How To Lubricate A Lawn Mowers Gearbox

30th July 2020

How to lubricate the lawn mower gearbox How to lubricate the lawn mower gearbox? How often do you change the grease? What kind of gear lubricant is needed? Detailed answers on petrol trimmer maintenance.

How often to lubricate the lawn mowers’ gearbox.

Often, a routine inspection of a lubricated transmission is carried out once a year at the beginning or end of the season. If the gasoline trimmer is not used by you in professional volumes, this is enough.

For large mowing volumes, it is necessary to lubricate the lawn mowers’ gearbox every 20-50 hours of operation. If the operating conditions of the garden equipment are difficult, for example, a large field is mowed at the same time, and the lawn mower simply does not have time to cool down, or cheap lubricants are used, then the lubricant must be checked and added every 20 hours of operation.

An indirect indication that it is necessary to lubricate the gearbox may be overheating or increased noise of the unit. In these cases, if, upon inspection, it is found that there is enough lubricant in the unit in terms of volume, then I recommend replacing it entirely, while it is advisable to choose another manufacturer of auto chemical goods. Also, a complete replacement of the lubricant, with disassembly and flushing of the unit, I recommend when buying a used gasoline trimmer.

How to lubricate a lawn mowers gearbox. Gearbox grease.

Buying any technique of its kind is a lottery, but a lot also depends on the gardener. In caring hands, Chinese samples serve for a long time and do not let their owners down at the wrong time. And if you forget in time lubricate the gear lawn mowers, do not clean the filters, use cheap low-quality gasoline, then garden equipment from the most famous brands will become a headache.

Gearbox lubrication lawn mowers one of the most important maintenance elements of the petrol trimmer, which must be carried out directly by the user.

Time and procedure for preventive maintenance of the reducer

I recommend that you carry out preventive maintenance of a new gasoline trimmer immediately after purchase, with the addition of lubricant to the gearbox. With all the high cost of garden equipment, some manufacturers save money and put in only a minimum of lubricant, during the running-in period.

Action # 4 Sealing the gearbox

Tightening the gearbox bolt

After the gearbox is filled with grease, tighten the gearbox bolt and clamp it well.

Action # 1 Open the gearbox

Loosening the gearbox bolt

In order to gain access to the gearbox, it must be opened. This is quite simple to do. You need to unscrew the gear bolt with a hex wrench. This bolt for all lawn mowers is located in the same place. Directly next to the implement.

Open gearbox view

Used types of grease

When choosing a lubricant, you must consider the following factors:

The degree of adhesion of the composition to the metal of the assembly;
Product brand;
Consumption of lubricant by the transmission mechanism.

Well-known manufacturers such as, Stihl, Husqvarna and others, in addition to trimmers, also produce grease for them. These products not only reduce wear, but also protect the gear metal from corrosion. Therefore, for lawn mowers from these brands it is better to use their own lubricant products.

Different models have different grease consumption. This is largely due to the intensity of use of the lawn mowers and the heating of the transmission. The lubricant is considered to be sufficient if the temperature of the gear unit during operation does not exceed 40 ° C.

By consistency, trimmer lubricants can be:

Liquid;
Semi-liquid;
Solid;
Plastic.

In terms of composition, the following types of lubricants are in demand:

Graphite, significantly reducing friction, as a result of which the rotation of the gears is improved;
Lithium, which are also an excellent anti-corrosion composition, saturated with additives that increase the wear resistance of the metal without harmful substances;
Universal, containing highly refined mineral oils and components that improve performance.

Examples of suitable lubricants are: Champion EP-0, Gear Grease OREGON, Oleo-Mas, Azmol 158, Litol. 24. You should also pay attention to the advice of manufacturers on this issue and use the materials they offer. You can buy them at specialized retail outlets.

Champion EP-0 universal grease 120 gr

Trimmer Gear Lubrication

Gears must be lubricated regularly in accordance with the recommendations outlined in operating instructions used model. This should also be done if:

New gears were installed;
Atypical sounds emanate from the gearbox during trimmer operation;
Knives rotate hard.

With continuous use of the trimmer, the transmission is subjected to stress from grass adhering to the blades, dirt, or due to changes in torque. The lubricant must be selected of high quality in order to extend the life of the gearbox.

Repair and lubrication of the trimmer gear

With frequent, intensive use of lawn mowers, the gearbox may start to warm up or make sounds unusual for its normal operation, such as grinding sounds. This indicates that the mechanism needs to be lubricated. If this is not done on time, then more serious problems will arise (for example, gears will quickly wear out and need to be replaced), up to jamming. Other breakdowns also occur with the transmission. You can repair and lubricate the gearbox yourself. For this you just need to familiarize yourself with the features of these works and stock up on some of the available tools.

What kind of lubricant should I use for the trimmer gear?

In the process of operation, the mechanical part of the trimmer is loaded by contact forces on the teeth, resistance reactions from adhering grass (sometimes with dirt), dynamic, shock loads due to constantly changing torque. Lubrication for the trimmer gearbox must fully take into account these features, so the selection of the brand must be strictly individual.

The following factors are taken into account:

Manufacturer’s brand. Each brand reasonably focuses on its own lubricants (you can talk about cheap Chinese products later). This applies to manufacturers such as Husqvarna, Stihl, Huter, Makita, and others. The only exceptions are domestic-made trimmers: for example, the Caliber in the user manual does not indicate the brand of lubricant at all.
The viscosity of the lubricant. As you know, all lubricants are divided into three groups. High-viscosity (colloidal systems containing various additives), universal plastic compounds and solid lubricants that soften during operation.
Good adhesion to the surface of the gearbox parts, as a result of which the grease is not squeezed out into the gaps or out of the unit.
The rate of grease consumption by the gearbox. Here you have to rely on your own experience and the recommendations of specialists, since some trimmer manufacturers, relying on their own service centers, do not give clear recommendations at all regarding the period of operation of the gearbox between two lubrications.

Lubricant consumption also depends on the temperature at which it retains its lubricity. When the gearbox is heated to 40 ° C, it is considered that its operating conditions are satisfactory, and there is sufficient lubrication.

It is believed that there is no universal lubricant for the trimmer gearbox, but this is not entirely true. In fact, a suitable lubricant will be one that contains the following components:

Lead-free antiwear additives;
Solid lubricants with the presence of graphite or molybdenum disulfide (the latter is preferable, since in this case the lubricity is fully retained for a wide range of shaft revolutions);
Only mineral (inorganic!) Oils, highly refined.

These requirements are fully met by Gear Grease OREGON or Champion EP-0 lithium greases, domestic compositions Oleo-Mas, Litol.24, or Azmol 158, as well as those recommended by the manufacturer of a particular trimmer model.

Lubricant for trimmer gear. How and how to lubricate?

Occasionally, in the midst of an intense mowing operation, your trimmer will make an unpleasant grinding noise. This complains about the lack of lubrication, the gearbox is the most heavily loaded unit of the device. And soon these “warnings” may be followed by a jammed drive.

How to lubricate the trimmer gearbox?

In the upper part of the body, where the gear unit is installed, there is a technological hole, which is plugged with a screw during trimmer operation. This screw is unscrewed, and 1.5. 2 ml of lubricant is injected into the hole using the spout on the tube. If the lubricant was purchased in a different package, then an ordinary disposable medical syringe is also suitable for this operation.

After that, the screw is installed in its original place. This procedure, regardless of the user’s recommendations, should be performed every 10. 15 hours of operation of the trimmer in working mode. Other reasons for updating or replacing the gearbox lubricant are the independent performance of minor routine maintenance (for example, cleaning and flushing the gears of the gearbox before the start of the summer season), repairing the unit, preserving the trimmer for the winter, etc.

If the gear unit is disassembled, it is recommended to completely remove the remnants of the old grease from the surface of the parts, even if it does not show any signs of oxidation and contamination. And only then apply new lubricant. After applying the lubricant, it is recommended to rotate the shaft several times by hand, and make sure that the lubricant is evenly distributed over all parts of the gearbox.

When lubricating, pay particular attention to the following elements:

Flywheel: as a rule, grass remnants stick to its surface intensively, and thickening grass juice creates additional resistance.
Pawl of the starter coil, which in the process of turning on the drive constantly contacts the grooves on the flywheel. In this case, not only mechanical wear occurs, but also mechanochemical corrosion of the “flywheel-dog” connection, since the materials of this pair are different (the flywheel is aluminum, and the dog is steel).
Bearings, if their seals are worn out, and through them, the remaining grease is squeezed out. In this case, the unit begins to vibrate intensively when loaded. This happens with Chinese-made trimmers, so in the long run it is worth thinking about replacing the bearing assembly with a better one, for example, from the Swedish company SKF.

How and how to lubricate the lawn mowers gearbox?

Responsible maintenance is the key to long tool life. One of the requirements in the operation of a lawn mower is timely lubrication of the gearbox, as well as cleaning the filters. Every user of such a unit knows what composition to lubricate the gearbox with. First, it is cleaned in several stages, then the element is removed from the casing. It is cleaned with gasoline and dried. The place for the filter is prepared carefully, cleaning it from dust and old oil. The main signal for lubricating the lawn mowers gearbox is extraneous noise and rapid heating of the equipment. This means that it is necessary to lubricate the spare part as soon as possible. For lubrication intervals, refer to the instruction manual for your lawn mower. The experts say that gearbox maintenance should be done every 15 hours.

Petrol trimmer grease

Correctly selected lawn mower care guarantees the durability and quality of the equipment. Manufacturers try to take into account all the nuances and prescribe what materials to use for maintenance. Usually, a specific type of lubricant is not specified, it is simply given generally known standards that lubricants must comply with.

The lubricant must be selected in such a way as to take into account temperature conditions, rotational speed, load dynamics and vibration. The main requirement is that this mixture remains in the zone of maximum friction.

Based on the above information, it should be noted that lawn mowers manufacturers are developing universal additional tools for their equipment. It can be served with general industrial compounds. The main condition is compliance with the operating conditions, namely, the presence of an anti-rust and lime agent in the composition, as well as a filler, which consists of a solid lubricant. Grease is poured into the gearbox through a special hole, the unit is not dismantled.

Replacement is done quickly enough.

First, turn off the device from the network. Devices using gasoline must be drained of gasoline.
If the lubricant changes completely, then be sure to flush the gearbox. To do this, first fill in the cleaner, then rinse the gearbox well, then drain. It is important to clean the entire case.
Use the special tool that comes with the trimmer to unscrew the gearbox plug.
Apply new grease: insert a syringe with a tube into the hole and squeeze out the grease (2-5 ml).
We turn the shaft manually, turn on the scythe at low speed without load. This is necessary in order for the lubricant to be efficiently distributed in places subject to maximum friction.

Lower and upper gear lubrication

There are tips that recommend lubrication at the end of the season. However, most people find it best to do this at the beginning of each season. When we repair a unit, as well as carry out any disassembly, it is necessary to use lubricants. The gearbox must be additionally lubricated when the old trimmer is inserted.

Modern trimmers are equipped with a gearbox that measures the angle of transmission of mechanical energy between two components: the shaft and the head. Bevel gears are considered common, they can easily withstand high speeds, are equipped with smooth engagement, as well as an increased level of bearing capacity. The housing includes a shaft, a gear wheel, which is pressed onto the driven shaft. In order to reduce friction, bearings are installed on the bearing points of the shaft.

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