How to fill a grease gun
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 6:51 pm
People have asked about this in the past so hope this helps
I've had enough of the small bulk fill grease gun I have, so finally purchased a new one off ebay that takes the standard 400g cartridge (never found a place to buy the smaller cartridge the other gun can take). Its a great item and at 15 quid it came with a cartridge of grease and flexi hose so its no more difficult to get into the same places as the smaller gun. For the first time ever it came with instructions.... so now I even know how to properly fill my old gun! although I'll probably just use with ep90 oil for the steering rack.
start with the gun full assembled.
cartridge fill:
1- pull on the t-piece to withdraw spring loaded plate, ensure it locks at the end
2 - Unscrew the canister and remove the old cartridge if present
3 - take the cap off the new cartridge and insert in the gun (grease exposed end first), then remove the foil cover from the visible end.
4 - screw the canister back into the gun, press the release lever for the sprung plate and slowly push the t-piece back into the body.
5 - remove any air locks as described below
bulk fill:
1 - Push the t-piece fully into the body and press the release lever to ensure the sprung plate returns to the top.
2 - Unscrew the canister and dip into grease tin using a template if available
3 - Slowly pull the t-piece to draw grease into the canister, try and complete this in one move to reduce air drawn in
4 - screw the canister back into the gun, press the release lever for the sprung plate and slowly push the t-piece back into the body.
5 - remove any air locks as described below
removing airlocks:
1 - press the release lever to ensure the spring plate is free, Do not withdraw the t-piece this should remain in the body.
2 - Unscrew the canister a few turns, do not remove, and wait a short while, the spring loaded plate will force the grease up the canister and expel the air, screw the canister tight and operate the lever a few times to reload.
If the gun contains a bleed screw loosen this instead of step 2, although the above procedure should work just as well.
It all works a treat for me, and especially so now that I can use cartridges ;-)
Might as well add how to use and the gun and the points to do to complete this as a reference:
- clean the grease point with a rag to remove road dirt
- press the grease connector squarely onto the grease point, it should only require a small effort to 'click' on
- operate the grease gun a few strokes and look for clean grease to appear at the grease seal, wipe away excess with a rag
- tilt the connector to open the jaws and it should pop off easily, do not try and pull it off squarely
- if you have one, apply a rubber cap to the grease point to keep it free of dirt (don't bother at prop shaft joint it would just fly off)
Grease points:
10 (possibly 9) in total:
upper trunion 1 each side
lower trunion 1 each side
steering link 1 each side
prop shaft universal joint 2 (possibly 1 on some joints)
hand brake cable 1 each
Steering Rack:
base of steering column, this is NOT a grease point, use EP90 transmission oil, although some owners happily use grease but this may stiffen the steering wheel, more so at lower temperatures
I've had enough of the small bulk fill grease gun I have, so finally purchased a new one off ebay that takes the standard 400g cartridge (never found a place to buy the smaller cartridge the other gun can take). Its a great item and at 15 quid it came with a cartridge of grease and flexi hose so its no more difficult to get into the same places as the smaller gun. For the first time ever it came with instructions.... so now I even know how to properly fill my old gun! although I'll probably just use with ep90 oil for the steering rack.
start with the gun full assembled.
cartridge fill:
1- pull on the t-piece to withdraw spring loaded plate, ensure it locks at the end
2 - Unscrew the canister and remove the old cartridge if present
3 - take the cap off the new cartridge and insert in the gun (grease exposed end first), then remove the foil cover from the visible end.
4 - screw the canister back into the gun, press the release lever for the sprung plate and slowly push the t-piece back into the body.
5 - remove any air locks as described below
bulk fill:
1 - Push the t-piece fully into the body and press the release lever to ensure the sprung plate returns to the top.
2 - Unscrew the canister and dip into grease tin using a template if available
3 - Slowly pull the t-piece to draw grease into the canister, try and complete this in one move to reduce air drawn in
4 - screw the canister back into the gun, press the release lever for the sprung plate and slowly push the t-piece back into the body.
5 - remove any air locks as described below
removing airlocks:
1 - press the release lever to ensure the spring plate is free, Do not withdraw the t-piece this should remain in the body.
2 - Unscrew the canister a few turns, do not remove, and wait a short while, the spring loaded plate will force the grease up the canister and expel the air, screw the canister tight and operate the lever a few times to reload.
If the gun contains a bleed screw loosen this instead of step 2, although the above procedure should work just as well.
It all works a treat for me, and especially so now that I can use cartridges ;-)
Might as well add how to use and the gun and the points to do to complete this as a reference:
- clean the grease point with a rag to remove road dirt
- press the grease connector squarely onto the grease point, it should only require a small effort to 'click' on
- operate the grease gun a few strokes and look for clean grease to appear at the grease seal, wipe away excess with a rag
- tilt the connector to open the jaws and it should pop off easily, do not try and pull it off squarely
- if you have one, apply a rubber cap to the grease point to keep it free of dirt (don't bother at prop shaft joint it would just fly off)
Grease points:
10 (possibly 9) in total:
upper trunion 1 each side
lower trunion 1 each side
steering link 1 each side
prop shaft universal joint 2 (possibly 1 on some joints)
hand brake cable 1 each
Steering Rack:
base of steering column, this is NOT a grease point, use EP90 transmission oil, although some owners happily use grease but this may stiffen the steering wheel, more so at lower temperatures
