Greasing the 3 point hitch pins

[Pawnee]

Some places on your tractor don't have grease nipples but they still need grease.
I have an L2501 but every other machine I have checked has no nipples on these points either.

I just found 6 more places:
Ends of upper lift arms, or top of lift rods = 2
Bottom of lift rods in lower lift arms = 2
Tractor ends of lower lift arms = 2

You may or may not want to lubricate the captive ball swivels, they can pick up a lot of grit. The six I mention are all "pin in bore" just like most of the loader points which get grease every 10 hours.

The most tricky part is getting the pins out of the tractor on the lower lift arms. The pins have flanges on them, remove the bolt, support the lower lift arm at its balance point and jiggle the pin out. The arms are heavy steel so be careful.

 

[mcfarmall]

I oil my swivelly balls yearly.

 

[mikester]

In my previous job in a 24/7 foundry environment maintenance crews stopped using sticky grease on parts exposed to dusty sandy environments. They found that grease retained the abrasive sand and dirt leading to premature bearing failures. They found dry lube sprays worked best on these parts.

I've switched to dry lube sprays on the ball joints for summer. In winter it's less dusty and I use spray grease to coat these parts for moisture protection from snow blowing.

 

[BAP]

The reason that they don’t have grease fittings is that they don’t need greasing. The ball joints and pins are hardened steel to prevent wear. Lubricant at those locations causes dirt to stick which causes premature wear. I have used tractors for 50 years, most of it farming. We never lubed them and never wore any out except for one. That one was our barn cleaning tractor with loader and rear scraper. Because it was always covered in manure, the manure would get into the balls and wear them out after 3-4 years.

 

[fried1765]

In my previous job in a 24/7 foundry environment maintenance crews stopped using sticky grease on parts exposed to dusty sandy environments. They found that grease retained the abrasive sand and dirt leading to premature bearing failures. They found dry lube sprays worked best on these parts.

I've switched to dry lube sprays on the ball joints for summer. In winter it's less dusty and I use spray grease to coat these parts for moisture protection from snow blowing.

Yes!
Dry lube only!

 

[D2Cat]

No grease or lube required. You won't wear them in your lifetime under non-commercial use.

 

[Pawnee]

No grease or lube required. You won't wear them in your lifetime under non-commercial use.

So why are we greasing the loader pins?

My 3PH pins show wear at 75 hours.
They are not very hard, a file cuts them easily.
And if hardened pins were the solution to not needing grease then why aren't the loader pins hardened?

My old Ford 3000 probably never got greased and those parts are worn quite badly.

It's a steel pin in a steel bore.
Running them dry seems wrong to me.
All the parts are easily replaced but the lower lift arms can't be cheap.

 

[mikester]

So why are we greasing the loader pins?

Go ahead, stop greasing the grease points.

You can even save more money NOT doing oil and filter changes.

 

[Pawnee]

Go ahead, stop greasing the grease points.

You can even save more money NOT doing oil and filter changes.

My point exactly.

 

[ve9aa]

To save even more money, I put used air in my tires !

 

[Pawnee]

To save even more money, I put used air in my tires !

I have only ever used new air, and always got it free.

 

[BAP]

It’s your tractor and you can do whatever you want with it, but there is a reason why there is no grease fittings on 3 point hitch parts and there is grease fittings on loader parts. Loader parts are designed differently than 3 point hitch parts. It’s the nature of the beast.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

The last time I switched from BH to 3 point, I squirted some Fluid Film on them.

The General Lee is mostly a "Hanger King" , so I'm not too worried about the grit wearing anything out. LOL

 

[NCL4701]

So why are we greasing the loader pins?

My 3PH pins show wear at 75 hours.
They are not very hard, a file cuts them easily.
And if hardened pins were the solution to not needing grease then why aren't the loader pins hardened?

My old Ford 3000 probably never got greased and those parts are worn quite badly.

It's a steel pin in a steel bore.
Running them dry seems wrong to me.
All the parts are easily replaced but the lower lift arms can't be cheap.

View attachment 105494

Good question. Have no clue what the answer is, or if there is a good answer, from an engineering or metallurgical standpoint.

From a 48 years experience standpoint, I’ve never personally, or known anyone else, who greased or dry lubed the lift arms on the 3 point. Also never known of a premature failure to result from said procedure. Hadn’t thought about why before probably because it’s been drilled into me first by my father and later a couple of employers that you grease the loader but not the 3 point. However, your reasonable question and a short spate of poor TV choices by the wife last night got me to pondering. Came up with a couple of hypotheses.

1) The loader is a very stable implement. It’s designed to have very little slop side to side. So the pins have to be tight in the bosses. Not jet engine tolerances, but a little bit of wear in the pins and/or bosses causes real practical degradation in performance.

The 3 point, not so much. Yeah, there is some sort of something in the way of chains or bars to stabilize it laterally but it’s still not locked down like the loader. So if there’s a little slop in the pins it doesn’t have a practical effect on performance.

2) There’s less cost risk on the 3 point than there is in the loader. If I somehow wore out the lift arms on the 3 point they aren’t extremely costly to replace. Worst case, the ends could be cut off and replaced for not a tremendous amount. Replacing or repairing the pins and bosses on the loader is a much more costly exercise.

Do as you see fit. That’s my theory. Could be totally wrong.

 

[RBsingl]

My Deere 955 manual calls for lubrication of the "ball joints" in the 3 point with clean engine oil at the 200 hour point. Given that I don't put a lot of hours on it, they get this attention every spring and have since I bought it in 1995

.

Rodger

 

[Pawnee]

Thanks for the efforts NCL4701 and RBsingl.
Appreciated.

I'm not going to clean the grease off that I just put on but I'm not sure what I'll do in future with the 3 point. As BAP pointed out, it's my tractor and since the manual isn't helping I'll have to figger it out myself.

The FEL gets lots of grease because I don't use it much and I do it every 10 tractor hours.

This all started because a friend has an older Kubota which does not have replaceable top lift arm pins, he would have to change the complete top arms and he told me he lubes the pins. All the parts on the L2501 are easily changed if they get too sloppy for just $$.
And we all got lots of $$ right?

 

[RCW]

Pawnee - - - not to confuse anything, but occasionally I spray some of the 3PH parts with Fluid Film. Doesn't attract dirt, etc., and helps with oxidation. I use it on my cast table saw more often.

 

[Pawnee]

Looks like Fluid Film is available here.
I think I need a can of that.
Thanks.

Edit:
I see "Runs with scissors" already suggested Fluid Film.
Thanks to you too.

 

[DustyRusty]

To save even more money, I put used air in my tires !

I use helium and my tractor rides like it is a cloud in the sky.

 

[RCW]

Looks like Fluid Film is available here.
I think I need a can of that.
Thanks.

Edit:
I see "Runs with scissors" already suggested Fluid Film.
Thanks to you too.

A little goes a long way at least on a flat surface.

Bought it first for my rusting table saw. Nothing serious but would stain lumber.

I used enough to do 4 saws….and haven’t had to reapply in 3 years. No more staining.