Bushing won't take grease

Anyone know how to get a bushing to take grease that won't? Replaced the zerks, tried moving it while greasing. It's still moving and working just not taking grease. I've been fighting it on and off for a week thinking it will eventually take some but no dice.

Maybe change the Zerk. Is your grease passing through the fitting?

I'll ask the obvious, does your grease gun work? Is the bushing packed tight?

Gun works on everything else, bushing is not packed full of grease.

Take the zerk out and try to push grease just through the zerk. We got a batch of zerks here at work that have tiny little openings in them and are tough to get grease through.

Replaced them already, still won't take grease, they are the big zerks.

You can warm it up with a torch until you see old grease expanding and coming back out the zirk hole or around the shaft. Once you have it moving, replace the zirk and pump it full


Just make sure if it is a composite buising you dont overheat and melt it.

Possibly the INSIDE of your bushing where the grease goes through the small cylinder hole is rusted or clogged. May have to totally remove the bushing to find out.

Bushing out of position such that feed holes or groove doesn't align (basically creating a blind feed path)?

^^^ beat me to it

The bushing has turned...you need to drill a new hole in the bushing..a small bit and go slow....

I agree, bushing spun and out of place or passage from zero to bushing clogged.

I've drilled thru a spun bushing before, hereby making a new passage thru it with success before too.

Thank you, makes sense. Do I drill all the way through it?

I drill until I hit the pin, yes.

take the zerk out, put some liquid wrench in, then put the grease gun back on. Will bust up old caked and clogged grease.

First, take off fitting, insert on gun, see if grease passes thru.

Do this, and if grease goes through the zerk, put it back on the bushing.I’d get a three pound hammer and gently tap the area surrounding the bushing.

Go to locknlube.com, can get them at northern tool, Amazon and other farm supply stores.All techs in Prove Design shop at Cat have them in there tool box. Can load up with Wd-40 or solvent and such

Just some "food for thought". If you spray or inject any liquid such as Break Free, Liquid Wrench, WD-40 etc, it will contaminate and break down the grease's properties and may cause more damage with new grease until it is totally removed. Experience can be a strenuous teacher :-)

Whatever you’re greasing throw away and buy a new one. Problem solved!

16,000 dollar dump trailer, I may try some more suggestions before throwing it away.

Which bushing are you talking about? Has this bushing ever taken grease in the past?

Sometimes a little heat will open up things and you can pump it back up, if you have seals don't do it .Not sure what your set up is. There is a tool that you can get that you can fill with fluid and it attaches to the fitting and you hit it with a hammer and it will clean the fitting it is called a lock and lube grease buster.

Maybe remove the Zerk and chase the threads with a tap. Could clean things up and push out any clogged grease. I ain't a mechanic.

They're the part where the trailer hinges on the back of the frame. They used to take grease but wont after winter.

Yea I’d say bushing spun. Is there a way you can mark the end of the bushing and pin with a paint marker or file? This will tell you if it’s spinning.

Raise lower multiple times, trying the zerk with few pumps each cycle. If you can’t get it to realign , drill thru the bushing to the pin to allow grease through.

Good luck with it

Buy the tool he is talking about. and heat it up a little.

Farmer here, got about 10 bajillion grease zerts on everything. Sometimes ya just can’t win. Had one on grain cart unload auger. Pumped about 3 tubes everywhere but where you want it over the years. Just quit tryin. Sold her couple years ago still working like a champ.

"Sometimes you cain't tell what's in the pickle barrel til you take the lid offen it." That's what my grampaw always told me.
Tear it down, clean it up, and see whats in there. It'll probly jump out at you.
Or do what farmer tomahawker says and move on.

can you easily take off the bushing ?

No. I'm probably just going to grease it daily, that may give it enough to not cause issues and if it does go fubar I'll cut them out then.