Posted by David Sherman on Sunday, October 08, 2006 at 12:29PM :
Saw this handy maintenance tip in an old book and thought I'd pass it along. It was in a discussion of track rollers on power shovels:
"If neglected (and even sometimes in spite of conscientious service) lubricant and dirt may cake in the passages so that even extra high pressure guns will not force lubricant through.
It is a lot of work to remove and disassemble a roller to clean it out. A very easy cure, that is almost 100 percent effective, is to remove the grease fitting, insert a blasting cap deep in the passage, and fire it. It will blow the passages clean, and will not damage the hard steel parts."
If anybody tries this, I'd be interested to know how it works.
Follow Ups: