Zerks and grease

[moscooter]

 

Hey,

I just received an E-Z Brake for my SG Special.  Had one yrs ago on my Road King and liked the setup/position of the pedal.

This new (E-Z Brake) comes with a zerk on the shaft for lubrication.  During my install,  before putting the new pedal in place,  I decided to go ahead and put some grease into the shaft opening via the zerk.  So,  on my workbench, I have the new pedal and my (small grease gun) and while attempting to add grease which I expect to see flowing into the shaft opening,  all it does is "pile up" at the end of my grease gun fitting............Which to my experience with zerks from a hundred years ago,  usually indicated a bad (plugged) zerk.

Since this was a brand new pedal with what appears to be a brand new "zerk" fitting,  I'm now wondering if the check ball/spring (which I assume to be the way a zerk works) is maybe too strong and my small hand grease gun doesn't have enough pressure to overcome it.

Meantime,  I greased the interior of the pedal shaft by hand,  and completed the install (which was no fun at all).

Anyone have extra knowledge on greasing via zerks..........    

[pumpguy68]

Take a small screwdriver or Allen wrench and push on the ball of the zerk fitting it should push in with a little resistance. If it doesn't change it out.

I have seen them bad out of the box but not often.


Ray m

[truck]

Does the grease gun work OK on other fittings? Maybe the nozzle coupler is bad. Is  the right word?


Edit...coupler

[FSG]

I have seen them bad out of the box but not often.

 

[Bike31]

I got one like this: https://www.zerkzapper.com

If the grease gun's adapter is tightened down on its shaft and still no flow...use one of these or get a new zerk.

[mr. pitts]

You could try putting a couple of layers of cloth over the zerk & then applying the grease gun. The cloth helps to seal the "leak", & the grease will go through the cloth. Also give the centre of the zerk a good prod with something sharp, it may just have a little rust inside, causing it to stick some.

[moscooter]

 
Well,  I did take an icepick and probe into the opening on the zerk.  It pushed downward OK with some springy resistance,  so I'm thinking there is no clog, but it just wouldn't accept the grease.

[crazy joe]

I had problem like that on a different application
turned out the be the shaft itself    was plugged with crap.
I guess you already installed it.

[76shuvlinoff]

Is the zerk screwed in too far and bottomed out?

[truck]

It wasn't mounted on the shaft, so wasn't bottomed.
I'm still thinking coupler didn't go tight enough.

[moscooter]

 
I guess I did not mention that while investigating the problem,  I removed the zerk from the new pedal asm.  Clamped the new zerk in a small set of vise grips and then clamped the vice grip in my workbench vise.  Now I was able to push hard against the zerk with the hose end of the grease gun and still the grease oozed out around the hose end and did not go thru the zerk.

I believe a different zerk installed is gonna be the answer.

[a_disalvo]

May be obvious, but most grease guns have a means of tightening the end around the fitting. I have had some that you had to put the fitting in the gun and than tighten the end before pumping. Regards, Frank

[Snowyone]

I've used enough swear words at grease guns to keep me on the wrong side of the Pearly Gates for eternity.  Grew up working on ranches and for whatever reason(a touch stupid and mechanically savvy) I was the one voted to run the bailers . Well hay bailers in the sixties and seventies had four million grease zerks and wanted grease about twice a day if I was up to it.  I know they were built by the devil(bailers and zerks).  Those were the days when you filled the barrel up out of a bucket and you had to smear the requisite four ounces all over yourself.  When I found a good gun I guarded it like gold.  Anyway I have two Lincoln battery run grease guns and have to use both to grease my Hagglund track rig.  Takes both because some zerks like one gun and some the other.  I also have a Rhino SXS and they both fail to work on it.  Just different zerk contours and nozzle tolerences on the guns I'm guessing.