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Grease zerk for VP280 PDS bearing

joe_merchant

Regular Contributor
Am trying to replace the greas

Am trying to replace the grease cup with a zerk on my flywheel housing. Took off the grease cup and went down to the hardware store only to find that the threads are 10mm x 1.5. They don't have a grease zerk with that thread. Even the SAE zerks are pipe thread so mashing/cutting one of those in isn't a good idea either. Any idea of where to get one and/or how to stuff grease down the hole so it can get to the bearing?

Thanks
 
"Joe., I dont know why volvo d

"Joe., I dont know why volvo did that but the same thing happened to me so I was told to drill out a 3/8nc or 5/16nc (I cant quite remember ) bolt to accept the SAE pipethread. I dont think the housing is metric though. It worked for me but seemed a little hoky . Why didnt volvo just put pipe threads in the housing at the factory??? Good luck Cam"
 
"What's frustrating is tha

"What's frustrating is that it seems the VP designs are so well thought out. The owners manual says to just fill it and screw it all the way down to get the grease moving down the passage to the bearing. For the life of me, I can't remember if I pumped grease in there when I replaced the bearings earlier this year. I remember thinking it was a good idea
biggrin.gif
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If drilling and tapping is the solution, I think I'll pass while everything is still assembled and stay with the Volvo method. Hmmmm .. their idea of planned obsolesence????"
 
"Joe, none of this will do any

"Joe, none of this will do any good if the PDS grease cavity had not been pre-filled when you installed the new bearing/seals.
The cavity must be completely pre-filled in order for any future grease to make it's way into the hopefully "Open" bearing that you installed. (some make the mistake of installing a sealed bearing)

Assuming all is good, always lube this with the engine at idle (dynamic vs static) to get an exchange of old for new grease in the ball cage!

Joe, I believe that I have one special Zerk fitting left if interested.

You can also run a 1/8" TPT thread tap into the hole and convert to TPT!
Then install an eighteen inch grease gun extension hose into this.
Install a grease zerk into the other end.
Now secured up next to your throttle cable or ???? making it a nice remote scenario.

The problem is, many forget about this because they don't see it!

."
 
"Rick, I bought the bearings a

"Rick, I bought the bearings and seals from here so am assuming the're the right type. I pulled the gearbox to grease the u-joints today as part of winterization. Since it's accessible, would it be a good idea to pull the rear seal and fill the area between the bearing and the seal full of grease? My thoughts when assembling earlier in the year were that there should be some room left in the cavity to accept new grease - otherwise you'd just be cramming more grease into the cavity with nowhere for the old grease to go.

I've allready fogged the engine and removed the battery and carbs so will wait till spring to roll the engine and grease from above. I like your idea of tapping new threads and adding an extension on the zerk."
 
"Joe, the grease void between

"Joe, the grease void between the bearing and seal is good.... this is why I suggest upon new bearing installation, that you rotate the shaft as you are filling the cavity and stop when you see grease just coming through each ball cage.... then, and only then, install the two seals!
However, as you service the PDS, the void will eventually fill with grease. And of course, we now have the risk of the seals being pushed out by more future grease!

This is why.... (in my opinion)..... the AFT most seal should never be a perfectly leak-proof seal, but Volvo designed it to be pretty darn tight!
(the double lip seals are even worse... they are not as directional)
One risk being that the front seal could be pushed out by too much grease pressure.... leaving the AFT bearing to receive NO future lubrication (grease takes the path of least resistance).

In all honesty (and I do my share of these bearing replacements), I've considered causing the AFT seal to breach some by cutting into the lip a bit!
(If the bellows are leaking water.... you have larger issues anyway!)
I'd much rather have the ability for future PDS Bearing lube, than a water tight seal.
. "
 
"I'll split the difference

"I'll split the difference with you. Will pull the rear seal, turn the engine by hand and pump new grease in until I see the new stuff replacing the old grease. Will add a few extra pumps too. Probably a good idea to lube mid season as well.

BTW - decided to pull the lower end to make sure there weren't any signs of babbit material in the strainer. It was clean as a whistle - WHEW!

GO DUCKS!!!!"
 
"GO DUCKS!!!!
With that, I h


"GO DUCKS!!!!
With that, I had to look.... I see that you are just south of us here in Portland!"
 
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