View Full Version : Grease gun recommendations?
Mountain-Metalworks
12-07-2016, 10:15 PM
Anyone have a recommendation on good quality grease guns, my old and cheap gun is toast. I'm going to pick up one for the Howe Balls joints(Redline cv2 grease) and one for the poly bushings in the suspension(Prothane 19-1751 grease). Lame having two different guns, but each grease is unique and wouldn't do well in the other application.
I've been looking at small 3oz. guns like the Amzoil one:
https://www.amsoil.com/shop/by-product/grease/amsoil-deluxe-grease-gun-kit/?code=GLCGN-EA
or Lucas Oil:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lucas-Oil-3-oz-Midget-Grease-Gun-L314/202534587
I've also been looking at the standard 16oz size guns like Alemite 555E:
https://www.amazon.com/Alemite-Develops-Delivery-Cartridge-Extension/dp/B009K530KS
and Lincoln 1134:
https://www.amazon.com/Lincoln-Lubrication-1134-Pistol-Grease/dp/B0002NYDZ8
Anyone have hands on experience with any of those products?
-TJ
frankeeski
12-08-2016, 01:01 AM
I have one from Sta-Lube that I've been using for 20 plus years. Buy a quality gun and you'll only have to buy it once. Any good quality brand should serve you well.
Get a good quality lever gun that puts out up to 10,000 psi and you can't go wrong. The pistol grip style won't always put out the pressure you need for heavy duty joints or stubborn grease zerks. Expect to pay $30 and up for a good quality gun that will last. Lincoln is one of the trusted names you'll find in industrial use. As frankeeski said, buy a quality gun and you'll only buy it once.
WIS89
12-08-2016, 09:46 AM
TJ-
I shared my thoughts on the other forum before I saw your post here. I won't re-post it here. If you have any questions about what I wrote -- I am not always super lucid -- just let me know.
Regards,
Steve
Mountain-Metalworks
12-08-2016, 08:41 PM
Get a good quality lever gun that puts out up to 10,000 psi and you can't go wrong. The pistol grip style won't always put out the pressure you need for heavy duty joints or stubborn grease zerks. Expect to pay $30 and up for a good quality gun that will last. Lincoln is one of the trusted names you'll find in industrial use. As frankeeski said, buy a quality gun and you'll only buy it once.
Since I don't plan to use that much grease after the initial "fill", I was leaning towards the smaller 3oz ones. Unfortunately that means no lever-style, only pistol which I've always found to be relatively convenient on cars anyhow. For tractors and equipment, I found the level style works a little better and offers more room to work. I'm definitely planning on spending more since I want these to be the last grease guns I ever buy.
-TJ
Kpt112
12-09-2016, 10:20 AM
Speaking of grease guns, how often should you apply grease to the chassis and where? Any opinions would be appreciated. I have 1000 on my car so far and have not added any additional grease.
Thanks
KPT
Mountain-Metalworks
12-09-2016, 06:47 PM
I'm still in the build phase so take this for what it's worth. My experience is with off-road Jeeps that take a serious pounding. First you need to liberally grease all of the poly suspension bushings during installation. Then pump the grease zerks on those components until full. For the poly bushings, you should to stay away from traditional multi-purpose grease and use something like this Prothane product:
http://www.prothanesuspensionparts.com/191751
It will not break down the poly bushing, will last longer, and won't let the bushings squeak. Once you've done the initial greasing properly, a yearly squirt with the grease gun should be done during a standard "checkup". On these bushings, the grease should ooze out a little on the sides, which lets you know it's full. 1000 miles really isn't very long unless you're racing.
The other greasing you'll need to do are the ball joints in the front end. Here I'd use a high-quality synthetic grease and again, if you filled them up during the initial build, just "top off" once a year. On some high quality ball joints the grease won't ooze out no matter how hard you pump. The Mavotech(from FFR) or Moog joints will ooze telling you they're full, Howe Racing and other track-rated joints will not.
If you want to stick with just one type of grease, I'd suggest the synthetic used for the ball joints. You're poly bushings may squeak a little with that grease but it shouldn't be horrible.
-TJ