Excavator Greasing Guide: Where, How Often, and Common Mistakes

An excavator has dozens of lubrication points — all pins, bushings and sleeves. Grease is the cheapest spare part: skip it and you wear out components worth thousands.

Key points to grease

• Boom, arm and bucket cylinder pins — highest load, fastest wear;
• Bucket linkage — many pins, constant movement, the most neglected area;
• Slewing ring gear teeth — grease after cleaning the deck and swing the upper structure to distribute it;
• Undercarriage — track rollers, idlers and top rollers on schedule.

How often

For normal work, grease all working-device points every 8–10 machine-hours. For breaker duty, heavy loads, underwater or high-dust conditions, shorten to every shift. The slew ring needs weekly greasing — full quantity, with the upper structure swung to spread it evenly.

Three common mistakes

First, more is not better — over-greasing blows out seals and pollutes the site. Second, one grease for everything — hot and cold climates need different grades; in winter use a low-temperature grease or the pump cannot deliver it. Third, never flushing old grease — neglected pins dry out and seize, to the point they cannot even be removed.

Make greasing part of the end-of-shift routine and the machine easily lasts years longer. Contact us for a lubrication schedule sheet for your model.