The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest pumping semi fluid grease

The question was brought up in another discussion as how to pump semi fluid grease. I think this would be the place for this post. A regular grease gun will not work. Any hand pump that will pump gear lube will pump semi fluid grease. Even the cheap kind that sit on a 5 gallon can. We have one hooked to a bearing packer to get grease into wheel bearings and then another with a long tube to fill the hub cavity about half full. This is kind of the standard of the industry with over the road trailer manufacturers now. We use this same procedure on steering axle hubs. Seals often go 500,000 miles without replacement using semi fluid synthetic grease.

Do you think that you could post a couple of pictures of the pumps that your discribing or possably a lint to a supplier?
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Go to northern tool co web site. Search for a ZEE line # 321. We have 2 of these to fit on Mobil lith 007 5 gallon buckets. One connected to a bearing packer and another one with the spout bent straight to reach into hub cavities.

Yeah but those are for oil transfer, they are not made to pump semi-fluid into a greas fitting are they??? What I envisioned was something the size of a hand grease gun that would hold fluid and pump it through a grease coupling/fitting for use on a U-joint.

I think I will just stay with the same old chassis grease I’ve been pumpin’ in to them for the last half century. Never saw one fail yet from having chassis grease as a lubricant, only ones that went dry, were just flat worn out from long hard use or broken by over stressing them with our 409.

Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

We only use semi fluid grease in wheel bearings and I use it in the steering box of my old timers. We still use chassis lube on grease fittings and u joints. I think the new Spicer spl joints recommend semi fluid and a high pressure grease gun will pump it but we could not control it to where we didn't blow the seals of the u joint. I think the spl joints are assembled with semi fluid but I haven't talked to anyone who is able to grease them with it once they are assembled. Our trucks travel several miles of dirt road daily which is covered with gypsum dust which is acidic. We use a grease that is approved for dozers by Catapillar. I agree with you that there is no sense in trying to lube joints with semi fluid. Our joints run 500,000 miles and are usually replaced because a yoke gets loose on the spline and we don't even inspect the joint, just replace it. But for trailer bearings and steering axle bearings, I wouldn't think of anything but semi fluid. We used to pack bearings till we saw bearings in our sleep. Then came stemco oilers. They were a big improvement, but the seals didn't last long. We now have wheels that haven't had the hub off in 500,000 miles.