Treeaddict
Treehouser
Any areas you regularly grease? If so, what type?
Grease on power pole saw?
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flushcut
TreeHouser
No! Never!
CurSedVoyce
California Hillbilly
They pack the shaft and such at assembly. All good.
SeanKroll
Treehouser
I've wondered if mine needs regreasing.
The telescopic poles come apart, inside them are usually 4 or so bearings that hold the drive shaft, they wear over time, so yearly, take it apart, grease them, keep them lubed, and they last much longer.
By the time I have seen most of them, they are dry, flogged out and need replacing, at 40 or so each, its not a cheap repair, on some, they are all the same, on others, there are 2 or 3 different types of bearings/ in them.
Taking the telescopic shaft apart, just mark its orientation, and the bearings to suit, as the carriers the bearings are pressed into (plastic mostly), only go on one way to make it all telescope correctly, get it out of alignment and its a pain, so just mark it, once you have done it once, its easy the next time, just a thing to look out for the first time, seems to catch out one or two, inc me, wasted a good 10 min figuring that out why it didnt go back together well
.
Also, there are 3 or 4 springs, just mark things as they come apart, or lay them out in order. There are plenty of utube vids , just look for the model you have, and wade thru the dross and find a good vid on it that shows you what you need to know.
Edited to add, and correct typos.
I use a silicone spray on grease for the outer telescopic tubes, helps make it easy to move them, but it dosent attract dust/ dirt etc.
the gearbox on the cutter head also can do with maintenance yearly, some have an access/ bolt to remove to allow for grease to be added, others, you need to take apart to add grease.
Most are only taken apart when something breaks, or a bearing collapses, and its done then.
i just use a high temp wheel bearing grease. If you wanted to get fancy, use a marine grade wheel bearing grease, ie for boat trailer wheel bearings, it may help if the pole saw sees lots of wet work and storage.
By the time I have seen most of them, they are dry, flogged out and need replacing, at 40 or so each, its not a cheap repair, on some, they are all the same, on others, there are 2 or 3 different types of bearings/ in them.
Taking the telescopic shaft apart, just mark its orientation, and the bearings to suit, as the carriers the bearings are pressed into (plastic mostly), only go on one way to make it all telescope correctly, get it out of alignment and its a pain, so just mark it, once you have done it once, its easy the next time, just a thing to look out for the first time, seems to catch out one or two, inc me, wasted a good 10 min figuring that out why it didnt go back together well
.Also, there are 3 or 4 springs, just mark things as they come apart, or lay them out in order. There are plenty of utube vids , just look for the model you have, and wade thru the dross and find a good vid on it that shows you what you need to know.
Edited to add, and correct typos.
I use a silicone spray on grease for the outer telescopic tubes, helps make it easy to move them, but it dosent attract dust/ dirt etc.
the gearbox on the cutter head also can do with maintenance yearly, some have an access/ bolt to remove to allow for grease to be added, others, you need to take apart to add grease.
Most are only taken apart when something breaks, or a bearing collapses, and its done then.
i just use a high temp wheel bearing grease. If you wanted to get fancy, use a marine grade wheel bearing grease, ie for boat trailer wheel bearings, it may help if the pole saw sees lots of wet work and storage.
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No polesaw, but my brushcutters aside from the Stihl get regularly greased. The concept/construction is similar enough. The Sthl has no facility for greasing the gearhead, and I'm skeptical of that design. My suspicion is it's a product of proud German engineering that works on paper, but doesn't work in the real world. The Husky, and my defunct echo had a removable bolt to add grease, and it was necessary, because the grease gets consumed. I haven't done it yet, but I want to grease the driveshaft where it goes through the bushings. Might help it last longer. I wore an echo shaft out. I use RedArmor grease. I bought that cause it seems "premium". Dunno if it's actually better than anything else, but the quantities used are so low, the extra cost isn't a concern.
Nutball
TreeHouser
Stihl lists the part number of the grease and oil they use in their service manuals and possibly in the parts list too.
I don't get why they haven't moved away from the fragile and expensive to repair torque tube system to a hydraulic or electric system, where if a tube gets bent, it's just a hollow tube that holds flexible wires or hoses.
CurSedVoyce
California Hillbilly
Heavier head weight and less balanced guessing. That and the shaft repair costs again 1/2 plus of the unit to replace.
Treeaddict
Treehouser
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #10
I have a Chinese saw where instructions are lacking but has a grease port around the head. My stihl saw doesn’t list any grease type maintenance in the manual. I’ll probably still grease where the drive shafts link together though. Thought it strange that it isn’t part of a routine.
Marc-Antoine
TreeHouser
That sells parts and service.
That, or the parts aren't good enough anymore when one gives up, even if well maintained. Like if a bearing in the head wears out, the play in the gearbox rizes and destroys the gears, lubed or not. In reverse, a gear grinding its teeth looses plenty of hard shavings witch ruin the seals and the bearings. Better to replace all the set.
That, or the parts aren't good enough anymore when one gives up, even if well maintained. Like if a bearing in the head wears out, the play in the gearbox rizes and destroys the gears, lubed or not. In reverse, a gear grinding its teeth looses plenty of hard shavings witch ruin the seals and the bearings. Better to replace all the set.
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Nutball
TreeHouser
Ideally you would take it all apart, clean off the old grease that has metal dust mixed in it, and apply fresh grease. I've not ever cleaned that mess, but I have taken some apart and greased and installed a new shaft. On one, the bearing would no longer slide on the splined shaft. Maybe they ran it too long at the same length such that vibration wore a notch that the bearing splines grab into, but the bearing still turned freely.
BeerGeek
Tree Numbnutz
My Husky power pruner that I bought in 2019 shit the bed recently, and it was all shaft that was f'd (described to tech at shop due to my former brush monkeys pinching it too many times aloft and yanking too hard to release). Mechanic says he sees that as the major problem causing most shaft damage, and as Stephen noted above, replacement cost was more than 3/4 the price of a new one. Bought the new one, and put a "Don't even think about it" tag on the pull starter handle...
I've got an older Stihl trimmer/brush head which has a threaded plug whose threads match the tube of Stihl factory grease - you screw the tube on and squeeze. Some years back I split the cases on the pole heads and cleaned / regreased them. It's not as bad as it looks, the grey mess is because it's a moly grease formulation, that's not tons of worn aluminum in there. Older equipment might have flecks of gear teeth. I think my hedge trimming head also has the threaded grease plug.
Warning - over applying grease results in it getting "stirred" by the mechanism, sucking power and generating heat. My hedge head heats up quickly and I run lower rpm than most folks.
Ditto on getting a polesaw back together, it's like a rubik's' cube. I just lubed and live with my loose bushings for now.
Warning - over applying grease results in it getting "stirred" by the mechanism, sucking power and generating heat. My hedge head heats up quickly and I run lower rpm than most folks.
Ditto on getting a polesaw back together, it's like a rubik's' cube. I just lubed and live with my loose bushings for now.
Nutball
TreeHouser
The new grease doesn't look gray, so that's why I figured it was worn aluminum.
Nutball
TreeHouser
I think the tube they gave me according to the part number was translucent brown.
Checked my grease tube and its tan brown, not moly grey and it has gear or gearhead in the name of the grease. Sorry for the moly derail. Both the string trimmer and hedge head have matching threaded grease port. Good to disassemble, degrease and inspect. If its magnesium and water pitted (missing metal!) scrape it out and JBWeld to the rescue.
