Where's my nipples...?

[Bensdexta]

According to my Owner's Handbook, there should be a 'lubricator' (ie I think a grease nipple) on both ends of the handbrake cross shaft. Mine has none, see below. So does one just oil it ?


And also a lubricator on the diff lock pedal pivot, below? Should there be a nipple where the arrow is - has mine been assaulted?


Those queries aside, I've been all round my old girl with my Fuchs two-handed grease gun - which is ace!

[Kiwi Kev]

Good to see that your Dexta is abit dirty, must be getting some use now, which is good.
Kiwi Kev

[Mervyn Spencer]

Hi Ben
Fortunately I have two of those hand brake brackets and the better one had holes with no grease nipples. When I stripped the bracket etc. down, removing all the linkages I noticed two holes on the shaft that had hints of grease in them, I then noticed the holes on the ends of the shaft. I scratched around in my cupboard and found two grease nipples and bingo they turned in easily, so now its ready for some grease. However the other shaft did not have any holes for nipples on the ends. Maybe the idea of grease nipples was a later addition?
Mervyn

[Bensdexta]

Hi Mervyn, Thought you might know about this as back ends are your speciality!!

Do you think it would be possible to drill a hole and fit a nipple?

Or is the design of the bearing with and without a nipple quite different?

[tom lad]

hi
if u can get the arm off id drill tap it , don't see how grease can harm it .
my difflock lever looks like that , just a hole were the nipple should be , ive already asked this but were the nipples pressed in rather than screwed ?????? ones I see don't have flats / a hex.

[Bensdexta]

hi
if u can get the arm off id drill tap it , don't see how grease can harm it .
my difflock lever looks like that , just a hole were the nipple should be , ive already asked this but were the nipples pressed in rather than screwed ?????? ones I see don't have flats / a hex.

Thanks for the info!
Is that difflock lever hole meant to be a flat nipple, one of these?

How the heck do you grease it?

[Jerry Coles]

Ben
On that type of grease nipple the grease gun head slides over the nipple sideways. A better connection and easier to clean dirt off. Generally they are of a larger size though (1/4-1/2" dia).
Cheers
Jerry

[Bensdexta]

Ben
On that type of grease nipple the grease gun head slides over the nipple sideways. A better connection and easier to clean dirt off. Generally they are of a larger size though (1/4-1/2" dia).

Tnx for the info, but I assume these flat ones aren't used on Dextas?
So I should assume the 'hole' in my difflock lever is a departed nipple?
Do you know what size our Dex nipples are - Imperial I assume?
Have you any nipples on your handbrake cross shaft?

[Jerry Coles]

Hi Ben
Had a crawl under my Dexter's and there is no grease nipple/hole on the cross shaft.
Had a browse through the parts manual and it shows a nipple on the Handbrake tube and a nipple on the diff lock but none on the cross shaft.
The nipple has the same part # as all the other nipples on the Dexta ie Rear drop arms,front axle, track rod ends etc. Not sure if they are knock in or screw in. Agriline list a 1/4" UNF grease nipple but that may be for their own levelling box.
Cheers
Jerry
Packing Water Survival boxes for the Philippines!

[Bensdexta]

Jerry, many thanks for the info - you're a star.

Good observation about the pn, 353043ES7/8B, being the same for all the nipples. Doesn't look like a Dexta pn, so may be used on other Fordsons too. Malpas lists 1/4"UNF also, http://www.malpasonline.co.uk/itm/Imper ... wIqCx.dpbs

So I think I'll try one.

Relieved in a way that you have no nipples on your crosshaft - guess we just oil it. My Super Dexta handbook says there are nipples, so may be a later mod.

[Jerry Coles]

Hi Ben
Took a look under my S Dexter and there are grease nipples in the ends (typical, one has been knocked off!).
You could go to a lot of trouble and remove the assembly and drill and tap the ends to take a nipple. I would just accept applying a drip of oil occasionally.
cheers
Jerry
600 Water Survival boxes off to the Philippines tomorrow

[Bensdexta]

Took a look under my S Dexter and there are grease nipples in the ends (typical, one has been knocked off!).
You could go to a lot of trouble and remove the assembly and drill and tap the ends to take a nipple. I would just accept applying a drip of oil occasionally.

Jerry,
Thanks for solving the mystery of the nipples - I wonder if all Supers have them?
And good work with the water boxes.

[Mark]

Hi guys, on my Dexta I have both fittings, the threaded kind and the pressed in kind. I don't have diff lock on my tractor, but on the clutch bar (the one that goes from one side to the other) there were holes. When I restored mine, I checked these out and low and behold they were for a pressed in fitting. I tapped them out and used threaded fittings. I'm like you Ben I like to keep mine greased good. I don't want any grease worms getting in, and like Jerry says a little oil every now and again would be sufficient unless you use her many hours. If that is the case I'd spend the time to fix her proper.
Mark

[Bensdexta]

Hi guys, on my Dexta I have both fittings, the threaded kind and the pressed in kind. I don't have diff lock on my tractor, but on the clutch bar (the one that goes from one side to the other) there were holes. When I restored mine, I checked these out and low and behold they were for a pressed in fitting. I tapped them out and used threaded fittings. I'm like you Ben I like to keep mine greased good. I don't want any grease worms getting in, and like Jerry says a little oil every now and again would be sufficient unless you use her many hours. If that is the case I'd spend the time to fix her proper.

Hi Mark, thanks for chiming in - hope you are keeping well.

Interesting that you have both pressed & threaded nipples, can you remember what size you used?

Are you sure you mean the 'clutch bar' (shaft?)? For the clutch, the manual just shows a single clutch pedal nipple.

Also AFAIK, the 'brake cross-shaft' (not to be confused with the hand-brake cross-shaft) just has a single nipple on the peddle side.

So it seems that the only 'cross-shaft' to have nipples, but only on later tractors Supers, is the 'handbrake cross-shaft' under the back end. My Standard has none, which may not be a bad thing as I suspect nipples that low are vulnerable. With the little bit of harrowing I've done so far, I get earth and even stones piled up under the back end - could lead to sore nipples, as Jerry can confirm.

So I'm going to get me a good old Faithful 0.5L oil can with a flexible spout and drip some EP90 box oil onto the nipple-less bearings, and also the front axle pivot, but not the 3PL ball joints.

[Mark]

Hi Ben, I'm doing well, thank you for asking.
On the shaft that the clevis pin for the live power hooks up to is the one that had pressed in fittings. When I renewed the bushings I saw the holes, I threaded the holes with a 5/16 die, and used some 5/16 grease fittings I have in my shop. They work really well. I also had to do that to the brakes pedal shafts as well. I'm beginning to believe that the Fordson people that wrote the manual didn't show it to the workers in the shop, and that's why there are so many discrepancies in the manual. I also had a new pivot pin made with 3/16 holes bored that would let grease go to the top and bottom of the pin, ( drilled like a T) with the one on the end threaded for a 5/16 grease fitting. After all the misuse of not being greased that my Dexta endured in her life, I fixed it so that I could grease everything. Don't like the grease worms getting in.
The 90 weight oil you were talking about will work also.
Mark

[Bensdexta]

I also had a new pivot pin made with 3/16 holes bored that would let grease go to the top and bottom of the pin, ( drilled like a T) with the one on the end threaded for a 5/16 grease fitting.

Mark, glad to hear you're keeping well.

I like your idea of a pivot pin with greasing bores. So the pin is solid with the nipple on the front? So you attach your grease gun through the starting handle hole in the nose cone?

What material was used for the pin, as I think the standard pins are hardened steel, so is there any prob getting suitable steel?

[Mervyn Spencer]

Hi Ben
Glad to see other views on the hand brake cross shaft nipples. I mentioned that I had two of them, the one that did not have the grease nipples bushes were very worn as apposed to the shaft that had the grease nipples. To answer your question about whether to drill a hole into the end of the shaft, you would obviously have to drill a hole at a right angle to the hole you drill from the end of the shaft corresponding to the location of the bushes so that the grease will then be effective for the bushes. Apologies for not getting back to you sooner, my pc was giving issues which I had to have repaired.
Mervyn

[Jerry Coles]

Could I suggest you use water pump grease as this is less likely to wash out of a simple bush in an exposed position. The presence of the grease would prevent abrasive dirt entering the shaft.
IMHO
Jerry