Grease zerk access on pto shaft

[tmar04]

For the life of me , I have tried every way possible to access the three grease fittings on pto shaft of my 725k, to no avail. Is it necessary to completely remove front deck in order to lube this area?? Thanks to all for any help.

 

[MBDiagMan]

I am new to my 725K2, but I have only found one grease zerk on the prop shaft and it is in the telescoping portion accessed by raising the floor board. Your model may be different.

 

[tmar04]

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I am new to my 725K2, but I have only found one grease zerk on the prop shaft and it is in the telescoping portion accessed by raising the floor board. Your model may be different.

Yes, mine has that fitting and also two more on the u joints. All a nightmare to get to. Oh well, will keep trying

 

[BWH]

Agreed, those grease zerks on the PTO are nothing short of a pain! You have to be a contortionist just to get them greased. I have tried many things but the best system to date is an air grease gun with a thin 22 inch flexible hose. This allows you to get the grease gun on the zerk with one hand and operate the gun with the other hand without taking your one hand off the zerk connection.

I have found it easiest to grease the rear PTO zerk in a horizontal position (3-o-clock) and the front one at (5-o-clock) position.

I bought the air gun at Northern Tool for $39.00 it sure makes greasing the rest of the machine a snap.

 

[MBDiagMan]

Now that I re read this, are you talking about the prop shaft with the universal joints or the pillow blocks on the straight shaft?

I pulled the rear universal joint loose on my 725K2 and there was the grease zerk for the front pillow block staring me in the face. I raised the foot rest, pulled on the lock collar to pull the prop shaft off and then an angled zerk was easily accessible.

Larry

 

[tmar04]

Now that I re read this, are you talking about the prop shaft with the universal joints or the pillow blocks on the straight shaft?

I pulled the rear universal joint loose on my 725K2 and there was the grease zerk for the front pillow block staring me in the face. I raised the foot rest, pulled on the lock collar to pull the prop shaft off and then an angled zerk was easily accessible.

Larry

Yes, I saw the pillow block grease fitting. I reached it from under the footrest platform. And yes, I am using an air assisted type grease gun. I am 75 yrs old and some of my arm strength has gone south, to make matters worse. They say to grease these fittings every 8 hrs of mowing time!!Ouch!! Oh well, back to drawing board.

 

[MBDiagMan]

tm,

I'm glad you found the zerk. From what a friend of mine told me, greasing it is a piece of cake as compared to REPLACING it.

It might be worth your while to remove the zerk and put a line between the zerk and the pillow block so that you can grease it remotely. Wish I were there to help.

Larry

 

[Grasshopp]

I have a 2013 727K with a front deck. I've located the zerk fitting at the front of the PTO shaft at the slip yoke and had no problem lubing it. You mention zerk fittings for the PTO shaft U-joints. I have not been able to locate them. Can you take a couple pictures and post them showing the zerk fittings you refer to? Thanks!

 

[MBDiagMan]

I have found no zerks on the u-joints. On my 2003 model 725K2, which is very similar to the 727, I have only found three zerks associated with the deck drive system. There is on on the slip yoke, and one on each of the pillow blocks that support the shaft that transfers power from the motor to the prop shaft.

I can post a picture of the zerk on the front pillow block if you need it. The rear pillow block is reachable with a grease gun hose, but I don't think I could get much of a picture of it.

Hope this helps.
Larry

 

[Grasshopp]

Thanks Larry,

I've located the zerk fittings on the pillow blocks and slip yoke on the PTO shaft. Appears there are no zerk fittings on the u-joints.