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Anyone with a sled lift, I have a question
- Thread starter muss
- Start date
I looked on mine and no zirk, I have never greased it in the 5 or so years I've had it. Works fine
X2 had mine for 10 years never greased. Are you going to crank sled up & down everyday for storeage or something that is heavy use? Othewise I would not worry about it maybe spray some WD40 or spray grease on whatever needs lube. There are also grease injector needles for tight fittings without zerks.
I have built these units for years now. you have to remove it from the frame and flip it upside down, use spray lithium on the threads of the shaft, way down inside the tube. Just sprat it in there. Or, leave it alone, I use the shop one several times a day, and never lube it, been about 10 years now. Although, the impact gun will kill one faster than turning by hand.
I guess I won't worry about it then, It seemed so important as about the only thing in the directions it said to do was " grease often" and there was a big sticker on the shaft that said " grease often " but it must not be that important if no one else does it and there is not a place to even grease it! Thanks all.
mjkaliszak
New member
I'm compelled to chime in with my findings. ( IMO of course ) I did kill mine with an impact gun, there was bubkiss for grease, and the jack itself appears to come from china ( lead screw -thrust bearing poor quality ) . It seemed to me that after reviewing the thrust bearing / washer design that the clearances were too liberal allowing the t-bearing to shift against the washer and then in the other direction against the welded tube top excessively. The t-bearings are not designed to take that kind of laterial movement in addition to shifting load against those type of surfaces.( top of the jack ) T-bearings should be sandwiched by 2 t-washers that are normally precision ground flat. I have resourced a metric t-bearing , tightened up the tolerances with flat washers, greased the lead screw, nut, t-bearing and have not had a problem in the last 2 years. I don't have a shop but do use mine extensively, 4 sleds need work constantly, and I can't see myself cranking by hand. I want the lift to do the work and me to do the thinking. My dewalt drill is from the 90's and just didn't have the torque to lift it, so it's the impact gun.
I'm compelled to chime in with my findings. ( IMO of course ) I did kill mine with an impact gun, there was bubkiss for grease, and the jack itself appears to come from china ( lead screw -thrust bearing poor quality ) . It seemed to me that after reviewing the thrust bearing / washer design that the clearances were too liberal allowing the t-bearing to shift against the washer and then in the other direction against the welded tube top excessively. The t-bearings are not designed to take that kind of laterial movement in addition to shifting load against those type of surfaces.( top of the jack ) T-bearings should be sandwiched by 2 t-washers that are normally precision ground flat. I have resourced a metric t-bearing , tightened up the tolerances with flat washers, greased the lead screw, nut, t-bearing and have not had a problem in the last 2 years. I don't have a shop but do use mine extensively, 4 sleds need work constantly, and I can't see myself cranking by hand. I want the lift to do the work and me to do the thinking. My dewalt drill is from the 90's and just didn't have the torque to lift it, so it's the impact gun.
Holy smokes,are you an engineer? Lol. That's the most detailed response possible in relation to a sled lift! Good info though, not pickin on ya.
mjkaliszak
New member
Hey, Hey, Hey now.... I want to be clear , I have been called a lot of things ( LOL ) That was the weakness with my sled lift. Little by little I started noticing aluminum metal shavings at the tube end, then it progressively was harder to turn. Upon dis-assembly the thrust bearing was shifting into the top cover of the jack with only 1 washer on the screw side. As far as greasing , I would grease the heck out of it, I used Donnely's Mold Grease, but any grease would be helpful. It seemed to be lacking. I always feel the top of the jack tube where the T-bearing is for heat, it is a sign of problems coming. IMO Of course.
Thus the point of this thread, I don't see how you could possiblyget grease in there from there unless you sprayed w-d 40 with a straw. I think I am more confused now, most of us saying don't worry about it, and seemingly the smartest one of us saying to grease it often, but again where to grease is the question?
Thus the point of this thread, I don't see how you could possiblyget grease in there from there unless you sprayed w-d 40 with a straw. I think I am more confused now, most of us saying don't worry about it, and seemingly the smartest one of us saying to grease it often, but again where to grease is the question?
I disassembled mine and put grease onto it by hand.
In an effort to help you with your decision, the grease can't hurt, so worst case scenario you maybe wasted 20 minutes of your time in an effort to improve ease of operation and extend the life of the screw jack.
BTW, I use a DeWALT cordless drill on mine
mjkaliszak
New member
Thus the point of this thread, I don't see how you could possiblyget grease in there from there unless you sprayed w-d 40 with a straw. I think I am more confused now, most of us saying don't worry about it, and seemingly the smartest one of us saying to grease it often, but again where to grease is the question?
Pic 10, proper T-bearing set up with extra washer ( remove excess slop )
Pic 11, tube acess holes drilled thru both tubes for pp grease adapter as mentioned above
Pic 12, Final assembly, notice 2 more washers on top of tube end inbetween drive coupler, this is to take up more excess slop. Napa Grease point adapter & number.
OR take it apart and lube it that way, Like Kraven700 said, it's worth the time either way.
Their weakness is not only the lack of grease, but the excessive lateral movement and cheap t-bearing .
Wow! Thanks for taking the time to post those pics, greaat idea. You would think that the manufacturer would implement something like this when they make them seeing how vital it is to keep them lubed. Thanks again, I am buying that at Napa tomorrow and I now have a weekend project! Thanks again.