I have a side mount, 4-pulley anchor system on my driftboat. The pulley brackets and wheels are aluminum.......no plastic. I screwed each pully into the side of the hull so they can be removed to service if needed.

The system is about 4 years old. Here is my delimma; How the hell do you get grease in decent amounts into the pulley wheel? Mine are pretty dry and squeaky telling me it is clearly time for lube.

In studying the pulley wheel, there is a 1-2mm hole drilled into the base of the wheel which is, I presume, a hole used to shoot grease inside the wheel along the axle. The holes, however, are plugged solid with anchor rope grime. I tried cleaning it out with a toothpick and even went so far as to buy one of those small, pointy-tipped attachments for a grease gun that would fit in the hole. All that did was shoot grease all over the gun and around the outside of the pulley.

Does anyone have any effective methods for greasing these pulleys? With all you fellow driftboat owners out there, some of you must have these same frustrations.

Ideas?

Hmmm, good question. Can you unbolt the pulley and remove it from the mount, or is it riveted in? If you can unbolt it you could take it to the car wash and apply some high pressure to it????

Well... What I found was that the holes that are drilled in the pulley itself weren't drilled all the way through to the axle. So I redrilled the holes carefully, and actually increased the diameter to accept the aerosol spray nozzle of a high pressure water proof hinge grease.

After a trip down dirt roads I can also put the same type of spray nozzle in there with gun scrubber to flush out the old grease and replace with fresh.

It has worked like a champ for me.

Good luck!

Kyle,

Not sure what your suggesting???? I mention in my first paragraph that the pulleys can be removed if needed; that's why I screwed them to the hull. And, what are you suggesting do at a car wash? What will that do for the problem of getting grease into the pulleys?

JTD........sounds like a possibilty! Can you tell me what brand of lube you use and where to get it? Also, how big a diameter hole did you end up drilling? Is this easier done removing the pulley from the boat or can the modifications be done with them in place?

I pressure wash mine at least every other use.
Then I put some pro-cure shrimp oil in and all over the pulley's.I used WD-40 but that put black Sheeayt all over the in side of the boat.They need to make them out of stainless steel with a grease zirt fitting on them.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

The grease I use is a commercial application for vehicle door hinges. It is called "Cheetah" door hinge lube. It is a high pressure waterproof penetrating grease that works really well. I use it for my trailer winch gears, anchor pulleys, my biggest secret OAR LOCKS!!! and what it was designed for- vehicle hinges and check straps. The nicest thing about this type of grease is that it won't drip or run all over. It is runny when you first spray it but dries to a tacky sort of consistency.

You can get the same type of product from any autobody supply store, the brand doesn't matter.

As far as the diameter of the hole, I just sized up the extended spray nozzle with my drill index. 1/8" maybe?? But, I am certain that the pulley DOES NOT have to be removed to drill this hole. The aluminum is soft enough and there is enough slop in the fit that if you are carefull you can free hand this without damaging the spindle. If your pulley is like mine they are mounted on a peened axle- kind of like a rivet and you will never get them reassembled. By the way, if you mess one up somehow, replacements are available at Auburn Sports and Marine for a couple bucks each. So you have nothing to loose!

So there a go... everything I know about maintaining anchor pulleys!

Get a can of 3M spray silicon, wet type.
It will need to reapplyed every few trips but it is the slickest thing I have found. Also works good for the oar locks . I keep can in the boat . Does not collect dust as bad as grease.

I'll second the spray sillicon idea. Great stuff. Non-staining. Slick as hell. I've found it lasts a logn time too.

Eric, I'm suggesting that if you can remove the pulley from it's base (not the base from your boat) then you can get inside the pulley and blow out whatever is plugging the grease access.

Some pulleys have a bolt they run on you can remove. Some are riveted so you can't do this.