Admission of embarrasment!

OK guys....I'm going to admit to something and at the same time, ask for help in doing it properly.

I can't even begin to tell you all how many engines I have worked on since I first touched a motorcycle back in the 70's. I've raced them, built them, rebuilt them, built huge power into them, re-purposed them, blown them up, repaired them, bought and sold them......and have never been able to do one seemingly easy task....

My name is Jeff and I cannot load a grease-gun.......I have bought and thrown away more brand new grease guns then most mechanics have touched in their lives. I buy one and if isn't pre-loaded, I'm screwed! Yes, I know how to attach it to a zerk fitting and pump but everytime I try to load a tube of grease, I end up with a gunky mess and end up tossing the whole mess out!

Now, this might not seem like an embarrasing thing to admit but for me, it is.....I've never figured out what I'm doing wrong, have no idea what I'm doing when I try to load one. I've tried pulling the rod out the rear, sliding in the new tube after opening and if I'm lucky enough to get the head screwed back on, I can pump till the cows come home and get nothing out of it!!

So newbies, teach an old dog a new trick(for him anyway)<LOL>!!!

jeff

 

Open gun.

Pull back plunger rod and "latch" it.

Insert new tube of grease, pop the top off.

Screw top back on gun.

Release the pressure rod, and push it back in.

Open "bleed fitting" usually a small square-nut plug on cap, NEXT to the grease "nozzle."
---note--- Just opening the bleed plug is usually enough to do it; as soon as grease begins to push out of it, re-insert and tighten bleeder plug.
Or-- pump until grease begins to push out of bleed plug opening, then re-insert plug.

**IF** your gun is not equipped with a bleed plug: take the fitting off the end of the output pipe, pump until you get grease then put the fitting back on.

The problem is that with air trapped you can't build up enough pressure to overcome the "check ball" in the tip.

Hopefully this helps.

 

We have used hundreds of tubes on the farm and never had a problem. I clamp the pump end in a vise, pull the spring loaded plunger back and move it to the side to lock it then unscrew the tube. Pull the plastic end off the grease tube, insert and pull the pop top type end off and screw the tube back in. A couple of pumps to prime and it's ready to go. After a whole lot of use (years) the little hand grease guns get worn and won't pump much pressure, scrap pile time. Never had that problem with a new one.

 

From one Jeff to an other. Thanks for asking. I've have that same question but never ask any one. Hold your head high.

 

Jeff
Think of the grease gun as a hydraulic system. Albeit with a thicker semi-solid fluid. Just like a brake system. It will need to be bled to get the air out of the sytem before the fluid will flow properly.

The larger guns usually have a bleeder fitting. This will normally be mounted in the body prior to the pump. Once the grease starts to flow. Tighten the bleeder.

The smaller guns are usually bleed out by removing the end of the hose. The grease will not go into free flow mode. You will need to pump the gun to get the grease to start flowing.

As far as the mess when trying to reinstall the pump. Even the best of us has at one time or another had the spring loaded rod release before getting the tube reattached. Call it a rite of passage.

Once the gun is all loaded, and flowing. You can push the rod in completely. The only purpose for the rod is to pull the spring loaded pressure plate back into the tube.

If there is any grease left in the tube. Removing the pump before pulling the plunger rod back will result in the afore mentioned greasy mess. It is better to start with the plunger rod first. Don't bother asking!! BTDT :lol: :lol:

One final note: The replacement tubes of grease come with a plastic cap on one end, and a metal snap cap on the other. The plastic cap end gets loaded into the tube first. This leaves the metal cap at the pump end of the tube to be removed just prior to reattaching the tube to the pump.

Ghost

 

True. But I generally pump until it's "dead" and take the opportunity to clean up said "greasy mess" plus clean the plunger seal lips, etc. I'm also not necessarily faithful to one brand so the cleanup efforts also minimize mixing or possible contamination of the new grease with what was in there.

I just went and looked at my grease gun. It's a Plews, "Made in USA, Patent Pending" that I've had for 44 years now. Until now, I never even knew what brand it was; just that I'd had it forever.

 

The REAL trick is to load a grease gun in the blazing sun without getting your fingers greasy !!

Just want to add the easiest/fastest way to "purge" is to leave the top loose by 1-2 thread turns when you release the plunger. Air and some liquid ooze comes out, then you tighten and it's ready.

 

:lol: I can't REload a grease gun. The initial first tube is the easy part. Lock it in no problem. Putting a new one in? Forget about it. I end up exploding the gun into a thousand parts, get pissed and throw the whole thing out and buy a new one :lol:

 

What's worse is unscrewing the grease gun thinking that it's latched (with a mostly filled tube). When you realize that it isn't latched it's already to late, trust me.

 

Thanks for sharing Jeff. The first step to healing is admitting there is a problem. We here at the XJ community are here to support, and will guide you through the steps to proper grease gun etiquette, and soon you too will be a grease gun Guru.

 

I've never had a problem with getting the grease to come out! Didn't know you had to purge them! I just pull the old tube out throw in a new one and away I go just a pumpn and a greasen everything!!!!

 

Thank you for all the responses, some of them had me spitting coffee at the screen while laughing! I'm also glad that I could inspire the confidence for other grease gun flunky's to stand up and acknowledge their inability to load one too.

You pros know the price delta I've been paying in order to buy one preloaded. It's the cost of an empty gun+ the cost of a tube of greaseX2!!It costs to be dumb!

I'll have to go out and pick up a tube and try it again this weekend with one of the 3 or 4 guns on the shelf downstairs.....

jeff

 

you can do eettttttt!

 

I just skimmed the thread again, but I don't know if anyone mentioned that it's best if you don't empty the gun completely before reloading it. That way, air doesn't get into the tube.

If you can get one of those 5-gallon buckets of grease, like I have at work, so much the better. When the rod gets down towards the bottom of the tube, lock it in place with that little flap and remove the cap. Stick the open end of the tube in your bucket-o-grease and pull on the rod. Once the tube is full, screw the cap back on, wipe off the excess, and you're back in business.

 

I use the TIME TO RIDE method.

put the tube back in and only screw the top on about two threads before I release the knob. Then it purges itself and gets the grease worked into the piston while I screw the top back on.

Another trick. Some of the plungers have a catch at the end of the rod. If you can't get it to purge, pull the rod back out until you feel the plunger at the end and then twist it about 1/4 turn and keep a little pull on it. Some of them will latch into the piston and then you can push down on the plunger while you try to pump it and help force the air through it.

Lastly I will occasionally pull the hose off the end and get it primed without a hose connected BUT....that is a messy option.