Joy of greasing drive shaft ujoints..

OhioGuy

New member
Apr 22, 2013
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0
1
Ohio
I did my first greasing of the BX1500. The PTO shaft to the mower deck has two u-joints, where the zerk fitting is in a ridiculously inaccessible location at the end of the shaft, angled so it is visible and barely greasable if the joint is turned just right.
I got the rear one greased. The front one is not assembled so that it can be accessed at any angle, as the yoke of the joint prevents the grease gun from getting to the fitting at the right angle.
I think this is a Kubota assembly problem, if that fitting had been tightened a little more the angle would have been OK.
I don't see any way to grease this without a complete dis-assembly.

Anyone else ran into this one? I tried to turn the fitting a little more but I can't reach it to get any torque.


Also, since I do not have the manual for this tractor, I was on a grease fitting hunt.

I found about 7 on the loader.
3 on the mower deck pulleys (not sure how much grease to put in these or whether they can be over-greased).
2 on the PTO shaft to deck (u-joints) as mentioned above.

But I am reading there are fittings on brake and other pedal assemblies too?

Thanks,

OhioGuy
 
Last edited:

GWD

Member

Equipment
M7040, L48 TLB, BX2200
Jan 8, 2010
792
12
18
Northern California
Most of the Zerks are meant to be greased until the grease is seen to be oozing out somewhere. Overgreasing is better than undergreasing in general. Some folks never grease and the tractor functions just fine somehow.:confused:

Anyway, the hydrostatic petal has a Zerk on the left side of the joint that can be accessed from the floorboard...from the top. Too much grease will cause it to flow out onto the floormat. Gee, how would I know that? :rolleyes:

The brake petal has a Zerk under the tractor that can be plainly seen on a tube that houses the shaft to the brake petal IIRC. Maybe that is on another tractor.

As far as the mower PTO Zerks you are on your own. If you ever take the mower off be sure to jump on the chance to grease those points. Can the PTO shaft be removed without removing the whole mower? Seems that it should be able to be removed for service.
 

hodge

Well-known member
Lifetime Member

Equipment
John Deere 790 John Deere 310 backhoe Bobcat 743
Nov 19, 2010
2,849
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Love, VA
I've never had a piece of equipment, from a 51 Willys Jeep to my current truck and tractor, that doesn't have at least a few zerks that are difficult or seemingly impossible to access. Sometimes, you have to rotate things until they line up perfectly; sometimes, it has to do with the profile of your grease gun end; sometimes, you have to use a grease needle insert to get in there (http://www.ebay.com/itm/WILMAR-GREA..._Automotive_Tools&hash=item417598147a&vxp=mtr). Point is, it is a part of life. As stated, you may have to remove the deck or at least pull the shaft off to grease that fitting. When you do, changing the angle of the shaft may make the other fitting easier to access.
Welcome to OTT, by the way!
 

In Utopia

Active member

Equipment
L175 FEL
Apr 21, 2013
582
87
28
Utopia,Tx/Pasadena,TX
I have the same problem with my shredder.
My solution is to either raise or lower it, this changes the angle and will usually allow you to grease it.
 

OhioGuy

New member
Apr 22, 2013
16
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1
Ohio
I have the same problem with my shredder.
My solution is to either raise or lower it, this changes the angle and will usually allow you to grease it.
Yes I tried that, but in this case, I can't get angle that exposes the fitting sufficiently.

But the grease needle idea from Hodge, that should work! I had never seen that before. I will need to give that a try.

Thanks for the ideas.
 

skeets

Well-known member

Equipment
BX 2360 /B2601
Oct 2, 2009
14,094
2,755
113
SW Pa
Guy when you take your deck off pressure wash it,, there are, 3 fittings on the main pulleys 1 on the take up pulley 1 on each wheel and one on the balance bar at the back of the deck.. And yeah the only way to get to the front u joint is to drop the shaft and shoot it up, Im thinking that's all
 

Stubbyie

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Jul 1, 2010
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Midcontinent
Check out websites of Alemite, Lincoln, Lubrimatic for click-adjustable grease-gun angle snouts--some have built-in couplers, some you have to add the coupler to the Z-type swivel adapter.

Well worth the cost. Keep on on one of your grease guns all the time and just reach for whichever is needed.