Number of zerks and oil capacity? December 23, 2009, 01:12:17 pm Yahoo Message Number: 108739I just put all the previous owner's service receipts in a database to continue carefully maintaining our (2nd owners) 1997 23.5 T/K (Goldilocks) w/100k miles. The oil used varied from 5 to 7 qts (usually 6.5), with filter change and the number of chassis zerks varied from 2 to 11 (usually 4), according to the service records (mostly Jiffy Lube & Oil Can Henrys). Got knowledge of the actual grease zerks (is there a source for documentation/location?), and what experience with oil capacity during changes? John B.
Re: Number of zerks and oil capacity? Reply #1 – December 23, 2009, 03:15:57 pm Yahoo Message Number: 108743wrote: The oil used varied from 5 to 7 qts (usually 6.5), with filter change and the number of chassis zerks varied from 2 to 11 (usually 4), according to the service records (mostly Jiffy Lube & Oil Can Henrys). Got knowledge of the actual grease zerks (is there a source for documentation/location?), and what experience with oil capacity during changes? --- Your ownerâs manual should provide a chart of the specific fluid requirements and amounts needed for your vehicle. You might also want to look at this page on Fordâs website; drill through the options to find the recommended maintenance âjobsâ and mileage schedule for your vehicle: https://www.fleet.ford.com/maintenance/maintenance_schedules/GetYMM.aspThe *considerable* discrepancies among the oil amounts and lubrication points in the past âservice recordsâ are red flags; those ânumbersâ are way too variable. You might want to think about having your E350 V-10 serviced at a Ford (or other) truck center or with a reliable local mechanic who is familiar with the chassis and engine; at the least (if you donât have the ownerâs manual), you might want to call a local Ford service center and ask the service tech for the oil requirements (weight and amounts) for your specific vehicle. Perhaps others feel differently, but I would not rely on Jiffy Lube or Oil Can Henryâs or any âquick lubeâ outfit to perform even the most rudimentary maintenance on my motorhome. YMMV.Joan
Re: Number of zerks and oil capacity? Reply #2 – December 23, 2009, 04:31:09 pm Yahoo Message Number: 108746Quote Got knowledge of the actual grease zerks (is there a source for documentation/location?), Check me where I'm wrong, but I think I recall that several zerks have rubber "bladders" holding lots of grease. Service guy fills only the ones that need, so there's reason why "zerks filled" might vary.John
Re: Number of zerks and oil capacity? Reply #3 – December 23, 2009, 06:54:25 pm Yahoo Message Number: 108748QuoteCheck me where I'm wrong, but I think I recall that several zerks have rubber "bladders" holding lots of grease. Service guy fills only the ones that need, so there's reason why "zerks filled" might vary. "Zerk" refers to the fitting where grease is injected (named for inventor Oscar Zerk). Many greased joints are enclosed in a rubber boot that serves to contain the grease and keep contaminants out. Trying to pump too much grease into such a joint can cause the boot to rupture. The count of "zerks" should only refer to the number of greaseable joints to be serviced and not the total amount of grease added.Art
Re: Number of zerks and oil capacity? Reply #4 – December 23, 2009, 07:09:45 pm Yahoo Message Number: 108749older_fossil wrote: "Zerk" refers to the fitting where grease is injected (named for inventor Oscar Zerk). --- You know that I had to look this guy up; I thought "Oscar Zerk" might be a bit of "engineer humor"! ;-) http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=21910566 Joan
Re: Number of zerks and oil capacity? Reply #5 – December 23, 2009, 09:48:46 pm Yahoo Message Number: 108758QuoteYou know that I had to look this guy up; I thought "Oscar Zerk" might be a bit of "engineer humor"! ;-) Thanks for looking that up, Joan. What an amazing man Zerk was. A veritable "Edison" of the late 20th c. Too bad he's such an unsung hero outside of that one small grease fitting bearing his name.
Re: Number of zerks and oil capacity? Reply #6 – December 28, 2009, 07:07:59 pm Yahoo Message Number: 108780Fascinating what answers one gets on this forum: I've always wondered where the word "zerk" came from. Now I know! JB