Grease Gun Frustration
Submitted: Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 14:19
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29083
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WheelTravel
Hi all ye faithful,
My grease gun pumps more air than grease... I've tried following the instructions to purge the air, but it doesn't like it. I can't grease the car without it happening at least once, grease stops, and air starts... It takes ages for it to start pumping grease again...
It's a cheapie from Supercrap,$30.
Is it the gun, or me?
Cheerio and Happy bloody Christmas!!!
Reply By: Member - Davoe (Widgiemooltha) - Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 14:45
Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 14:45
I to have (had) a fairly cheapie. I got jack of nipples not accepting grease, ripping grease nipples off, not being able to get thr nozzle onto a particular front tailshaft nipple, smothering myself with grease trying to load the cartridge.
Ultra tune now does it for 30 bucks or if i get any work done i also aske for the gun to be run over it.
Bugger it - oils and filters no worries
AnswerID:
145080
Reply By: GUPatrol - Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 14:59
Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 14:59
Hi,
It doesn't matter if its a cheapie, cheapies usually tend to leak at the back (grease leaks back past the seal under pressure).
Your problem is due to the fact that when you refill it you didn't refill it properly an you left air pockets.
To refill properly, you have to make sure you push the shaft to allow only enough room for the amount of grease you can push then slide it-push more grease and so on... I usually push the grease with a small spatula or two fingers.
My old man tought me how to do it properly when I was a kid, never had any problems since...
Will
AnswerID:
145084
Follow Up By: Member - Roachie (SA) - Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 15:22
Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 15:22
I got sick of stuffing around with one of Annette's expensive silver kitchen knives to fill my 20 y/o silver gun and bought a McNaught which takes a whole cartridge......too bloody easy. It has a pitol grip so I can do it one handed now too, instead of struggling with a separate lever action.
One thing I'd like to know though, does anybody have a smaller than normal end for their shaft/hose (not being rude/crude!!!!). As someone else said, it is often difficult to get to the nipple on the front uni joint and I remember
John Rooth on one of those 4WD Monthly DVDs mentioning you can get a smaller end for your gun that fits easier into tight situations.???
Cheers
Roachie
FollowupID:
398596
Follow Up By: V8troopie - Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 15:47
Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 15:47
Roachie, I know the problem you're talking about. I got around it by removing the fixed tube on the grease gun and screwed in a short flexible tube with a smaller grease fitting on the end. Now I can hold the gun one way and bend the hose to align with the grease nipple without getting into impossible contortions, especially at the front drive shaft of the troopy.
I use a small, el cheapo, cartridge type grease gun which was a pain to use ( as mentioned above) due air locks. Looking at the spring loaded plunger rod I could see why, whenever it was pushed back in to store the gun the rod made a channel through the grease for the air! Fixing the plunger disk so the rod could no longer slide through it fixed the problem to a great extend. Its only a little more clumsy to store the gun with the plunger rod sticking out ( if the cartridge is full).
Klaus
FollowupID:
398601
Follow Up By: Member - Roachie (SA) - Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 16:21
Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 16:21
Thanks Klaus,
I already have the flexible rubber hose, but haven't been able to get hold of a smaller end fitting.....I'll keep looking.
Have a great Xmas mate
Roachie
FollowupID:
398603
Follow Up By: GOB & denny vic member - Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 18:13
Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 18:13
goodday roachie
got a mate to have a go as it was giving me the chits
well and truly he just got a spanner and the the nipples a bit
did it myself about a week ago and no problems
steve
FollowupID:
398627
Follow Up By: Member - Roachie (SA) - Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 20:00
Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 20:00
Sorry Steve, but I no comprehendo....lolol
Quote: "got a mate to have a go as it was giving me the chits
well and truly he just got a spanner and the the nipples a bit"
What did he do to the nipples??
Cheers mate
Roachie
FollowupID:
398650
Reply By: V8Diesel - Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 15:11
Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 15:11
Spring loaded purge valve stuffed? Renew.
or
Buy a McNaught. Crap is crap no matter which direction you trowel it.
Grease is your friend, use the correct grades liberally. Grovelling under your vehicle with a grease gun is also important for 'eyeballing' problems or spotting potential ones.
When I was driving road-trains, each driver would have to grease their own truck every few days for this very reason.
AnswerID:
145087
Reply By: hoyks - Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 15:32
Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 15:32
I would say that refilling it is the problem.
Mine too is a cheapie, but to fill it I get a new cartridge that is slightly larger than the body of the gun and push the body down the inside walls of the cartridge while at the same time pulling the piston out.
Lock the piston all the way out, remove the cartridge and screw the top/pump bit back on.
It will take 2/3’s of a tube of grease to fill and cleaning up is a bugger but nothing is clean and easy when grease is involved.
I only use pots of grease for wheel bearings and the like as it is a pain to pack a gun from a pot.
Best ones we had were at an Ag station I worked at. 20L drum of grease with a pneumatic pump attached for the big jobs and all the small grease guns had a grease nipple fitted so you could fill them from the bulb supply. So much easier.
AnswerID:
145095
Reply By: Zapper - Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 16:14
Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 16:14
Not sure why everyone is recommending Macnaught?? We use guns on
hay machinery and always have heaps of them around. Dad has a pile of stuffed Macnaughts at the
farm that you couldnt jump over, they are as bad as any of the cheapies, absolute rubbish, the last one i bought was fixed under warranty when it started sucking air 3 weeks after new took forever to get back then died again two months later - sucking air again - so i ditched it. We now use Alemites and they are streets ahead and I think a little cheaper.
AnswerID:
145102
Follow Up By: Axle - Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 18:29
Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 18:29
Hi Zapper
Could not agree more, I have to grease my excavator every day and have used macnaught guns for years, same thing mate cant get in the shed for stuffed grease guns .Looked at Alemite product , but the name sounded cheap so I perservered with macnaught. After your reply i know what is getting purchased tomorrow.
Cheers Axle
FollowupID:
398633
Follow Up By: SteveL - Friday, Dec 23, 2005 at 10:22
Friday, Dec 23, 2005 at 10:22
I have several stuffed Alemites and one MacNaught that has been going for years.
FollowupID:
398751