Greasing trimmer head gearboxes

[GearHead36]

Not sure where to put this. I hope this is ok.

I have an Echo PAS with several attachments. Most of these have heads that need periodic greasing. Yet none of them have grease fittings. And yet, you're supposed to grease them every (I think) 25 hrs. How do you guys grease them? The videos I've found show people using Echo's Red Armor grease, which is stupid expensive. $38 for 8 oz. I can't believe shops are using something like this. I have to believe you guys have found a better way.

 

[StarTech]

Actually the new gearboxes without grease fittings are non greaseable except during repairs of the gearbox. Now the driveshaft still needs greasing which you must remove the gear head to access the driveshaft

 

[GearHead36]

Actually the new gearboxes without grease are non greaseable except during repairs of the gearbox. Now the driveshaft still needs greasing which you must remove the gear head to access the driveshaft

Most of my attachments do not have the new gearboxes. Mine has the grease plug, but it's like an oil plug, and doesn't fit any of my grease guns.

 

[7394]

Just remove the plug, butt yer grease gun end up to the hole & give it a pump.
Mine is grease able, & I give it a shot 1 x a year. Residential use. Even my Dealer said to be sure & grease the head, that was over 10 years ago tho.. But still running like new,..

Any grade 2 grease should be fine.

 

[MParr]

Just remove the plug, butt yer grease gun end up to the hole & give it a pump.
Mine is grease able, & I give it a shot 1 x a year. Residential use. Even my Dealer said to be sure & grease the head, that was over 10 years ago tho.. But still running like new,..

Any grade 2 grease should be fine.

That’s how I do my edger and string trimmer.

 

[7394]

Works fine, a friend took his edger head plug & matched up a grease fitting to install & leave..

 

[Tiger Small Engine]

Just remove the plug, butt yer grease gun end up to the hole & give it a pump.
Mine is grease able, & I give it a shot 1 x a year. Residential use. Even my Dealer said to be sure & grease the head, that was over 10 years ago tho.. But still running like new,..

Any grade 2 grease should be fine.

That how I do it with customer trimmers. Mystic red and tacky grease until it is full. Stihl sells a tube of grease that is threaded into trimmer head. Great if you are only doing one trimmer. Many trimmers rarely get greased so are low on grease when I do a tune up.

 

[StarTech]

Come on folks the newer gearboxes are not greaseable. No grease path available.
They just pack with grease at the factory or whenever they are disassembled.

Newer Gearbox IPL

Item #2 is just a locator screw

Older Gearbox

On the older item #2 was the grease fitting screw location with
item #3 being the locator screw.

And they even removed one of the bearings and several of the internal parts are
no longer available for repairs. IE you replace the complete gearbox if one those
are bad.

Basically they cheapen the design. And lighten the gearbox a few ounces.

 

[MParr]

Manufacturers would rather sell a new gear box. I imagine that many residential customers would care one way or the other.
I believe that @GearHead36 is referring to #2 in the second photo of @StarTech parts drawings.

 

[StarTech]

And this is what they are counting on. Residential use. Commercial use is consider too which is why they drop the five year warranty down to just two years. And I have seen these SRM-225 worn out in two years by commercial users.

I had to point out that they only had a Two year warranty when they tried to get them to repair them under warranty because all they saw the five warranty part and didn't read the fine print.

I got a customer that just purchase a SRM-225 and the lack grease port was one his complaints. The second was the HD store that he purchase the unit from wanted to charge him to warranty the brush cutter. Basically they would not register the trimmer for the customer to activate his warranty. Being a customer of mine otherwise I went online and registered it for him so he now has the five year warranty although most likely he still will have me to do repair work and bill him because of HD being such a pain to repairs done thru them.