Under Greasing vs. Over Greasing a Trackhoe?

[RobVG]

Does anybody use a moly grease?

I just started using it and it only cost another 30 cents a tube.

Unfortunately we haven't been working enough this past season to see if it works better...

 

[Cat is ALL]

I use moly grease for the jaw bearings on the crusher, and errol white grease is quite a bit different then normal grease. If you read your excavator manual it will/should show you how many pumps per zirq and 10 cents to 1 it is says its a bad idea to overgrease your slew.

I grease at the end of everyday, now that I'm crushing I try to grease most when its operating to get the grease all the way around the bearings.

 

[RobVG]

I have had a EX 120 spit out its seal. Not sure if it was over greasing or not. The dealer sold me a roll of seal and some super glue. Our machines never get buried that high since they work on developed platts. Seal's still in the box.

 

[Corbster]

Can you really over grease something that needs Grease .....:naughty:naughty:spaz:spaz:shf

 

[NL1CAT]

I use moly grease for the jaw bearings on the crusher, and errol white grease is quite a bit different then normal grease. If you read your excavator manual it will/should show you how many pumps per zirq and 10 cents to 1 it is says its a bad idea to overgrease your slew.

I grease at the end of everyday, now that I'm crushing I try to grease most when its operating to get the grease all the way around the bearings.

I think it's better to use Lithium based without molybdenium for your crusher bearings.
Molybdenium disulfide is a very hard and very slippery material and is great for pins and bushes but if the particles are to big it can damage your bearings.

Also stay with the grease intervals stated in the manual , because the bearings can overheat with to much grease in them.

And stop the machine when your greasing ,be safe! (the grease comes in anyway)
Better to go to the bearing shop then to go to the limb or finger store.
Remember , conveyors are killers trust me on that.
:my2c

 

[Errol]

Another reason I overgrease as SQUIZZY246B said about his Dad, to keep the dirt from coming in, but also to check on the color of the squeezeout.

If the squeezeout is black in color, then that joint gets more grease, if it comes out red, then whoa, back off. Ultimately, all my joints have a hint of red in the squeezeout which I agree is messy, but keeps me happy.

The squeezeout on my slew ring is coming out black, but you guys have me convinced that I may be overgreasing, so maybe I'll back off a tad on that one.

 

[Cat is ALL]

I understand where you are coming from nl1cat with the fingers and what not but the nipples are not in a dangerous spot where I could become snagged because they have remotes on them. When I say I grease while in operation it is at the end of the day all the time. A jaw bearing is not the same as a normal bearing, it has a layered seal, 200 shots for each and after awhile a little will seep out, if you see grease coming out of jaw bearings it means the seal is full and there is no room for dirt to get in. Moly grease is sticky, thats why the company chooses to use it, it all has to do with pricing and in the end profitablitly but I you do raise good points. Also a heat gun is good to tell what your bearings run at - heat wise. That is what I do anyway, it may not be the right way but it seems to work.

 

[powerjoke]

I still wanna know where RobVG is getting grease for 30cents

pj

 

[RobVG]

That was "another" 30 cents per tube....Additional....Higher....More....above normal...

$2.35 vs $2.65

 

[powerjoke]

oh, lol. yeah i got it now.....the tightass side of me focused in on the 30cent's.....i was gonna start ordering my grease from washington

Pj

 

[dieselsambo]

grease help!!

Running a m 318 and the previous operators I guess did not grease because there are 4 fittings where the sleave spun. Can those be drilled? type of bit? Thks

 

[kthompson]

All i know is i bought a case of that red grease.
I do not like it. Seems thin.
Takes for ever to get anything full then there is grease everywhere.
The old plain black grease was about two pumps on each fitting.
Anyway it will be awhile before i buy the red stuff again.

The machinist i trust; claims you can overgrease a bearing.

First off do not claim to be any kind of expect and also realize terms may be different here so may not be correct on my question. Realize there could be some other red grease I have not seen.

The only "red grease" I have seen is high temp grease. It will ball up in low temp uses such as low speed bearings. Even had this conversation with my tractor shop and parts guy Saturday. It is only for high speed bearings such as spindles so I have been told and based upon my experience seems correct.

 

[Cat is ALL]

Diesel don't quote me on this but but I believe what you have to do is order a new bushing and just replace it. I wouldn't re-drill a new hole because the bushings are made of such strong metal. You can order new bushings from your dealership. From what I've been told anyway.

 

[dieselsambo]

ok

Diesel don't quote me on this but but I believe what you have to do is order a new bushing and just replace it. I wouldn't re-drill a new hole because the bushings are made of such strong metal. You can order new bushings from your dealership. From what I've been told anyway.

thks I will let the mechanic screw with it

 

[Deereboy]

My experience with greasing has been right and wrong at times. But my understanding is as others have already said here. Overgreasing caused sealed parts to leak and leaves in contaminants. I pump pins and bushings until i see grease. The swing bearing, swing gear and pinion are different. Our last machine,from New Holland has only one fitting on the front, under the lift cylinders.I was told to put 5 pumps at each 90* of turn for the bearing every 40hrs(wet or bad conditions would be 1/2 that).The other fitting is on the pinion cover. This cover or box,holds grease and forces the pinion to feed it into the swing gear.I was told it was sealed, but not told how much to add and when.I add 6 pumps every 40hrs. The grease in the gear area only keeps a film on the gears to keep rust(contaminates) from forming and pitting the teeth(reduces noise).I guess if you grease something like a pin, and you hear that dry noise you haven't put enough on. Sounds and feel should let you know that things are OK. I'm not a big lover of grease hanging off things that get on your boots and track into the cab....

 

[Klutz]

I'd like to second what NL1CAT mentioned.

Moly grease is truly good for hard metal to metal sliding situations but should never be used on ballbearings/rollerbearings.

The moly particles (nanosized? I don't remember but really small) that makes such a good job of helping things slide will actually hurt the ball/roller bearings in the long run.

 

[345catgurl]

Im so glad i found this place...this will help me a bunch....an maybe throw some thoughts ya'lls way as well.....on my job sites there was always that arguement on how much grease to use...an now i think i was right, by tellin tha fuel guy that he was jus wastin grease....oh an makin a huge mess all over my machine....that usually finds it's way to my windshield....good posts ya'll

 

[swampdog]

If you actually look at the manufacturers recommendations for greasing (at least for Cat and Hitachi), it's downright scary. If I greased according to the recommendations, I would be afraid of prematurely wearing out the machines. Especially as one moves up the boom towards the machine body, the grease interval times increase. Loaders are similar with long recommended intervals for greasing big pins and center swivels.

I would rather grease more often and have a bit of grease squish out than wear out very expensive parts of the machines.

I'm only guessing, but I suspect that manufacturers like long service intervals because it helps sell their products. Long service intervals also brings work to the dealers' service shops, where a lot of dealerships make the big bucks.

 

[heavylift]

I usually put 3-5 shots , unless it's a sealed thing . like u-joints and such. I may just put 1 in if it oozes grease..... nothing like pumping 2 or 3 bucks on the ground..

bigger pins may take a dozen or more to see the ooze...

I think the AT's have a joint that says 50 shots...

I had a real jerk of an equipment foreman at one place 5 shots everyday every zerk... a real pain for a rubber tire backhoe loader. when we didn't use the backhoe but maybe once a week... so everyday I more or less pumped 1 tube of grease on the ground .. the boom was black from the grease... I'll grease but come on...

I"ve seen guys put 4 tubes on a 270 deere... way too much I think

A skid steer... I may grease the bucket pins 2 or 3 times a day... just depends on how bad they start talking back..

oilers that come around ... I've worked on jobs where it's a once a week deal... machines there sure did alot of talking... I think he was suppose to do it daily.. because he shoot til the joint was blue with grease... he was just using/wasting his weeks worth of grease in 1 day..

 

[Karl]

Do any of you guys know why a John Deere 160 LC breaks the rotec (slew bering?) mounting bolts? The broken bolts are on the bottom flange on the back of the machine? Are 160's prone to this or is something else wrong with it? (Like the bearing failing?)