JD deck spindle zerks screw-in?

IaLeo

Well-known Member
That middle zerk on the 54" deck is very hard to reach with the rubber hosed grease gun. I am going to try to replace that zerk with a 90 deg. one. Testing one of the outer spindle zerks to see if it unscrews (using a vise grip) seemed like it was very tight and I did not want to wreck the thing...are these zerk fittings pressed in?

Worst case, I will have to drop the deck off and pull it out from under the tractor...seems like a lot of work!

Thanks for your knowledge...Leo
 
Hi, I know exactly what you mean! It's hard to get
down and hold the grease gun on the zirk and then
pump the gun handle. I would like to put a
90?elbow on mine too. Ed Will Oliver BC
 
Hold on a second before you break something. Look at a clean zerk
fitting first with your close up glasses on. You will see a 5/16 nut.
That is how you screw one in. A DRIVE fitting is just round. No flats
like on a nut. You can get drive fittings out. Use a Brand New pair of
#10 vice grips. Lock them on really good. Perpendicular to the
fitting. Now pulling srtaight up and give it a little CCW twist it
should pop out. Going to take some omph to get it out. I your fitting
has flats give it a little heat and unscrew it. Replace with new one
and make it a 45? or a 90? fitting.
 
Thanks Jeffcat, mine does have hex flats and I will try to unscrew it. The JD dealer says no 90fitting is available? I have some 90 deg fittings but look to large, so I want to take one out and see if I can find one 90 in town. Leo
 
(quoted from post at 20:45:03 06/11/18) Thanks Jeffcat, mine does have hex flats and I will try to unscrew it. The JD dealer says no 90fitting is available? I have some 90 deg fittings but look to large, so I want to take one out and see if I can find one 90 in town. Leo

www.mcmaster.com has a good selection of grease fittings at 90 degrees, usa thread, metric thread and press in. Typically they ship the same day as ordered.
 

I've considered running brake tubing to deck fittings just to make life easier. Could probably engineer a grease manifold w/o much effort...
 
Not all press-in zerks are hex-less.
McMaster-Carr shows some angled ones with hex flange.

But..............

Why not use a grease gun with rigid metal tube and a multi position head on the end?
I have ditched the rubber hose type altogether because I have not yet found any zerk in a position that can not be greased with the swivel head.
The rubber hose type requires your hand in there on the end to get it on the fitting.
Not with the metal tube and swivel head. Just rotate/index head to the right position, reach in and push onto the zerk via cartridge barrel.
I use this one, but there are many slightly different.
KTULX1406.jpg
 
What is the model of the deck? With that info one can go to www.jdparts.com, look up the original zerk, and view it's specifications. (Anyone can look up the parts, to view "specs" for individual parts you have to be registered with DEERE.)

NO guesswork needed.
 
Make sure that you have the clearance for a 90.

Some makes and models a 90 zerk fitting on the center spindle will hit when the deck is raised...

[i:638655e38a]Cough cough.. Cub cough cough Cadet cough..[/i:638655e38a][/code]
 
I use an attachment on my grease gun to grease the center spindle on
my Wheel Horse. The attachment has a grease zerk on one end which you
push into your grease gun tip. The other end has a notch in it and
will slide over a grease fitting at a right angle. Works great and
does not leak grease. Cost about 10$. Works on all kind of equipment
and solves the problem of hard to reach fittings in most cases.
 
Thanks everyone! I will look into the attachment to my grease gun and not mess with the spindle zerk. Leo
 

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