Zerk fittings

[pAAt]

My AA truck has very few zerk fittings on it, it does have location holes for them. Fred the previous owner, put in all new bushings and restored the whole undercarriage. He did not get to the point of putting in the zerks. Question is, should I go with old or new style? Do you have to hold pressure on the old ones to grease ? If so, I think I'll go with the new ones, because greasing is quite a job and my shoulders are not the best. Thanks, Pat

[Mitch]

With an air greaser and the proper fitting on the end, it does not much matter

Carl G and i have the good Lincoln brand air grease gun

[dmdeaton]

Whats the proper fitting Mitch? Is it the modern style that comes on new guns?

[Mitch]

This is the proper attachment to use on your gun if your using the original style fittings

https://www.brattons.com/grease-gun-adapter.html

[Dennis]

I have been changing mine about half of them back to the original Alemite fittings. After fighting the Lincoln fittings all these years I'm ready for a change. It wasn't the fittings themselves, it was the Lincoln grease gun tip. My Alemites take grease just fine. The problem with press in reproduction Alemite fittings they are aluminum and aren't worth a s##t.

[pAAt]

Dennis, I guess I would rather stay original. I guess I can lay on the ground for half the day, no problem there ! What brand do you buy ? Thanks, Pat

[Tom Wesenberg]

I also like the original the best. I even use the original grease gun.

[pAAt]

Tom, I need to get this greased and running soon !! My friends mom used to have a truck like this on their farm, with no doors, and she remembers riding in it. Her son tells me I need to get it going for a picture of his mom and dad in it. Pressure for being a good boy is upon me !! I'm going to farmer fix everything to make this picture happen. The greatest generation is leaving us, but there are a number of great folks left. Like here on VFF !!! Pat

[CarlG]

I have changed out most of my fittings to the “new” style. And as Mitch said, I grease them with my air powered Lincoln grease gun. As I get to them I will change out the rest of them.

[pAAt]

Carl, next summer the wife and I are driving up to (5 miles north of Anchor Point, Wiskey Gulch Road) to help move a friend back to Minnesota. He's had a cabin and land on the Cooks Inlet since about 1965. I've been up there twice and like the fishing with extreme views !! This will probably be the last time I get up there, so if I tow the AA up there, would you give me a cheap grease job and free advise ? Pat

[Mitch]

The key to greasing any style fitting is to clean them off first especially the opening with a rag. Pumping road dirt into the fitting is usually counter productive and can cause restrictions.

[pAAt]

Mitch, there hasn't been zerk fittings in the holes for 16 years. Should I spray WD or such and blow out with air before installing zerk ? Good day, Pat

[Mitch]

I would poke around in there with a pick and PB buster or kroil then hope for the best. Sometimes if the joint wont take grease a little warmth helps soften things up.

[Dennis]

In years past if I had a pin or whatever that wouldn't take grease, remove the grease fitting and install a 1/8" pipe fitting with adapters for a porta power cylinder. A lot of times I pressured it up to 10,000 psi, and eventually it would free up and the oil would flush out the restriction. Put the grease fitting back in and grease pump away...

[Mickey]

If I can jump in here with a related question. When switching over to zerks how do you get the old style fittings out that were pressed in?

[Mitch]

To remove an old drive in fitting, use a cold chisel near the tip at the side and hit the chisel.

[Mickey]

I can see what you're doing but i'll have to give it a try to see how it lifts the fitting out of the hole.

[Norm]

I have the original grease fittings. I used a grease ram on some that didn't want to take grease . They seem to work quite good . I have seen several of these grease rams at swap meets for around $10.00 or so . I guess I like the look of the original cone type grease fittings . Norm

[Mitch]

I have a needle point adapter that also works well.
The point works on all style fittings

[pAAt]

The needle point I learned about a year ago from a friend and works very well. I use it with stubborn zerks or if it's the only grease gun I can find.

[Mitch]

Here is a pic of the needle point and a right angle grease gun adapter. The right angle i use on modern cars where the rim is very close to the balljoint nipple.

[Tom Wesenberg]

I hadn't seen a right angle, like Mitch just posted.
I've had the needle grease fitting for years, and back in the 80's I bought the hypodermic needle grease fitting so I could poke a tiny hole in my front axle boot to grease the front U-joints on my diesel Rabbit. That was a mistake, because within a month that tiny hole turned into a tear, and within year the ball bearings fell out and I had to get towed 10 miles home.

[CarlG]

I also have the 90º fitting like Mitch shows above. I got it with my Lincoln pneumatic grease gun. It's a Lincoln part # 5883. I will confess to never having used it, but I have it "just in case". I also have the coupler that fits the original style grease fittings, again, "just in case".

I just received another fitting that I haven't used yet: Locknlube Grease Coupler. I look forward to using it this winter when I service my pickup. It is suppose to lock onto the zerk fittings in order to force the grease into the fitting rather than all around the fitting.

[Mitch]

Nice Carl
I need one of those too

[CarlG]

You can see it in action at: https://locknlube.com/