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Grease gun problem

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CraigStu

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May 22, 2014
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Location
Blacksburg, Va
Last summer I got a used mini-excavator so now my grease gun use has gone up at least 10 times. The problem I have had is the gun quits pumping grease, the lever is real slack so I figure I am empty. I pull the T-handle out and it is extremely hard to pull as it is pushing grease out of the slot the T handle rod goes through. At my previous use of maybe 4/year I never paid much attention. Now it is a real problem. It seems that the grease is sneaking past the plunger seal and ends up behind the plunger. Last fall I bought a new manual grease gun figuring my 20yr old one was just worn out. Yesterday it was time to grease the excavator. I got maybe 1/2 way done and ran out of grease. I start pulling the T, the grease is coming out of the hole, I think I got 1/2 a cartridge of grease oozing out that I had to throw out. Put in a new cartridge, used it for maybe 6 grease points and it stops pumping. I don't understand what is happening so can't figure how to fix it. Do any of you have any thoughts?
 
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PopcornSutton

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Jun 10, 2024
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777
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Northern Tip of VA
Grease guns can drive you to drink. Don't skimp on buying a cheap one, get a good model, one with a cast head instead of the pressed metal. And believe it or not, the grease itself can cause problems. Cheap grease seems like it's clumpy and won't flow. Cold weather also slows things down. I bring mine inside overnight if I need it in the winter.

I've never used one of the powered grease guns, maybe someone can chime in on those
 
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CJ7VFR

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Jan 13, 2015
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Central New Jersey
PopcornSutton said:
Grease guns can drive you to drink. Don't skimp on buying a cheap one, get a good model, one with a cast head instead of the pressed metal. And believe it or not, the grease itself can cause problems. Cheap grease seems like it's clumpy and won't flow. Cold weather also slows things down. I bring mine inside overnight if I need it in the winter.

I've never used one of the powered grease guns, maybe someone can chime in on those
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100 percent agree on this!!

I have old and new grease guns, one handed small ones and big two handed lever pump ones and none of them ever seem to pump very well when it is cold outside.

I either bring them inside the day before I am going to use them or put them out in the sun for a few hours if I forgot to do that when I needed to use one.

And as others have said, cheap grease always seems to give me more problems than using quality name brand grease.

Jim
 
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adsinnott1

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Joined
Feb 16, 2021
Messages
134
Location
Kentucky
I got sick of grease separating and spilling all over the drawer in my tool box. I highly recommend the lube shuttle. No more push rod. No more leaking. Just squeeze the handle and it pumps off of a venturi type system.

It is pricy, but I am confident it will last a lifetime.
 
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finn

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Mar 27, 2005
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Location
The UP, God's country
Not sure I quite follow you, but I had an issue a long time ago that lasted years on my lightly used grease gun .

Fixed it when I figured out that, at some point, I had assembled the gun with the air vent hole at the wrong end.

Flipped the tube and lived happily ever after

I mostly Use a 20v Dewalt gun now.
 
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dchawk81

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Joined
Jul 31, 2014
Messages
14,342
CraigStu said:
Last summer I got a used mini-excavator so now my grease gun use has gone up at least 10 times. The problem I have had is the gun quits pumping grease, the lever is real slack so I figure I am empty. I pull the T-handle out and it is extremely hard to pull as it is pushing grease out of the slot the T handle rod goes through. At my previous use of maybe 4/year I never paid much attention. Now it is a real problem. It seems that the grease is sneaking past the plunger seal and ends up behind the plunger. Last fall I bought a new manual grease gun figuring my 20yr old one was just worn out. Yesterday it was time to grease the excavator. I got maybe 1/2 way done and ran out of grease. I start pulling the T, the grease is coming out of the hole, I think I got 1/2 a cartridge of grease oozing out that I had to throw out. Put in a new cartridge, used it for maybe 6 grease points and it stops pumping. I don't understand what is happening so can't figure how to fix it. Do any of you have any thoughts?
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I have a bunch of grease guns and sometimes a fitting will just be stubborn and not take grease. My particular nemesis is the passenger side, steer axle, upper spring shackle bushing on my Mack.
 
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Jeff Ivers

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Apr 9, 2010
Messages
2,550
Location
Oklahoma
I usually encounter this problem when the t-handle gets bumped out of the retention slot in storage. Over time, the strong spring will gradually push the plunger past the grease leaving enough grease to lube a few zerts and then seeming to run out. If I remember to pull the t-handle all the way out and hook it into the retention slot and keep it there during storage, I don't have much problem. I have even resorted to inserting a vacuum plug next to the rod after hooking the t-handle in the retention slot to keep it from slipping out.
 
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CraigStu

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May 22, 2014
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Location
Blacksburg, Va
Jeff I think you may be onto something. The gun quit pumping yesterday and it was late afternoon so I just stopped. I went out today and put a new cartridge in the gun. To pull the T handle I had to sit the gun behind the hole in the blade so I could pull w/ both hands. This is what came out of the slot for the T handle rod.
20250225_134411.jpg
This is somewhere around 1/3 cartridge of grease I threw away. So you pull the T out and lock after each use? That might be the fix. I bought 2 cartridges this Am and used most of one of them before it quit working. BTW it was 43 pumps when it quit. The manual says pump 20 pumps each into 2 fittings, swivel the machine 90deg and do the same. So I pumped 40 times, moved the machine 90 deg and got 3 more pumps. I have to wonder why the grease oozes past the plunger seal in the first place, but if your technique fixes the problem I will be happy. Popcorn, I also wondered about cold grease. It's warmer here but still 35F in the am and only 45F when I get out to the garage (where the grease gun is) at maybe 930. I will grab my new tube and bring inside for tonight. Tomorrow I will start new w/ warm grease and I will pull the T when I stop. This is a new gun and it does have a cast head so at least it isn't a super cheapy. I will try to get this working but may try one of the 2 better pumps posted by wissx99 and adsinnott1. Thanks guys
 
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johninct

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Dec 21, 2010
Messages
2,592
I would check to see if the rubber cup that pushes grease was installed the correct way for cartridge use.
 
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CraigStu

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May 22, 2014
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Blacksburg, Va
SO I took the thing apart again throwing out 1/2 tube of grease since once again the grease oozed past the seal. The seal is weird. I pushed the rod in so the piston would be up at the open end of the tube. The visible part of the seal may have been installed backwards. I could easily push my finger past the seal but I think it may be 2 parts since there is something else, another seal (?), behind it. I didn't feel like trying to wash out the gun so I could see details better because the plastic T is permanently attached to the rod and the seal is attached by crimping the end of the rod beyond the washer. So no matter what I would have seen, I couldn't do anything about it. I ordered the Lock N Lube gun. Thanks wssix99 for the link.
 
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CraigStu

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May 22, 2014
Messages
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Blacksburg, Va
Thanks to wssix99!!! My Lock n Lube arrived today and I immediately ran 2/3 cartridge grease through it. I really like the lever action grease fitting that locks onto the grease ******. Also having a ****** on top of the gun gives you a place to stick the end of the hose. No more flopping around getting grease on whatever.
 
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GirlnAgarage

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Jan 21, 2011
Messages
4,668
Location
Texas
I made a post a while back after having a similar fight with the grease gun. I quit the old grease guns and bought a Lube Shuttle at the recommendation of the guys here. With one arm it's difficult to fight with the traditional plunger style guns. I would end up wasting more grease than I used. Since moving to a Lube Shuttle, the grease gun is ready when I grab it off the hook. It's easy to refill, easy to use. With the grease I'm using, it also doesn't separate and leak. I do still store it upside down to keep the grease up at the top so it doesn't fall away from the pickup as get an airgap.

If you didn't, I'd suggest ordering a Lock n Lube coupler too. So far the regular size has been fine for the trucks and tractor. I haven't run into a situation yet where I needed the XL for reach but soon as I do I'll order it. Probably along with a second Lube Shuttle just for the sake of not needed to unthread the connection. Oh, and buy swivel hoses if you didn't, they're handy when you start crawling around.
 
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SCWOOD

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Jun 5, 2011
Messages
108
wssix99 said:
I'm loving my Lock-n-Lube. No more T-Handle!!! https://locknlube.com/collections/g...-easy-prime-grease-gun?variant=32902530531412

1740505888350.png

I have had to reset the plug a few times, but its a hell of a lot easier and cleaner than the old model. I can also get replacement parts for this.
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This is the bomb. The gun is lighter and I love the fact I can see how much grease is left. Some people complain about the price, but live is to short to put up with a grease gun that want pump! It also uses all the grease in the tube. This gun takes standard tubes of grease!
 
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NUTTSGT

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Sep 14, 2009
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Northern Central Ohio
Since you bought the mini used, How about some pre-PM checks ? Pull the zerks out, put them in the end of the grease gun and make sure they flow grease or simply put new ones in.
 
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walta

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Jan 13, 2017
Messages
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Location
Dutzow Missouri
How do you store your grease gun? Mine is always slimy with oil even if I manage to get a ring over the handle to keep it from spitting grease out.

Walta
 
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CraigStu

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May 22, 2014
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Rt jam

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Apr 4, 2015
Messages
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CraigStu said:
the grease is sneaking past the plunger seal and ends up behind the plunger.
Click to expand...

This IS the problem. Why it's happening on your new gun too is a question.

The spring on the T slot handle constantly pushes against the grease. When you add a new cartridge, maybe the jump from into the cartridge is destroying your piston. I service robots and have some super thin grease which do not leak past the piston. I can only guess brand of gun or bad cartridges.
 
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CraigStu

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Blacksburg, Va
RT I agree. Pulling the plunger rod out when I store it would help. But it would still leak past the seal while in use. Wasting 1/4 to 1/3 tube of grease is bad enough but the real problem is the grease that leaks past the seal needs to escape out the slot for the plunger rod to install a new cartridge. That can only happen by my arm pulling on the T handle. I could only do it for long enough (76 years old) by hooking the gun and pulling w/ both arms and shoulders. I think that the piston seal may have been installed improperly at the factory but there was no reasonable way to get it apart. This was a 6 month old gun (bought to replace a 15 yr old) which was the best quality (appearing) gun I could find locally in several auto, and farm, and hardware stores. TG this problem is behind me and the gun can rust away in the landfill.
 
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Rt jam

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Apr 4, 2015
Messages
228
What brand is the gun?

I use Lincoln. I'm sure I use them more than the average home user. I have 4 different guns with 4 different greases in my kit and the thinnest one is called 4B and it will seep out a bit. Another thing is the grease we use comes in a plastic tubes. The cardboard tubes are probably not as reliable. Especially when grease is sitting in it for years.
 
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