Sound Guy

Dave8N in Pa · Apr 23, 2014

You have written many times about EP-0 and EP-00 for steering boxes. How about the gear box on a bush-hog? It leaks over night. Fill it in the morning and stays in all day but leaks out over night. I know I should change the seal but would like to wait till planting season is over. Do you think I can get away with using cornhead grease for awhile? Thanks,Dave

souNdguy · Apr 23, 2014

yup...

And for your setup.

if this is truly a stopgap just to get a few months down the road. to save money buying the spendy cornhead or the snapper / stens lower unit lube.

just pump in some ep#2 regular gun grease.. say 1/2 of what the sump level should be( as a guess ).. then top off with some gear oil and run her.. the gear oil will gut the #2 grease and make a sticky slumping mess just like the 0 and 00 greases.

this should be MUCH cheaper for you than filling with cornhead grease.

just remember to put in enough gear oil to make the gear oil cut.

if she is still holding some gear oil now, put in some gun grease. run the pto a minute. pump in some more grease and add a couple ounces oil. run her another minute. let set, check with a dipstick. should some out a thick oil/weak grease film on the stick. keep doing this till you get a correct sump level. if she starts to get too thick.. add more oil.. etc.

and yeah.

replacing the seal and sleeving the shaft if needed is the real fix. I know you know that.. and this is the bandaid to get thru summer.

Dave8N in Pa · Apr 23, 2014

Thank you sir!

souNdguy · Apr 23, 2014

good luck.

I did just what I described in an old service mower i got for free one year untill i could repalce the seal during the winter.

grease and gear oil in a sticky mess about half full kept it lubed for months. I just checked it at each run.

Paul in Edmonton · Apr 23, 2014

This sounds very familiar...

The same problems exist on steering knuckles on the old Jeeps. (By "old", I mean the same age as our Ns). The most commonly recommended "off the shelf" fluids are EP000 and Cornhead grease. (I think the EP000 is considered the best for Jeep knuckles, but can be hard to find) Some people talk about using Lucas Hub Oil or 140 wt oil--but those are more likely to leak past worn seals. The old standby is something called knuckle pudding, which is very much what SounNdguy describes, a homemade mix of regular grease and oil. Thin enough to go where it needs to, but thick enough not to leak out.

Dean · Apr 23, 2014

ANY lube is better than no lube.

If you cannot change the seal now, try CNH pourable High EP lube. This is just about ideal for rotary cutter gearboxes even those that do not leak.

If this leaks out too quickly, cornhead is the next alternative.

Dean

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Dave8N in Pa

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Dave8N in Pa

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Paul in Edmonton

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