Greasing heavy equipment: how to do it right every day

Why daily care matters so much

On a construction machine, the pins and bushings of the boom, arm, bucket and joints work under load, dust, mud and water all day. Grease does two jobs: it keeps a film between metal and metal, and it pushes out the dirt and water that get into the joint. When it's missing, wear gives no warning: first the bushing opens up, then the pin goes oval and, if it continues, the boom bore gets damaged. At that point the repair is no longer a grease fitting but workshop time, parts and days of downtime.

Daily care is also safety: a pin with play, a missing retainer or a leak nobody saw are the faults that end in accidents. And it's money when you sell or trade in: a machine with its greasing and inspection history shows how it was looked after. If your equipment is under warranty, check its terms: maintenance per the manual and its records are usually part of them.

Before greasing: the machine, secured

Most maintenance accidents happen when approaching a machine that can move or that still has stored energy. Before touching a grease fitting:

• Park on firm, level ground, away from traffic and edges; brake applied, controls in a safe position and wheel chocks if needed.
• Lower the bucket, blade or forks to the ground. If the manufacturer calls for another position to reach a point, follow it before shutting down.
• Shut the engine off and take the key: nobody starts it while you grease. To enter danger zones, lock out energy per procedure.
• Release hydraulic pressure only with your model's procedure: shutting the engine off doesn't remove all pressure.
• If a point needs the arms raised, use the approved mechanical support; on articulated machines, fit the articulation lock. Never use a hydraulic cylinder as a support.
• Let it cool down. Proper glasses, gloves and footwear; always climb up and down with three points of contact.

Each machine's lubrication sheet

Each machine, with its serial number and attachments, needs its own sheet. The workshop identifies each point on a photo or diagram and gives it a code (G01, G02…). With that sheet, the operator doesn't guess: they know what to grease today, with what and how much. Copying another model's sheet is one of the most expensive mistakes.

• Component and point code (G01, G02…), with a photo of where it is.
• Lubricant approved by specification, not by color or by the brand on the bucket.
• Quantity or fill criterion, and whether the manufacturer calls for purging.
• Interval: by hours, by calendar or by severe service.
• Machine position and safe access to that point.
• Sealed points that are NOT greased and points fed by the automatic system.
• Reference to the manual page each figure comes from.

Step by step, at each point

With the machine secured and the sheet in hand, each point follows the same sequence. Greasing slowly and cleanly is worth more than greasing a lot.

How much grease: neither dry nor bursting

A pump stroke isn't a measurement: every gun delivers a different amount. If the sheet states grams, measure how much your gun gives per stroke and calculate with that figure. Where there's no quantity, the manufacturer sets the criterion.

The habit of greasing «until it comes out everywhere» only applies where the manufacturer calls for purging an open pin-and-bushing joint. On bearings and sealed points, excess grease lifts or breaks the seal, and that's where dirt gets in later. If a point won't take grease, resistance jumps, it leaks at the coupler or the fitting is damaged: stop and report it. Raising the pressure or taking things apart to force it through ends in bigger damage.

Points that aren't routine greasing

Some points look like grease fittings and aren't, or they have their own procedure. Mixing them up damages the machine or hurts someone.

• The track adjuster holds high-pressure grease to set the tension: it isn't a greasing point. Only trained staff touch it, with the model's procedure.
• The swing ring and gear have their own instructions; don't assume they're greased daily.
• Sealed points take no grease: log them on the sheet as «sealed».
• Forklift and telehandler chains use their own lubricant and method; they aren't swapped for pin grease.
• Plate compactors and rammers with oil baths or closed systems take no extra grease.
• Hydraulic breakers use special grease for the tool and their own frequency, different from the carrier machine's.

Where to look by type of equipment

This isn't a greasing map: these are the areas where each family's points usually are. The exact points, product and interval come from the model's and attachment's manual.

• Excavators and backhoes: boom, arm, bucket and linkage pins; blade or outriggers if fitted.
• Skid steers and loaders: arms, cylinders and coupler per the map; check the coupler lock.
• Articulated loaders: center articulation, axles and driveline; articulation lock to work there.
• Dozers and motor graders: blade, ripper, circle and joints per the model.
• Rollers and compactors: articulation, drum, scrapers and vibration isolators; exciters may use oil, grease or be sealed.
• Forklifts and telehandlers: forks, mast, chains and retainers.
• SIMAQ plate compactors and rammers: engine oil, bellows, shoe and vibrating element per their design.
• Generators and light towers: fluids, visible wiring and mast; anything electrical, only competent staff.

If your machine has automatic greasing

An autolube system distributes grease through lines from a pump with a reservoir, but it doesn't look after itself. In the daily inspection, check the reservoir level, the alarms, that lines aren't broken or loose and that there's fresh grease at the points it feeds. Don't double up by hand at those points unless the manual says so, and grease by hand the ones the system doesn't cover. Grupo ConstruMarket installs this system as a special solution.

Water, mud, dust and severe service

If the machine works with water, mud, extreme dust, impacts or heavy breaker use, the normal interval may not be enough. Ask the workshop for a plan adjusted to severe service, written on the sheet; don't make up intervals.

Washing isn't lubricating. After washing or working submerged, follow the manufacturer's instructions. Keep the pressure washer off seals, radiator fins, connectors and sensors, and don't use compressed air on filters unless the manufacturer allows it.

The right grease

Grease is chosen by the specification the manual calls for (consistency grade, thickener, temperature and additives), not by color. Don't mix greases with different thickeners without approved compatibility: they can soften and stop protecting. Use labeled guns, one per product, and clean, identified containers.

As a reference, the Bobcat 6903122 multi-purpose grease in the catalog is NLGI 2 lithium complex, for –20 °C to 160 °C; use it where your machine's manual calls for that specification. At the branch and on the parts page you'll find genuine greases and lubricants from the brands we represent.

Grease injection: a medical emergency

High-pressure grease or oil can go through the skin through a hole so small it looks like a pinprick. That injury is serious even if it doesn't hurt at first. If it happens, stop work and go to the emergency room right away; say it may be a high-pressure fluid injection and which product it was. Don't wait for pain or swelling to appear. For the same reason: never look for hydraulic leaks with your hand or loosen fittings to check pressure.