My old timer mentor said to grease every zerk fitting daily, even the ones that look clean

Jimmy, who ran a 30-inch dredge for 15 years on the Mississippi, told me that skipping a day on those fittings would cost me later. I figured he was being paranoid, so I only greased the ones that looked dirty or sounded dry. After about 3 months on my 12-inch portable unit, the ladder bearing started squealing like a stuck pig. Had to pull the whole assembly and replace a $400 bearing because it ran dry. Now I grease every single zerk every morning before I even start the engine. Anyone else have a mechanic or operator whose advice you ignored and then paid for?

2 comments

2 Comments

shane_bell11d ago

Haha "skipping a day on those fittings would cost me later".... yeah, that $400 bearing is pretty much the textbook definition of "later" right there. Classic Jimmy. Old timers like that have seen enough stupid mistakes to write a book, and we all think we know better until we're standing there with a greasy wrench and a pile of broken parts at 6 AM. I swear, those bearings don't squeal until the exact moment you're already late and the pressure is on. Your mentor's advice sounds like a pain in the ass, but now you know it's actually cheaper than replacing a whole assembly. Bet you never skip a zerk again, huh?

henry_ross11d ago

Four hundred bucks for a bearing is a tough way to learn a lesson, @shane_bell. I wonder how many other maintenance shortcuts Jimmy has seen turn into expensive repairs over the years. Doesn't that make you think about what other "small" things we all let slide?