All right….. I’m the worst mechanic that ever lived. I can change oil, spark plugs, plug wires, filters, and windshield wipers. That’s about it.
I’m greasing the Dexter torsion axles on my trailer this evening and it dawns on me…. once again I don’t know what I’m doing. I just pump away until it starts to squirt out. Is that right? How often do things need to be greased? By mileage? Time? How much grease? Can I put in too much grease? I’m freakin’ clueless.
Then I got carried away and got under the truck I just finished waxing. (I do a pretty good job with that). See the little rubber bushing things under the leaf springs? tend to dry out and make me sound like Sanford and Son with chrome going down the street. Drives me crazy. 36G and it sounds like a creaky chitbox. So I blast the rubber thingies down with WD-40 and no more creaks. Now I’m wondering….. is that just going to dry them out more in the long-run? Seems as though I use WD-40 an awful lot to keep things DRY. Why am I using it to lube these rubber things? What’s the best lubricant to use on rubber like this?
While I was under the truck I noticed more grease fittings near the brakes. The tip on my grease gun seemed to be too small. How many different sizes are there? Are there different types of grease for different applications?
And to think….. I ordered the service manuals for my new telehandler hoping to do some of the routine service and maintenance myself. Lord, help us all.
A little help here?
Replies
You trying to grease the bleed nipples on the brakes?
Probably won't work, won't get rid of brake squeak either.
Joe H
NEAR the brakes. Was just commenting on the fact that it's a different size. I've bled brake lines before. Suspension is sqeaking, not the brakes. At least read my post before you rip off a one-liner at me.
But, thanks for your help.
Don't grease the brakes. Think about it. Those fittings are for bleeding. ( I think)
Pump until it just starts to ooze out then your done.
The first piece of equipment I ever ran was a track tamper. The trainy always greased every day after shut down (100 degrees in the shade) "There's 120 fittings on there count em out as you hit em, I'll be up here listening." Is all my boss would tell me. The most I ever found was about 40 but he had me loking everywhere. Maybe that's why I never grease anything anymore.
Shout out to Andy C. Namaste my friend.
http://www.hay98.com/
Wasn't trying to grease the brakes.... but good looking out! LOL. I had an old 280Z when I was kid and went through cheap brakes about every six months.... bled the lines on that car quite a few times. So.... not those nipples, dude.... these nipples.
The diagram of my forklift seems to be about the same machine you were looking after back there..... there's about 900 places to grease daily. I'll need a secret decoder ring just to translate the manual and then the easter egg hunt will begin for the fittings on the machine.
dp,
Be careful what you use on the "rubber" suspension bushings. Anything petrolium based will end up ruining the rubber eventually. A silicon based lube would be best. Bill Koustenis
Advanced Automotive Machine
Waldorf Md
MrBill has got it right!
Jim
When I was kid my 10 speed bike had squeaky brakes..I grabbed dad's oil can. Not too smart.
What you are greaseing determines what Grease to use. Wheel bearings want high temp wheel bearing grease. Some steering links and the like can use a general purpose type.
Spray on belt dressing works well on the rubber stuff ( and squealing belts, suprisingly).
On my trailer, I re-pack the wheel bearings when I have a tire off for some reason or when I happen to think of it ( rarely). Something like the mower deck on a riding mower, I do religiously. My dad was anal, he greased and sharpened the mower blades EVERY use.
Of course, dusty, dry and hot conditions..require more frequent attn. Or a boat trailer getting dunked in saltwater. Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
The Morphine s eems to do no good at all..I'd run all the way if I would not fall...
Frequently those squeaks coming off your leaf springs have nothing to do with dried out rubber bushings. There is usually a small plastic spacer/shim thingy slipped under the end of each leaf to keep it separted from its neighbor. When those spacers eventually wear out or fall out, the leaves can rub agaisnt one another and that causes squeaking.
The bestest resolution is to replace those worn out or missing spacers, but a decent interim solution is to jack up the vehicle from a bearing under the frame (or the differential) so that the springs hang loose. This should create a small gap between the ends of all those springs which will allow you to squirt some grease in there. Get it right on the area where the tips bear, too. That will likely do the deed.........and usually does.
Just had to do this with mine about two weeks ago. Once jacked, you should be able to see the shiny areas where the springs are rubbing one another.