Technical Zerk Wont Take Grease, Torch?

I have greased hundreds of cars and often run into fittings that won't take grease, if the car has been neglected. Replacing the grease fitting always allows them to take grease.

I know a lot of so called mechanics just skip those ones, I would always replace them - and tell the customer I saved him a $100 ball joint replacement.

If yours won't take grease even after you put on a new fitting try heating it. Once you grease everything the first time you will not have trouble again, as long as you grease it when you are supposed to.

 

These things really work. Don't get carried away on a angle zerk

 

Watch the air operated guns on a frozen fitting. At a dealership, a tech next stall was trying to grease a frozen fitting. The hose he was holding(under pressure) burst and injected grease right through his skin and up his arm. He came real close to having to have his arm amputated as Dr couldn't get the grease out of his arm..

 

When you use the torch, leave all that old grease laying around. When it catches fire it will heat the area quicker than just the torch alone!

 

Just ordered one myself,didn't know there was such a thing!

 

I had that happen trying to grease the king pins on a Jeep pickup in 1977. It shot into my palm. I was lucky to have a doctor that was experienced in dealing with such things and I was in surgery within 45 minutes of it happening. He cut my hand open, cleaned out the grease and I spent 3 days in a hospital getting intravenous antibiotics.

 

Some people need to wear gloves and a helmet! And safety-glasses...

 

Nothing new about this approach. Ron

 

Most air powered greasers are a 50/1 ratio which limits grease pressure to 7500 psi. Booster dispensing valves would compound the pressure up to 10,000 psi. Gloves won't stop that. These units had a metal pipe connected to the tip to handle the higher pressures but they didn't always work on fittings in odd positions so hoses were often added to get a flexible connection. In my case, the hose blew as I was holding it on the fitting. I haven't held any while greasing since then. Seems that both Lincoln and Alemite stopped making the booster dispensers possibly due to liability issues. Some foreign companies still make them.

 

Freaking OUCH! Damn that hurts just reading it!
-Pat
Yow!