Mercruiser alpha 1 lube grease fittings

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captiva190

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94 alpha 1, There are 3 grease zerts on my out drive, one on each side for the tilt hinge and there is 1 on the right close to the back where it bolts to the boat, what does that grease, the gimble?, I grease it but do not know what it is greasing as I do not see grease coming out anywhere like on the hinges and didnt want to put too much without knowing where it was going, thanks:confused:
 

achris

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Re: Mercruiser alpha 1 lube grease fittings

Third 'zit' is for the gimbal bearing, inside the gimbal housing/bellows. We call them 'grease nipples'.

I give mine a couple of pumps every 4 or 5 months.... Job done...

Chris.........
 

captiva190

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Re: Mercruiser alpha 1 lube grease fittings

Fantastic thanks, I thought that might be it, I was just always told you had to have a shop pull the outdrive and grease it, that just makes my day Thanks again
 

achris

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Re: Mercruiser alpha 1 lube grease fittings

Yes, the drive should be pulled regularly. If only to check inside the bellows. Also to grease the unis... At this age I'd be looking really closely at the bellows.... Turn the steering hard to port and look at the starboard side of the bellows... see any rubbing or wearing on the edges? Turn full starboard and look at the port side of the bellows. If you see any damage or wearing on either side then it's time for new bellows, before they go through. I've seen several of this era go like that...

Chris...........
 

smithrock

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Re: Mercruiser alpha 1 lube grease fittings

They're actually called "zerks"
 

achris

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Re: Mercruiser alpha 1 lube grease fittings

They're actually called "zerks"

They are actually called "grease nipples". I looked in my Websters and on the internet and couldn't find anything called a 'zert'....

Chris..........
 

billbayliner

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Re: Mercruiser alpha 1 lube grease fittings

Most common name is Zerks.

Also, do not forget to grease the splines in behind the engine on the drive shaft.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Grease nipple on a bearingA grease fitting, grease nipple or zerk fitting is a lubrication fitting used in mechanical systems to add grease with a grease gun. The fitting is permanently installed by a threaded connection leaving a nipple connection the grease gun attaches to. By using the pressure in the grease gun, grease is added to the system through the grease fitting. Generally a spring-loaded steel ball is fitted to the internal side of the nipple inlet passageway to exclude dirt intrusion and function as a shutoff valve to prevent grease escaping back out of the nipple. The ball is almost flush with the surface of the nipple so it can be wiped clean to reduce the amount of debris carried with the grease into the bearing.

In many modern applications however, they are falling out of use since it has been determined by wear analysis that each new grease injection usually contains abrasive contamination and thus service life is reduced compared to many "sealed for life" systems.

The patent for the zerk fitting was granted to Oscar Zerk in January 1929
 

achris

More fish than mountain goat
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Re: Mercruiser alpha 1 lube grease fittings

ok... you win... But I still call it a grease nipple.... Zerk is not a name ever used in Oz...
 

tomrzadzki

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Feb 23, 2012
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Re: Mercruiser alpha 1 lube grease fittings

I am woefully behind in greasing the coupler and gimbal zerks. The manual says 8-10 pumps once per year. Since I am several years behind any idea how much grease I should try to apply ??
 
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