Grease fitting broken/missing on FEL

[The_Al]

I went to grease my FEL today and noticed that I could not grease one of the fittings near the bottom of the FEL. I noticed the nipple thing is gone. Being a rookie, did I do this? It is <100hours on this sucker, and I grease at a min every 10 hours, sometimes more often.

I looked at other threads on here but I am not clear on how to replace. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Al

 

[cerlawson]

You need a few tools. It may be it broken off, in which case an easy out, with a left hand twist may get the remaining part out. Otherwise you may have to carefully drill it out by not wrecking the threads of the casting. Drill size for the case of drilling a hole before you tap the threads. Assuming that works, then re-tap the fitting. If you wrecked those threads drill it out for the next larger available nipple (Zerk) and tap in new threads. Look at where it sits and see why it broke. The new one may have to be a different design. Many types of Zerks are available. I suspect all threads are metric also. The taps may need to be those that can bottom out in a hole. Most taps are tapered and need space beyond the place for the threads for that taper.

There are some rules to think about for these locations for greasing. If you only grease now and then, grit can get in the joint and assist, along with the grease, to wear the joint. If you grease frequently you tend to keep that git out. If you don't grease at all, there is wear, but not as bad as if you are greasing only rarely . The grease and the grit combination make a good abrasive, better than the grit alone.

 

[Stubbyie]

Before you get to the point of drilling and retapping the hole be certain to try the method using an easy-out described by a previous poster in this string.

You can get a specific easy-out zerk remover from almost any store that sells a full line of lube equipment. Probably cost $10 or so, maybe less. Usually looks somewhat like a miniature 4-way lug wrench. Read the directions.

Look on web for Lincoln or Alemite (other brands too) websites for tech info how to remove broken zerk and illustrations of their removal tools.

Zerks shouldn't be terribly tight. If you have a hard time getting out a broken-off stub you might want to think about it and make certain you're working down the correct pathway. Something might not be 'right' and you might be working against yourself tearing up an otherwise good threaded hole.

My machine has mixed metric and US zerk threads. To be safe I'd be patient and pay the extra dollar to a dealer to get the EXACT replacement part number for that particular zerk so you don't bugger the threads.

If you clean the hole very well and drag a small implement lightly across the threads (small powerful flashlight helps) you may find by feeling that the old zerk just came unscrewed and fell out. It happens.

Reinstall the new zerk with a deep socket, usually a 1/4-inch drive, but the hex skirt on the zerk will vary slightly by manufacturer. Grease alone is not a thread sealant. Use a high-quality thread lube (Kopr-Kote) placed onto the zerk male threads with a toothpick before reinstalling. I pack a deep socket with scrap paper and a dab of grease on the skirt of the zerk and use the socket to start the thread when installing.

You may find that some of the zerks are difficult to access with a straight grease nozzle. Consider using a 360-degree rotatable swivel snout on a separate grease gun. Again, see Lincoln or Alemite. Very much worth the small expense. If it's easier to grease, it gets greased more often.

Regarding drilling and retapping: I've had to do only one in over 30-years of owning and working on six different used machines with loaders and backhoes. And that one was on a loader where a zerk had been smeared when broken. If you get to that point try working in a through-hole even if you have to pull pins and disassemble the loader---a metal chip left in a blind grease port hole will cause you a multitude of problems over time.

Sidelight: zerks are usually threaded as fine bolt threads in the smaller sizes, whether metric or US. Larger can go up to 1/8-in pipe either NPT or BST metric (or larger, but rare on this size tractor-type machines).

Please post back your experiences so we may all learn.

 

[GWD]

Most loader Zerks on a Kubota are 8mm x 1.25 if I recall correctly. They are not that easy to find in a local auto parts store...maybe NAPA has them.

I ordered mine through the Internet. Shipping cost is a downer.

There is a clip-on / release grease coupler available "Lock-n-Lube:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221367589959?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

The company sells it for the same price on their webside but on eBay it is free shipping. It works pretty well for those recessed fittings that are hard to couple/de-couple.

 

[Kubotaray]

I found the correct zerk fitting at Harbor Freight. I can't remember the exact size but I did buy the assorted metric package for about $5. So far so good.