How often to grease stuff under the bus?

[opus]

I grease every 2000 miles, with a Lincoln battery gun.  Grease is cheaper than replacing parts.

[PP]

I need to get a grease gun with a longer hose. It's really frustrating trying to reach some of those nipples while holding the grease gun up in the air with one hand and pumping with the other while the fitting pops off the nipple and none of the grease goes where it's supposed to. Or maybe it's time to look into a powered one... Yeah, I'm liking that idea. Funny how a thread started out with the interval between greasing to TOOLS that do the greasing (No, I didn't mean the guy pumping the grease) 

[lostagain]

I have two hoses on my grease gun: double the length. So I can be on a fitting, and have the gun on a solid surface for pumping.

JC

[lostagain]

I have an air powered grease gun too, but don't use it much. I don't like dragging the air hose much.

JC

[Iceni John]

After you've taken an inventory of all the Zerks everywhere (and there are some in the weirdest of places), and then wiped years of accumulated crud off them before greasing them, it's prudent to put a yellow cap over each Zerk to A) make it easier to find them again in the future, and B) to keep them clean.   When I needed to have my bus towed two years ago, the tow driver was impressed to see these yellow caps everywhere  -  he said he normally never sees them on private RVs and buses.   (He also know exactly the reason for the zipties on my brake push rods!)

I put three air outlets around the bus, supplied from the accessories tanks, and it makes it easy to grease or use air tools.   Greasing Zerks is way easier than half the stuff I do with my bus.

John

[eagle19952]

Get 4-5 hoses and have a grandson stand out there and pump

[chessie4905]

Always clean off grease fitting with a rag before greasing. Elimimnates getting dirt into the little check ball and getting dirt in the greasing tip which then keeps it from staying attached to grease fitting.

[TomC]

When I was driving truck, I used to service my truck (lube, oil and filter) every 12,000mi (as determined by oil analysis). This made for a well greased truck and in 1.2 million miles, only did one king pin job and only replaced 2 U-joints. Amazing how long everything lasts when properly greased.
The big problem now with trucks and buses, is the new Diesel engines are running so clean, the oil change intervals are way out there. Detroit Diesel DD15 engine in less than truck load service (like furniture) and running fuel economy settings can go 75,000mi for oil change! This can be a problem keeping chassis fittings lubed. Good Luck, TomC

[chessie4905]

I wonder if trucks are starting to go to sealed for life on greasable items like cars. Also better for enviornment I would imagine.

[Oonrahnjay]

When I was driving truck, I used to service my truck (lube, oil and filter) every 12,000mi (as determined by oil analysis). This made for a well greased truck and in 1.2 million miles, only did one king pin job and only replaced 2 U-joints. Amazing how long everything lasts when properly greased.
The big problem now with trucks and buses, is the new Diesel engines are running so clean, the oil change intervals are way out there. Detroit Diesel DD15 engine in less than truck load service (like furniture) and running fuel economy settings can go 75,000mi for oil change! This can be a problem keeping chassis fittings lubed. Good Luck, TomC

       My bus was built with a system that pumped and distributed heavy oil to chassis lubrication points, thus ensuring full and complete lubrication.  All the parts have been removed except for the main distribution block below the floor under the driver's seat -- a cylinder about the size of a half-cut-down coffee can -- which has output nipples for about 30 metal pipes out; it's pretty impressive.  It appears that the system was removed long ago.  The bus came to me with a mixture of sizes of nipples on components, many well covered, sometimes to the point of being completely hidden, by the usual melange of grease, dirt, oil, dead cats, and the other detritus of our modern society.
       I have no idea of the efficiency of "pumpable oil" versus proper grease and no idea why the system was removed (although the typical British Engineering Condition of "Well Conceived, Overly Complicated, And Poorly Executed" does spring to mind).

[lostagain]

Tom and Chessie.

All newer vehicles, including trucks and buses, have sealed components that don't need lubricating. They get replaced before they fail (hopefully) are certain intervals on a preventive maintenance program. The first tier bus operators turn over their fleet before having to worry about that.

With all older stuff like most of us run, keep a grease gun on each machine for frequent use.

JC

[chessie4905]

Would work fine till one of the little lines broke, unknown to mechanics. That fitting may never see any more grease, plus the mountain of unused grease building up. You want to see a grease mess? Look way back in compartment under driver's seat where clutch and shift levers are on, at least GMCs. Not uncommon to see 5 lbs of grease build up in that area over the years.

[dtcerrato]

The nice thing about all the grease build up is it shields the unit from ambient contamination because the rubber boots are long gone! :-)

[Oonrahnjay]

...  You want to see a grease mess? Look way back in compartment under driver's seat where clutch and shift levers are on, at least GMCs. Not uncommon to see 5 lbs of grease build up in that area over the years.

      The best service guys I've seen do grease work take two rags, one to clean the nipple itself off well (I like John's system of nipple caps) and the other to clean where old grease has oozed out from working surfaces.  If they're working on their own vehicles, they even take time to look at all the components just to be sure that everything is OK.

[richard5933]

We've got a remote grease fitting on the end of a thin copper line for the speedometer gear at the transmission case. The grease fitting for this comes out at the bulkhead above the transmission. Pumped into it a few times before I realized that the other end had long ago broken free and that the grease was just piling up on the outside of the gear housing. On my list to get fixed. For some reason these things are prone to breaking free, in my experience.