Grease guns - what am I doing wrong?| Grassroots Motorsports forum |

I don't use grease guns often, but when I do it always seems like a major pain in the butt and always turns what should be a simple job into a major mess. I currently have two guns, both are the small tube size, one from harbor freight and the other from Walmart. Yes they were cheap but in theory they should do the job...

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My problem is on both of them, after loading a tube, I might get a few pumps of grease out of them into whatever I'm working on and then they just cease to pump anymore. I have broken them down to analyze why this is happening and it appears the plunger and its seal are getting stuck at the of the cartridge. The problem is that the plunger is mounted on the rod in such a way that it just floats on it. It's only backed up by spring force so you can't manually force the plunger into the cartridge via the rod. So what end up happening is the plunger gets stuck and then the plunger rod just ends up slowly pushing it's way into cartridge. At that point grease ends up flowing out behind the plunger and disassembling it ends up being a giant mess.

What's frustrating is that this harbor freight gun used to work for at least one tube. Perhaps the plunger seal swelled up? Or do the cardboard tubes have a different ID then the plastic tube cartridges causing the plunger to to not work right? What am I doing wrong?

Here is my procedure, based on thousands of grease tubes replaced:

-Spit out the old one

-Pull the plunger and lock into place

-Install the new tube

-thread the head back on BUT only a few threads. Just enough to keep it on

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-release the plunger which compresses the grease and expels a lot of the air through the loose threads.

-Start pumping

-If it is still cranky, good grease guns have a setting where you can pull the plunger back again and lock it behind the piston. Then you can put the plunger against your chest and exert pressure while pumping the handle and that will sort it out.

I think cheaper grease guns have poorer tolerances and when you pump, some of them draw air in instead of creating vacuum so they are troublesome. My last employer bought some cheap ones and I went and pulled them out of three excavators and tossed them and asked him to not be so cheap. It's no fun greasing a large machine by hand in the rain at 6 AM and fighting a cheap grease gun is not the way to start the day. 

-Edited to say warm grease pumps easier so try warming up the loaded grease gun before you start. On a truck or machine we drop them into the exhaust pipe. 

I'm pretty sure it's not an air lock issue since I can't even get the piston to enter the cartridge with the head of the grease gun entirely off. All it does is just push the piston all the way back to end of the housing.

Unfortunately, neither of my guns have any provision for locking the piston to the shaft so maybe I just need to upgrade beyond a $20 gun. Sucks because I only need to use this thing a couple times a year.

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I've always used Lincoln.

That being said, I've has a lot of trouble the last few years with grease melting, or separating in the gun, and leaking oil all over the place. First I thought it was getting overheated in the back of the Service Truck in the summer. It gets brutally hot in there when it's parked out in the sun.

But it happens in my basement too, and that's about 58 degrees unless I have the heat on, then it's 70*. That sure as hell shouldn't be hot enough to separate grease.

I've always used Lincoln.

That being said, I've has a lot of trouble the last few years with grease melting, or separating in the gun, and leaking oil all over the place. First I thought it was getting overheated in the back of the Service Truck in the summer. It gets brutally hot in there when it's parked out in the sun.

But it happens in my basement too, and that's about 58 degrees unless I have the heat on, then it's 70*. That sure as hell shouldn't be hot enough to separate grease.

That is part of the issue I have into as well BlkBeard, leaks "oil" all out of the gun and all over the floor. If room temp can do that what is it doing in our bearings? I have had it happen with several different brands of grease as well.

I might try a Lincoln, I have even seen some of them around town here but did not know if they were any good. I am just sick of putting in a new tube of grease to have half of it pass by the plunger and be useless in the tail end of the gun.

Thanks again and if anyone else has any suggestions I am open. Somebody at NAPA told me the new grease is soap based, instead of petroleum based.

I don't know if this is true, as I haven't looked into it myself.
But something has changed. I never used to have this trouble.

Now I keep the grease gun wrapped in a spill pad to avoid the mess.

I've tried different brands, but a Cartridge of grease last me quite a while, and I can't just throw them away every time a new one is leaking oil.

That is part of the issue I have into as well BlkBeard, leaks "oil" all out of the gun and all over the floor.

Thanks again and if anyone else has any suggestions I am open.

The oil will always ooze out to a certain degree over time. Most common kinds of grease today consist of a lubricating oil in a soap carrier. Sounds like your gun may sit for long intervals between uses. You could hang your gun upside down to help prevent the oil from dripping on the floor and you could pull the plunger back and lock it against the spring during storage to prevent the grease from bypassing around it. Hanging it upside down does work.

And my Gun does sit for long periods, but this will happen a day after inserting a new cartridge.

I haven't tried locking the plunger back when not in use.

I've just gotten used to it.

NAPA also said to buy high temp grease, I told him I don't consider a basement of 58* - 70* to be high temp.

Just a luxury of modern engineering, I guess.

It wasn't broke, but they hadda go n fix it! Before buying an Australian made McNaught gun, check that it takes the smaller US cartridge,(12 Oz) and not the larger 16 Oz Australian cartridge. Some lube companies are importing the US cartridges to Aus, and we have trouble finding a GOOD gun to fit them Most smaller guns seem designed to be disposable.
Have not found a cartridge gun that will not leak. Problem is the plunger is designed with a smooth rolled edge to enter the cartridge easily, but has very little sealing ability. Some guns are better when the plunger is reversed to hold bulk grease but this defeats the purpose of a cartridge gun, so you can't win. Combustor.