Lubing the fan pully bearing zerk?

jhanan · 09-03-2012, 08:34 PM

02 Itasca Horizon 34HD. For all the Horizon owners out there, where is the fan pully zerk fitting? I have greased all the zerks on my rig, but I cannot find this one. It is no fun to remove the cover under the bed, but if that is it, then where is it from there? Also, is there a zerk on the engine break? I didn't see one when under the rig changing the oil. Also, I could not get to the top u-joint zerk on the steering right under the floor board - no access.

autofish · 09-03-2012, 10:06 PM

jhanan....the fan zerk is behind the water pump pulley between the pulley and engine, Yes the bed has to come out and the engine cover removed. You may also need to grind a flat side on the grease coupler to get it to fit on the zerk.

RCtime · 09-04-2012, 08:08 AM

Jhanan
I have the exact same set up as you.
after gaining access to the engine from the bed area, looking at the pully and the cyl. head, inbetween, is a zerk. hard to see, so feel for it.
Now the clearance is not large enough for a standard grease gun nipple to fit.
The easiest (for me) was to go to auto Zone or any auto pats store and purchase a small handheld grease gun, fits in your hand with a trigger and a one hand operation.
It has a much smaller nipple on the end of the grease gun and easily fits between.
give it a few pumps of grease, 5-6 ort so. I dont think these smaller guns put out as much grease in a pump as the larger ones.

HammerLane · 09-05-2012, 07:34 AM

I was able to leave the bed intact, just had to pull the engine cover of course,and then was able to lay on top of the engine and grease the zerk. This may not work for everyone,as I am 5'10" and 165#'s and it was a tight fit.

jhanan · 09-16-2012, 07:05 PM

Thank you all for the guidance....I will break open the top access panel and take of this zerk. It is incredible that WB/FL would make is so difficult to lube your rig!

bachler · 09-16-2012, 08:28 PM

The gerk in the Upper steering joint is a piece of cake if you make a 2 Foot 1/8 Inch Pipe extension I put a gerk on one end and a grease fitting on the other end ; I also use it for some of those hard to reach places..

jhanan · 08-08-2013, 06:31 PM

Lubed the rig again. Took apart the bed to find that pully zerk on top of the motor. Found small idler pully about 2" dia., in-between the water pump and the alternator. Mine has no zerk on it. Apparently, my rig built Oct 2001, is after they switched to the sealed bearing?

RCtime · 08-08-2013, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhanan

Lubed the rig again. Took apart the bed to find that pully zerk on top of the motor. Found small idler pully about 2" dia., in-between the water pump and the alternator. Mine has no zerk on it. Apparently, my rig built Oct 2001, is after they switched to the sealed bearing?

No, I'm sure you have the zerk fitting. They didn't go to the sealed bearing till 2004 or late 2003.
Feel inbetween the cyl. head and the pully. Its all yellow so hard to see.
My rig was built just 5 months later than yours and I have one.

jhanan · 08-08-2013, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCtime

No, I'm sure you have the zerk fitting. They didn't go to the sealed bearing till 2004 or late 2003.
Feel inbetween the cyl. head and the pully. Its all yellow so hard to see.
My rig was built just 5 months later than yours and I have one.

OK, then it is not on the idler. Which pully is it on. Is it really on the water pump directly?

FIRE UP · 08-08-2013, 11:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhanan

OK, then it is not on the idler. Which pully is it on. Is it really on the water pump directly?

jhanan,
While I don't have one, I believe that most if not all the "3126 CAT engines" had one and it's not on the water pump drive or idler. It's on the fan drive pulley. I don't know about the bearings on the serpentine idler and tensioner on the 3126 but, on the C-7 like we have, they are, like the fan pulley bearing, PERMENANTLY sealed and non-lube-able. So, if you're in there doing some maintenance, like changing a belt, you can check the condition of those bearings too while you're in there. On ours, they were easy to replace.

Some, have take it upon themselves to change out the permanent one for the prior setup of a lube-able fan bearing. That of course is up to them. Probably not a bad idea. Also, I know of a couple of gents that have the 3126 and they've done a little sneaky thing of, setting up a lube line that goes directly into that fan bearing and, they made it accessible from a point that nothing has to be taken apart, the bed, anything. Way easier.
Scott

replogle · 08-08-2013, 11:59 PM

On my 2001 Journey Cat 330, you have to remove the aft cover under the bed. Get a mirror and a light. You can use the mirror to find the zerk fiting. You'll see the fiting on top of the fan housing near the engine block. I went to autozone and bought a needle adapter for the grease gun. The adapter snaps into the grease gun the other end will go into the ball on the zerk fiting. No grinding needed, a couple of pumps on the grease gun and your done. When ever I do an oil change the zerk fiting gets greased.

Randy

RCtime · 08-09-2013, 07:34 AM

Caterpillar 3126 Diesel engine in a motor home engine bay compartment. | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

See the breather cap, then the fan. you will see the pulley with the belt on it that drives the fan, ( not showing in picture but under the hoses) it is directly inline with the cap and fan.
directly behind the pulley and next to the cyl. head is a Zerk, a fairly narrow opening. Feel in there and you will find it.
Go to Autozone or similar as a previous poster suggested and buy a handheld gun with the small tip. it will fit.
I had to find mine with a flashlight and mirror also.
Its there unless someone replaced yours with a later model sealed bearing, which I doubt.

jhanan · 08-09-2013, 08:32 AM

OK, I will take apart the bed again and get back in there. Thanks for info and which pully it is.

Thanks, Jeff

jhanan · 08-09-2013, 08:54 AM

While in there lubing, what is lube procedure on the exhaust break over on the right hand side behind the turbo?

FIRE UP · 08-09-2013, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhanan

While in there lubing, what is lube procedure on the exhaust break over on the right hand side behind the turbo?

jhanan,
The exhaust brake has multiple moving points that can be lubed. There are a couple of threads on lubing it. At this point in time, I and others have found only one lube that supposedly is "primarily" for lubing those points. It's found on ebay. It's about $10 or $12 if I recall. I've not purchased any yet but, it's on the docket.

The temperatures attained in all those parts gets fairly high so, not just any old lube will do. There's gents on here that have lubed it and maybe they'll chime in and tell of how well, it or, any lube works on the moving exhaust brake parts.
Scott

Ramzfan · 08-10-2013, 10:12 PM

I bought a small bottle of the lube oil from Freightliner. I'm sure any Freightliner dealer will carry it.

FIRE UP · 08-10-2013, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ramzfan

I bought a small bottle of the lube oil from Freightliner. I'm sure any Freightliner dealer will carry it.

Hey Ramzfan,
Just wondering, I'm assuming that since you posted on this thread about lubing the exhaust brake (well, part of it is about lubing the exhaust brake) that, that "small bottle of lube" from Freightliner is specifically for the E/Brake? Would that be an accurate assumption? If so, do you have a name or a part number on the bottle?
Scott

P.S. To the OP, not trying to hijack the thread here, it's just part of it.

Cliffy · 08-10-2013, 10:24 PM

On aircraft we use something called "Mouse Milk" to lube turbo waste gates. Yes, really, "Mouse Milk"

Ramzfan · 08-11-2013, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

Hey Ramzfan,
Just wondering, I'm assuming that since you posted on this thread about lubing the exhaust brake (well, part of it is about lubing the exhaust brake) that, that "small bottle of lube" from Freightliner is specifically for the E/Brake? Would that be an accurate assumption? If so, do you have a name or a part number on the bottle?
Scott

P.S. To the OP, not trying to hijack the thread here, it's just part of it.

Hi Scott, Yes, for everyone who has a "PacBrake", it's called "PacBrake exhaust brake maintenance synthetic lubricant." It's part no. is #C18037.
The instructions say "With the engine off, apply a sufficient amount on the brake shaft, cylinder rod and the attaching locations at each end of the cylinder." It also says to "put 4 or 5 drops in the cylinder air port. (some fitting removal is necessary for this step.)"

There is a toll-free number on the bottle: PacBrake (800)663-0096 and a web-site: www.pacbrake.com.

Hope this helps.
Steve

mel s · 08-11-2013, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCtime

No, I'm sure you have the zerk fitting. They didn't go to the sealed bearing till 2004 or late 2003.
Feel inbetween the cyl. head and the pully. Its all yellow so hard to see.
My rig was built just 5 months later than yours and I have one.

RCtime
Right you are.

Somebody does not know the difference between his non-greaseable "idler pulley", (for the serpentine belt), and his greaseable fan bearing.

BTW, there's nothing wrong with that, I've owned my coach for 12years, (105k miles), and it seems like I learn something new every day.

Mel
'96 Safari 3126 Cat, 132k miles