Grease Gun & Zerk Fittings

[WardL]

I tried to grease the front suspension zerk fittings on my SPF and had a little trouble. A couple of the fittings worked as expected. When I pumped grease, it seemed to go into the fitting. On several other fittings, when holding the gun as tight as I could on the fitting, the fresh grease just oozed out the side of the connection between the gun and the fitting. No grease seemed to go into the area needed. What is up with that? (I've always called the grease fittings zerk fittings. Is that what they are really called now days?)

[Silverback51]

I had the same problem with one of mine last year. Not being sure what the zerk (yes, I call them zerk fittings also) fitting threads were I bought an assortment bag of fittings. None of them fit.

So what I did was grease those that worked, then swapped out a good one for the bad one and then greased that location.

[RICK LAKE]

WardL The pressure of your grease gun should push the little ball in the fitting back and allow the grease to go into the joint. If the grease gun handle gets real hard to squeaze and grease leaks out before going into the fitting the ball is stuck. Try a small hammer and a shape punch and TAP to lossen the ball. If the ball moves the grease should go into the joint and the boot will grow with the new grease. If not, replace the fitting. Auto stores sell kits with all the fittings. If the fitting is replaced and the grease will not go into the joint, jack up the car at the "A" arm and try again. If not replace the joint. If the little ball doesn't reseat in the fitting and the grease comes back out the little hole try with your hand and punch to push the ball and regrease and see if this stops the flow. If not replace the fitting. Good luck Rick L. Ps you need only 1 -3 squeezes of the handle to fill the joint. Should be done every oil change or after the car has been in a rain storm.

[elmariachi]

Originally Posted by WardL

(I've always called the grease fittings zerk fittings. Is that what they are really called now days?)

Named after Oscar the Zerk, who invented them.

[Huff1013]

I have been living with a grease fitting on my lawn mower that would always squirt grease back out when I removed the grease gun. So today when I bought new blades, I remembered to ask about the grease fitting, and was given a choice of 2 kinds. Remembering that the old fitting was in a tight place and was a straight fitting, I chose the same kind... Boy, was I in for a surprize! This new grease fitting is a "Press-On" type. Also known as Drive Type or Drive Fit or Press In, this fitting does NOT screw in. Sure it looks like it has threads, but look closer... they are not threads. I have never noticed grease fittings that did not screw in, weird! The bad fitting was also the Press-On type, so I could stop being mad at the sales guy, and just be mad at the manufacturer for being cheap. Long story short - How the heck do you get the old fitting out? I was able to pry mine out! Be patient, I used a large flat screwdriver with a sharp edge and a hammer to tap up under the base of fitting, and gradually work it loose on one side then the other side. Finally it came out of the hole without breaking and no damage to the hole. I might could have wiggled it out with vise-grips, but it might have broken off too. The new fitting can be tapped into the hole with a small nut driver that's just large enough to fit over the ball end, but small enough to engage the base. Be careful, don't damage the new check ball. I searched all over the internet for "how to remove grease fittings" but not once did anything come up about how to remove these press-on type. Hopefully this post will save someone a few hours someday!! Todd