New post hole digger...cornhead grease?

So I need to dig 50-60 holes in the next few days to pen in some calves and fix some fence in a pasture we are going to rent. My Danuser post hole digger is with my dad...2 hours away and he is supposedly using it. So instead of fighting with my old man and driving all over the state, I bought a new unit at the farm and fleet store (Bommgaars). I bought their mid-tier 3 point post hole digger (the red one), because it is supposedly better than the cheaper Land-Pride unit. Claims to be good for 65hp and seems fairly well built.

Pretty much every post hole digger I've ever used starts leaking at the input and output shafts. My Danuser leaks, and I've replaced the seal/bearings several times. Easiest solution we've found is to use a mix of JD cornhead grease and 80/90. Seems to work good. I use the same in most of our rotary cutters, tiller, etc when they start to leak and I'm too lazy to fix them.

So I was wondering if I should just fill this gear box with 50/50 corhead grease and 80/90 to begin with? Any down-sides of going this route? Is the cornhead grease bad for the gear drive in the long run? This was a pretty cheap unit, $699 I think, but I don't want to destroy it either. Be nice to have another unit around for when one needs "borrowed."

Anybody else ever fill a brand new gear box with something to stop leaks before they arrive? I'm going to get it cut off the pallet in the A.M. and put it to work either way.

I know I'm over thinking it, but I would hate for this unit to develop a leak and my wife or father-in-law to use it without checking the fluid and smoke the gear box (very likely...my wife never checks anything before using it...got that from her dad!). My el-cheapo tiller bit the dust this way when a friend put in some food plots and neglected to check the oil level.

I would wait for the end of the warranty period just in case.

if you are worried about it being "dry" until the grease settles down, add some 140wt oil before the grease should not take much to lube it well before the grease fills in the voids,, I have done this on old leaking rotary mower boxes and just used gun grease, for me it has all but sealed the leaks and lubes well just a thought, byt he way the F8 Danuser uses only corn picker grease in the box, cant say how many people have asked me to fix their F8 as they had added 80-90 wt not knowing they use the grease for lube
cnt

Brown rotary mowers recommend cotton spindle grease in their gearbox, which I believe is about the same as cornhead grease.

Fill it with what ever the manufactors recommends. If you fill it with something else and it breaks they won't have to warranty it. I put 80 -90 in
my TSC post hole digger 10 years ago it hasn't started leaking yet. I drill a few holes at a time and hang it back up on the wall in the tractor
shed. Strap the PTO shaft up to the lift leg so it's not hanging straight down over extending the u- joint putting extra stress on the input seal and
forget about it till next time.

Why not. You already suggested the only thing I would have added to your post.....mix with gear oil to ensure dispersion. If you have some
85w-140 use that. You're not going to be digging post holes at zero degrees F I'd think, if you had some handy.....why not?

I went ahead and just filled the gear box full of 80-90 initially. It worked just fine, I ended up digging about 65 holes with it between rain showers the last couple days.

I noticed last night when I went to move the tractor that it is leaking from the input seal. Not pouring out, but it is running down the inside of the pto safety sleeve.

I'll top it off with cornhead grease this afternoon and see if that fixes it. I think I have maybe 3-5 more to dig today/tomorrow.

I bought a used diger this spring but havnt used it yet as I have 3, small and med augers, but want
the 12in large auger. ALSO I had to cut and beat the PTO sleeve off of it, and have to cut it off
the PTO and reweld another shaft onto it.
I intend to run a pipe say 3in up above the housing at the fill port, then a 90@ collar, a all
thread, and then a street L. That will let air and heat out yet not spill out the end. I think
built up pressure is what blows seals in the first place.

(quoted from post at 20:50:59 08/27/17) I bought a used diger this spring but havnt used it yet as I have 3, small and med augers, but want
the 12in large auger. ALSO I had to cut and beat the PTO sleeve off of it, and have to cut it off
the PTO and reweld another shaft onto it.
I intend to run a pipe say 3in up above the housing at the fill port, then a 90@ collar, a all
thread, and then a street L. That will let air and heat out yet not spill out the end. I think
built up pressure is what blows seals in the first place.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I imagine that building pressure probably helps push the lube past the seal as soon as it is damaged. The pipe out of the fill plug is a really good idea.

I topped off the gearbox with cornhead grease. Dug a couple holes, but I can't tell if it is still leaking or not. The (Chinese?) gear box on this thing is pretty darn loud. Otherwise, this thing digs great.