Greasing an Excavator 101

We take a look at the basics of preventative maintenance and why we grease machinery and equipment and what can happen when you don't.

Pins and bush replacement

[jefftheaussie]

Good one Mucker. A lot of people are allergic to grease guns. By running your finger over the end of a grease nipple you can also see which way it is facing, that allows you to put the coupler on straight. Greasing a machine also is a good opportunity to run your eye over everything. It is amazing what you can pick up when you have the grease gun in your hand. How much grease to give something is a trick too. We bought a tractor once that had a greasable thrust bearing in the clutch. When I had to put a new clutch in it because it had never been adjusted I found the bell housing was half full of grease. See a grease nipple and give it 20 pumps is not always the clue. Try explaining that one to a neanderthal. Jeff

[mikeduin]

Simple, but absolutely essential!
Bit of grease doesn't cost the world but saves you a lot in the long run.
Nice one M'lod 👌
Cheers, Mike

[gmartin]

Excellent video Mucker on a bit of greasing. We are never to old learn different ways of doing maintenance. Well done Mucker 👍 🔧 🚜

[AW-Services]

My best tip, if you don't regularly grease your machine, there's always Olly Snowball who will do your repairs on bushes and pins

[onelonleyfarmer]

My Favorite different greases for different applications for me I like to use different greases for the same machine.on my balers I use three types of grease in the auto greaser I use a quality lithium wheel bearing grease because if I use the moly (clay base) they will plug the lines.on the drive lines I use a heavy duty coupler grease (Moble XTC) its almost a super thick oil. on the pins and bushings is where I use the moly grease. I used to use sig 3000 anti pound out grease on the drivelines but that's just lithium grease with a stiction agent added. that's good for your pins on the boom of that machine.

[shingerz]

Same as changing engine oil really oil is inexpensive compared to a rebuild good video 👍

[dannywickens]

Great to see you again Lord Muck, must admit its taken a while to respond due to me getting flustered over the word nipples. Another great vid, thanks very much best wishes to you, your team and most of all your lovely Collie dogs. Thanks for the entertainment . Best wishes Muckers👍

[spencercampbell]

I bought a sealey grease gun and couldn't get round half the machine before the battery died. Quickly ditched that and bought a milwaukee. I go through 2 tubes of grease with only using half the battery. Serious bits of kit. Worth every penny. Such a time saver. Only problem i have is sometimes not getting the right angle and it coming out the nipple. Ive seen some lock on ends for the grease gun but not sure if they are a gimic

[davida.p.]

🎵 GREASE is the word....🎵 😊 Excellent points! 🚜

[Digginok]

Great vid! As for my two cents…. I grease at noon every day, two reasons #1 grease and machine has time to warm up (of course summertime it doesn’t matter) #2 sometimes quitting time comes late, you are tired, gates on site will be locked…
Next I’d have to say that not all grease is equal, I use 3% moly only. I have seen bushings last as much as 2000 hours longer with the simple use of 3% moly grease. Always carry a small assortment of spare zerks aka nipples, and if you ever hear a squeaky part, stop work and grease it. The big problem with this type of maintenance is it is seen as optional, it is not, It’s mandatory, a good daily inspection of the machine is not optional. On a backhoe I don’t always grease the loader and backhoe for example, I grease what got the most use. Front axle and driveline fittings are more of a weekly/ monthly schedule. Some days the loader gets the bulk of work, some the backhoe, and of course there are days when the whole machine needs grease, some fittings that are small get 1 pump, larger ones get 3-5, experience and some observations will help with the amounts and intervals each part needs. Do well!

[johngell]

Cracking video thanks for sharing
Not a digger but our scammell explorer needs it's transmission props greased every 50 mile and that's what REME say in the manual as some of the prop yolks dry out quickly we tend to use good quality high temperature grease from smith and Alan's from Darlington for the transmission then we use cheaper general purpose grease for all the rest on the suspension , steering , winch and crane
We tried counting all the grease points once but give up after 200 😂
Some old boys with scammells told us not to use grease on the axle and suspension points but use old gear oil instead this seems to help if you've got a blocked one but its a proper messy job 🤠

[matthewhodder]

How and when to change a grease nipple. That's good basic instruction

[poorfarm-nnii]

The lock n lube quick couplers are awesome in my opinion. I bought one and it comes with a rebuild kit in the package. I Have had it for several years and never had to rebuild it. It’s good quality stuff.

[stevehucker]

Another great video Mucker thanks for sharing, I didn't realise that the bushes had a spiral for the grease to travel down. And when it comes to any work and the basics it is surprising how many people forget. It maybe basic so do it.

[michaelguerin]

Good video. Nice and simple does it. Cheers from NZ🇳🇿.

[lifebehindthelevers]

Only you can make a video about greasing a machine enjoyable to watch mucker 👌 Spot on buddy.

Mundane task but an absolute necessity, same with track tension and clearing top rollers/iders before a hard freeze overnight 👌

[daveadams]

Years ago people not greasing joints kept me in a very good living...!
ATB

Dave

[whitestream]

Yea ! Always use good quality grease and oil, It keeps things working . I use an air greaser on my machine after a few hours work. Also carry a hand pump greaser when out away from my workshop.
Excellent video, Explains things well to people who are new to this sort of work. All the best .

[wyattoneable]

You spoke of some very important reasons why we must lube. I enjoyed a video on the "basics".

[patkelly]

Good stuff Kurt and Puppo, great tutorial, well covered👌👍🙏🙂