zerks not accepting grease?

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JHZR2

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Hello,

What is it telling me when a zerk fitting doesnt accept grease? If I push the ball bearing, it moves smoothly. However, when I put the coupler on (lincoln coupler on lincoln hose and lincoln pistol-grip gun), the grease all goes around the outside of the fitting, and nothing goes in.

On some itworks perfectly, on others, it does this...

Would this be a sign of an overgreased part? I have the coupler on perfectly straight - checked that.

Thanks!
 
Get a head that has a lock similar to an air pump for a tire. You put it on the grease fitting and then lock it in place so the grease has nowhere to go but into the part.

My current vehicle doesn't have fittings, but on the older ones I would great I would grease them until I saw it coming out of the part at the joints.
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My dads has a lock on it (Very old) so it can't force the gun off the fitting.
 
You can try to use a pin, awl or pick to poke in the hole to clear it...but actually Zerks are so cheap, I'd just unscrew it and replace it. A bonus is if it's a hard to reach fitting, you can replace it with an elbow style for better access while you're there.
 
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Originally Posted By: GMBoy
You can try to use a pin, awl or pick to poke in the hole to clear it...but actually Zerks are so cheap, I'd just unscrew it and replace it. A bonus is if it's a hard to reach fitting, you can replace it with an elbow style for better access while you're there.


That's what I normally do....

The normal grease gun fittings are not the greatest for holding on. I usually hold the fitting while pumping. The lock sounds like a good idea.
 
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Most of my problems with zerks can be traced to the nozzle/tip. When I can get the tip to "grip" the nipple (it has pincers in there= what SteveC is describing) ..then it's never a problem. Get a new tip ..with a flex thingie.

Otherwise, like was said, just spin the thing out, dig around ..replace it or clean it ..
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JHZ, are you raising the car to take the weight off the front end? Also, when confronted with a bad Zerks, I take it off and hold to the gun. One pump usually clears the hardened grease out of the fitting. That tool is waay beyond what I need. My DDs have no Zerks, and the GrandWag, only has about 6 or 8. And I can clear a clog faster than it would take to run to a parts store to buy a new fiiting.
 
As andyd said make sure the car is off the ground with the wheels hanging. If that doesn't work remove the fittings and clean them. If not replace the fittings, they're easy enough to change.
 
There is a tool to unfreeze them and I have seen one in a catalog.You tap it with a hammer after you put the tool on the grease zerk.
 
Yes, wheels are hanging. Removal will be the next approach. Can anyone comment on the zerk thread size/spec for late-1990s chevy trucks.
 
It could also very well be in the joint itself.
Hard dry deposits or a tight fit or wear can impeded grease flow.

Try and get grease in truck steering kingpins after they are old.
 
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I know some of the parts must be getting fairly worn due to use, offroading and age... I think my front-end is in need of an overhaul, as I feel as if the PS has to work harder these days...

Good point, thanks!
 
Probably not what you're experiencing, but I recently had a problem with the grease fittings for a pair of new Mevotech balljoints on a '92 Oldsmobile Cutlass. The supplied grease fitting threaded in so far it locked against the ball and would not accept grease. It took me a little while to figure out what was going on. I installed some regular fittings and they worked.
 
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