient to lubricate a bearing.

If you keep pumping until you see grease come out around the joint, you have blown the seal.

It is important to clean the grease fittings before you connect to the fitting..

You don't want to introduce dust or grit into the bearing.

Be sure to clean the nozzle of the grease gun before you connect to the clean fitting.

Never leave the top off of your grease . It will collect dust from the air.

 

More bearings are ruined with a grease gun than any other way..

A couple of squeezes on the grease gun is sufficient to lubricate a bearing.

If you keep pumping until you see grease come out around the joint, you have blown the seal.

I agree for bearings, not for unsealed pin and bushings like on a loader or backhoe, With unsealed pin and bushings on a loader or backhoe you want to see grease coming out that means you have pushed the dirt back out.

 

Everybody, thanks for all the advice.

This is the grease I'm using. It was recommended by the owner of the dealership where I bought the tractor.

I guess I will try using a hair dryer to thaw out the zerks I'm having trouble with. I'll also do what I can to clean them, and I'll clean the coupler on the grease gun. Then I'll make another attempt to grease the zerks.

I'm not sure why some people are saying it isn't necessary to rotate the coupler on the grease gun to get it to engage with a zerk. With the coupler I have, rotating it counterclockwise makes it stay on the zerk, and then rotating it clockwise makes it possible to remove the coupler from the zerk.

There are lots of good suggestions in this thread. Many of them are things I'm not in a position to accomplish. For one thing, it's winter, and I don't have a warm and dry place to work on the tractor. For another thing, I'm female, and I didn't grow up doing DIY.

 

I'm not sure why some people are saying it isn't necessary to rotate the coupler on the grease gun to get it to engage with a zerk. With the coupler I have, rotating it counterclockwise makes it stay on the zerk, and then rotating it clockwise makes it possible to remove the coupler from the zerk.

that grease is probally fine- not great but fine. Fram is probally just allowing their name to be used. And it should be able to be applied down to 0 to -10 degrees. Obviously the coldest temps aren’t t great for your first attempt.

not sure why you greesegun coupler needs to be twisted. That’s really uncommon- in many cases you need to hit 10-20 fittings before starting work, and you don’t want unnecessary locks. The coupler itself will lock on the zerk with a straight push, and will stay on even with 10,000 psi.