Grease in steering box?

[skrap1]

Hi all
I've run across something unusual and I thought I would ask if anybody has seen it before.
I bought a L175 a few weeks ago and have done some of the maintenance on it, engine oil and filter, air filter, fuel filter, etc, this forum has made all this easier, thanks. Today I took a look at the steering box. I was going to check the fluid level and clean the weep hole. There is no weep hole. I took a pick and scraped and there is not one. There is a grease fitting on the box, where the oil fill plug should be, and the box is full of grease. Not gear oil, grease. Has anybody seen this before and what the heck do I do?
Thanks

 

[Lil Foot]

I think it's fairly common to fill the box with grease during a rebuild, makes it easier to keep everything in place during re-assemby, and it's a great high pressure lube. But the grease fitting on the box is a new one on me….. without a vent of some sort, (preferably at the farthest point from the fitting) how could you pump grease in? Seems odd….. maybe someone more knowledgable has some insight….

 

[In Utopia]

Filling with grease is fairly common.
A lot of people including myself use corn head grease (yes that's it's real name) from a John Deer dealer to fill the gearbox with. Reason for that grease is because it was developed to stay on gears in harvesting equipment.
I have a 640 Ford that I lost the thrust bearing on due to the inability to hold oil as high as it should be. The bore where the steering arm comes out was damaged so the seal couldn't do it's job. Rebuilt it, installed a grease zerk where the filler plug used to be, pumped about 2 tubes into it until the grease came out from under the steering wheel. Problem solved. No more leaking fluid, and I'll never have to worry about that bearing going dry again.

 

[Apogee]

I agree regarding using grease in the boxes. Kubota should have done this from the beginning and I fail to understand why they didn't.

In mine, I use Shell Alvania EP 00 bought from the Kubota dealer (part # 821-045C). They sell it for use in Land Pride gearboxes.

Solves the issue of the oil running low due to failed side shaft seal (which happens a lot).

Figure out which type of grease is in it, top it off if necessary (unlikely), and live life. One less thing to worry about.

Happy Holidays,

Steve

 

[skrap1]

Thanks for the info. I feel better now that I know this is fairly common.
The box is full so I'll just put the plug back in and let it run.

 

[skrap1]

The grease in the steering box looks like the hi-temp lithium grease that folks around here in Tennessee use for everything, from wheel bearings to u-joints.
So I gave it five shots out of my hand pump and mowed up the leaves and wild onions in the yard and then gave it two more shots. About half way through the second shot I felt a little resistance so I stopped. The only thing I can figure is that the seal around the upper bearing acts as a vent and lets some air out. I'll let y'all know if I run across any problems.

 

[kaboutor]

What about the colder climates wher the grease would really thicken up?

 

[kaboutor]

Does a person have to remove the steering column to do any work on the steering box eg. replacing oil or removing water? It's a Kubota L 225 DT circa 1974