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• Grease ,
• Tags: grease
• 03 Jul

A preventative maintenance list to check off goes a long way to keeping your tractor in great shape.

The money saved on a tractor can easily reach several thousand dollars so getting yourself into a routine even if your not much of a routine guy is a very good thing.

Not all grease is the same although there is an adage many people say that says, “grease is grease”

That adage has been proven wrong by much data and case studies where tractor and heavy equipment owners have saved tens of thousands of dollars by upgrading their grease for their particular application.

You need a proper grease especially if you’re going to forget from time to time to do regular maintenance intervals.

Tractors have several metal to metal contact points. There are bearings that need grease, oscillation points which are continuous back and forth movements.

Tractors get very hot and dirt gets pushed into places where there should be grease instead. When your trying to reduce friction having dirt instead of grease is a bad combination.

Water from rain and condensation can remove the grease you do have which lets the dirt replace the grease causing all kinds of issues. Having grease at the places where failure can occur will keep your tractor whole and working strong as one solid unit.

Corrosion, premature wear, and ultimately failure will take place if grease is not applied at proper intervals.

operating at a wide range of temperatures in dusty, dirty and often wet conditions, require lubricants at those points to help prevent premature wear, corrosion, and failure.

A lot of grease is a combination of oil and soap but it is important to note that a soap filler is not enough to hold that grease in place. It will remain in place for awhile but different formulations will hang on much longer than others which will end up saving you.

There are different grades of grease and various tests to consider when putting together your maintenance plan. Not all greases require the same amount of frequency of replacement as others do.

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The Timken OK load test is an important performance measurement of extreme pressure additives, drop point (where the temperature of the grease passes from a semi-solid to a liquid state), water washout, oil separation, corrosion prevention and wear.

A grease is typically oil and soap with about 80 % of it being oil and about 20 % of it being soap. There can be anywhere from 0 % to 15 % of it that is additives. There are other kinds of thickeners that are more quality and more compatible than lower quality greases. There are better formulations of thickeners and additives that make the grease perform better.

The thickeners and additives are very important but the viscosity which is its ability to remain tacky is one of the vital components of the greases performance. The base oil is also another primary consideration when buying grease.

When an application has extreme temperatures or where extended periods of time goes by where no greasing has occurred a synthetic based oil is what the grease formulation should consist of.

Your owner’s manual will let you know what type of grease you need. The manual is your starting point. The manual will give you a general recommendation on grease but within that recommendation, you will see that there are a wide variety of choices in the market.

Grease Point Locations

You can find all the grease point locations in your owners manual. If you do not have an owners manual you should be able to order one from the manufacturer or closest dealer. Any metal component that turns, rubs, or oscillates against another metal surface will require lubrication. Be sure to make a spreadsheet where you can check off each component that you have greased when it comes time to grease your machine. You will get a long life out of your tractor if you grease at regular intervals.

Preventative Maintenance Frequency

The owners manual as well as how rough you operate your equipment will determine how often you should grease your equipment. Manuals will recommend a branded grease that has their brand on it sometimes. These greases are usually bidded out and the cheapest wins. They slap their name on it and can count on you to come to them for parts if the grease does not adequately do the job.

You as the owner need to keep tabs on how weather and extreme conditions are affecting your equipment and adjust your PM frequency based on these variables.

Zerks

When greasing your equipment the little fitting that the grease gun is inserted too has a component that moves out of the way as grease is released into the component. When the pressure is released the Zerk seals back up. There will be grease that will end up on the outside of the fitting. Make sure to wipe away the grease from the outside of this fitting. If the grease gets left on the end of the fitting you will get dirt and other contamination that will land on this and when you go to grease the equipment again those particles will enter the housing of your machine. contact points.

Sealed Bearings

Depending on how old your tractor is you may need to grease the bearings. Some bearings have grease trapped inside for the life of those bearings while others have a permanent teflon coating. You will need to reference your owners manual to know exactly what should be done for your bearings. You may not need to do anything but to be sure make sure to check with your manual.