Zerk Fitting

johnr9q@yahoo.com

johnr9q@yahoo.com

Senior Member
How do I remove this zerk fitting on the brake linkage? I tried twisting and pulling, nothing.
 

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Is it possible the fitting has been welded in place? To me it appears there might be a buildup of something around it. Perhaps just some paint, but it could be something else holding the fitting in place.

I would wire brush and remove the paint that surrounds the fitting to get a better idea of what might be holding it in place.

I've removed those style Zerk fittings by simply pulling them out on my '31 with a pair of vise grips. Twist and pull to remove.
 
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I have had to knock them side to side with a metal chisel to break them free, then carefully pry underneath. They are press-in, not threaded.
 
I don't know how tight an interference fit the OEM ones have. The new repo ones I've used recently are way to big around to fit. I have to carefully file them down to a size that will drive in without smashing the fitting. If it's too tight then it will likely be too damaged after removal to reuse it.
 
I used POR 15 on these parts. I can't imagine that would cause these to be so tight. I wire brushed all the POR 15 off, except that little bit where the fittings meets where it is mounted. I have broken some of them I have twisted and pulled so hard on. I tried drilling one out then use an easy out but no luck. I may have to drill them out then tap a thread and put a threaded zerk fitting in. I have a lot of these Zerk fittings that have the same problem.
 
One of the problems with the press-in alemite fitting is that without the pressure of the gun holding the fitting in place, hydraulic pressure tends to "push" the press-in fitting from its seat.

For a while a popular "upgrade" was to replace the alemite fittings with an actual zerk, which allows you to use a modern grease gun to lubricate.

AND push the "improved" press in zerks from THEIR seats. Maybe even more effectively?

I took all those zerk type fittings out and threw them away.

Joe K
 
J Franklin said:
Along with a bit of Ford originality.
Click to expand...

Um. It was a reversion to the original alemite fittings. Zerk is an Alemite Co. purchased improvement, the Zerk having been invented in 1929.

Interesting read at Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grease_fitting

To my knowledge "Zerk" was not used on the Model A. It may have been incorporated on later Ford models.

And the array of "replacement" zerk type available fittings for the Model A was a nice thought - but not realized in full implementation.

Joe K
 
Yeah, I could be wrong but I think the grease fitting socket is supposed to be more squared off than yours appears, suggesting that yours may have been modified and that's why it won't come out.
 

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alexiskai, like I said, I have a bunch of these "Zerk" fittings that are exactly the same as the one in the picture. I doubt that all of them were "modified". Before I did this painting of them I had pulled a number of the same looking ones out and they easily came out.
 
Various locations for the alemite/zerk type fittings were "changed" over time. Some which may have been originally "press-in" were changed to a 1/8" pipe thread.

These changes are documented in the Service Bulletins - but finding what amounts to a paragraph and a picture MIGHT be a challenge. Rather look through the index under (say) "brake shaft housing" and might yield a sub category "lubrication change."

Some of these I have actually modified myself in a moment of weakness. A "press in" situation on the brake/clutch pedals pivot I have tapped for 1/8" pipe and used a screw in fitting. It is disconcerting to use either an alemite gun or a zerk gun and find the fitting hydraulically driven out.


Joe K
 
I have tapped for 1/8" pipe and used a screw in modern fitting like Joe K mentioned above. I have all modern grease fittings installed on my car.
 
They’re hard to get out because, if they had a loose fit, it would be problematic to hold the grease gun fitting tightly enough over them to ensure the grease would not gush outside the rim of the fitting.

The best way to remove these original grease fittings is to hit them from side to side with the blunt end of a flat chisel with a decent size hammer behind the chisel to loosen them a bit and then angle the chisel at the tip of the grease fitting in the next blow (blows) to push them out of their mounting holes. This does take practice, but it works in most cases without removal by drilling and the chance if damaging the mounting hole.
 
I had four grease fittings that made me hate life they were so hard to get out. I got a very sharp chisel and tapped all around the fittings a few times, hitting slightly harder each revolution. Once they started to come loose, my trusty vise grips got them the rest of the way out. Each new hammer in style fitting had to be fit to each hole by filing them down.
 
Back during my clutch/brake pedal alemite challenge I considered that a solution might be found in "knurling" the fitting to INCREASE the friction between the fitting and it's hole.

But then I was short a lathe, a fixture to hold the fitting, and a knurl tool small enough to do only the seat area of the fitting.

So I tried "clamping" the drive-in portion of the alemite with a pair of vice-grips thereby upsetting the surface and possibly increase the friction.

It worked - sort of. But then I had an enthusiastic day with the grease gun, drove the fitting out again by accident - and then said heck with it and did the tap-screw in fitting thing.

Physically strong leads to a weak self-discipline on keeping it original.

Joe K
 
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