Steer/Axle lube

[Orange Turbo]

How many pumps of grease is safe (not to push out seal) for the front steering? mx5100 4-wheel. Book tells when but not how much. I've been putting 3-pumps each side, every 50hrs, just hoping it's enough.......
Thanks,,,
Ed.
Sorry Guys!!! put in wrong forum.....

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

What are you putting the grease in or at?

 

[mickeyd]

Welcome To the forum from Alabama. Since I do not have an MX Tractor, I can't help you. On my L3200, It only tells to grease the "Front Axle Support."

 

[Orange Turbo]

fittings are on top of axle tube at the(king pin,for lack of a better word)
I'm afraid I'll blow the seal,, By putting to much in, But,, I also don't know if its getting enough.
Thanks for the welcome!

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I got ya, on that one it's most likely that you cant blow that seal out, it's designed to allow it to vent out the air as you fill it with grease.
On that I would fill it till the gun gets stiff or it forces a little grease out.

 

[Orange Turbo]

Thanks Wolfman,,,,
I feel a little better now, I'm sure I can get a couple more in it.. I carry heavy loads more often than not, Alot of mud & short turns, the L-3130 I traded-in, started weeping/leaking in the same steering area. That's why I was concerned. I just had to get a BIGGER hammer..lol,,,
Thanks Again..............

 

[cerlawson]

If you are in a lot of mud, sand, etc., part of the reason for grease is to keep that stuff out. Every 50 yours may be way too long. Under some circumstances for heavy use, machine on construction get greased very night. That dirt in there is even worse than no grease at all. If you have ever ground engine valves you know how grease carries that stuff to "erode" away metal.

 

[djm1204]

Heavy equipment that is used all day every day is often done every night. My dealer told me for the price of grease, to do it every 10 hours of use - or if been operating in mud or water or very sandy/dusty conditions do it each night which is what I am doing now as I clear some land, usually about 5 hours of use each day and it gets fueled and greased each night.

General rule of thumb is that you can not over grease.

Dan

 

[Orange Turbo]

When I grease those fitting's, (2) I can tell there's pressure increasing with each pump, And Yes, you can blow some seals out!
I thank Wolfman had the correct answer, I've went as far as (almost)...... Not being able to pump any more grease in.
(Just not wanting to push-it)
Thanks....

 

[Billdog350]

Wolfman and Turbo are right, you CAN blow the seal out! That pin only moves a few degrees back and forth as your axle pivots, you don't need tons of grease in there. I have serviced hundreds of machines, we usually put a few pumps in at the 100 hr service mark, but not so much to blow the seals out. Since there are seals there, you are far less likely to get dirt in there like all of the other pivot pins on the FEL and such.

I've serviced some machines with thousands of hours on them and very little evidence of greasing on the front pivot and they were still tight with no slop. This is one of the few times where over greasing it will cause you the headache of blowing a seal, not fun!

 

[Orange Turbo]

Thanks Billdog,
I feel better with my decision on the 2-3 pumps at 50hr. The frontend on this thing is pretty dust & water tite,,,, Would like to keep it that way

Thanks for the reply!....................

 

[ShaunRH]

I've read the 10hr bit, but being around old timers so much, I got different advice:

'When you've got it warmed up, grab a rag, check the oil, check the water, check the fluid, one pump of grease in the loader points, the 3 point and any zerk you see. Make a habit of it every time. You end up with a greasy, oily rag but a happy tractor.'

The logic of it, I've been told, is that just working the tractor pushes grease out of the joints. By adding a pump each time you are replacing that and wiping away the excess leaves the joint clean and free of dirt... which is now on your rag.

So, that's really old school, I don't know how much bearing it has on a modern tractor.

 

[Orange Turbo]

Think of this like a sealed bearing, they only need very little grease, if any,,(it has no where to go) , Even some wheel seal's can be damaged by to much grease. Some older water pumps (caterpillar) have a spring loaded vent to keep You from over greasing,, you can blow the sealing ability pretty easy, Remember the old ball joints, they where like a balloon, pump them up and they fed themselves...

Keep in mind the bushings (loader) or a regular bearing, than yes you can pump all you want and the grease will just squeeze out, but these types are not sealed and require the 8-10hr attention. A lot of the newer loader arms on large machines are going to OIL to keep it lubed, (sealed)..
NO NEED TO GREASE..

 

[CaveCreekRay]

Just another plug for the Lincoln 1162 air-powered zerk. So far, the thing has worked flawlessly. $70 on Amazon. Combined with one of those nifty Lock N Lube couplers, it doesn't get any easier or cleaner. Easy to control the feed. One trigger pull is a small amount of grease. Built like a Mack Truck and comes with a 30" hose. I leave the gun on the floor (on clean cardboard) and just hook up the hose and hit the trigger a couple times. Has a nice primer valve so the gun primes easily.

I cringed at paying $100 for a grease gun but, after throwing out two older guns the piston seals had gone away on, this thing is worth every penny. And I just use a 1" paint scraper to load enough grease from a small tub of Redline Synthetic for what I am doing. Burp it. Use it. Empty it. So simple now.