I stripped the grease fitting for the pin on my loader bucket. Short of drilling and tapping anyone got any suggestions? It appears to be 1/4" fitting.
Ouch! My suggestion was going to be the same as you already offered, redrill and tap. If you can get the fitting out you may be able to run the tap through the stripped threads just enough to get a bite again.
One of these might work: http://www.grainger.com/product/Hyd...m/rp/s/is/image/Grainger/2PA93_AS01?$smthumb$ They are slightly over sized and you drive them into place.
I've had them get broken off in a few pcs of gear. I always figgered if it was a spinning shaft, in a bushing, I had to replace the fitting... if it was a pivot pin, like your bucket, I'd get grease on it once in a while just by pulling it and lubin' it up.
Like My IS said, you might be able to get away with just running the tap through. If not, it's not that hard to drill and tap. And having a tap set around (if you don't already) is a life saver so I'd recommend getting a full set rather than just the size you need.
I was thinking of trying a slightly larger threaded one and driving it in. if its meant to be broken i'll break it.
Try metric fittings,an 8mm may drive in.However if you do not use it often and grease solidifys it will blow out.I also have tack welded fittings in place,ruins the spring under the check ball but can still be greased.Winter is not the time to dissasemble equipment!
There's another trick you can try if the fitting isn't quite tight enough in the threads. Use a sharp center punch about .030 to .040 from the edge of the hole and put 4 or 5 dimples around it. Should tighten it up a bit.
Thats pretty much what I did and then jammed a 1/4" one back in its holding and I am keeping an eye on it.
They come if a few different sizes. You could always drill/tap up to the next size. This requires removing the bucket pin but should really be no biggie.
Bucket pin grease fittings are a common problem on many small loaders. The best solution is to relocate the fittings to a recess in the end of the hinge pin. I remember when Deere did exactly that about 8-9 years ago with the introduction of the 200/300/400 series loaders and the 260/447/448 backhoes on their 2-4000 series tractors. It was a small change that made a big difference over the life of the product. They also offset the head of the pin so that it could not rotate in the joint. This kept the pins from seizing up and made it much easier to get a dry joint to take grease without disassembling the pin. Having the fitting in the end of the pin makes greasing the joints a snap, as you don't have to reposition the loader/hoe arms to reach all of the fittings. So no big surprise, more folks are actually greasing the pins more often and the joints are wearing a lot less, staying tighter longer than ever.
