Hi Tim. Well that wasn't aimless babbling at all. They also used to use brass grease cups a long time ago. They were brass cups that screwed into a bearing journal like a Zerk. The had a brass screw on cap. You removed the cap. Put some grease in. Replaced the cap just a thread or two. Then, periodically, you would screw the cap in a turn and it would push grease in to the bearing or bushing. Oil works well as a bearing lubricant. In fact, the massive propeller shaft journal bearings on Navy ships are splash lubricated by oil. I know because I used to take bearing temperature readings on them.
Well, your points do relate to Green machines in the sense of future parts availability. Dodge trucks and parts disappeared from boneyards decades ago. The truck salvage yard in NJ I used to go to years ago was forced by the DEP or EPA to get rid of all of it's old trucks and parts. They had a lot of cool heavy trucks from the 50s and 60s. You can build a complete '56 Ford or '55 Chevy truck from parts catalogs due to popular demand. There are ZERO parts available on the aftermarket for '50s Dodge trucks. Today was the culmination of a long and frustrating search. The same thing could happen to M35A2 body parts in the not too distant future. I would caution my fellow soldiers to get all of the Deuce body parts they might ever need now. In ten years they could very well dry up.
Wow Owen! I didn't even think about those grease cups. There are 4 of them on the smallest press. They get a quarter turn daily and refilled monthly. Paper is a NASTY thing. It makes a lot of dust but oddly enough I have never had a grease cup stop pushing grease.
It has been about 20 years ago, but there was a Chevrolet dealer in the upper part of South Carolina. The owner passed away and for whatever reason, the dealership inventory was auctioned off. In a building on the back corner of the lot - they found brand new 55,56, and 57 Chevy hoods and fenders and doors and lights. All new in the crate. I didn't need any of the parts but it was so amazing that I just had to go to the sale.
It really is amazing and sad how parts for trucks and cars just slowly dries up. And with government help, sometimes it happens sooner than it should. The only respectable Recycle Yard around here has been investigated several times by the EPA. Every time somebody who works there gets fired, the EPA shows up with a clipboard and a complaint. The owner has spent $50,000 to $100,000 every time that happened. And then he goes to court in an attempt to get back the money that they caused him to spend to
prove he wasn't guilty. That idea of innocent until proven guilty holds no water when it comes to the EPA!