Finish Line meets Phil - Greasetastic!

Sometimes we want the best of both worlds, and at times companies deliver.  Taco Bell came up with the Doritos taco.  Dairy Queen's Heath Bar Blizzard is genius.  At other times, a product might not work exactly the way we would like it to.  Reader Leighton wanted his favorite grease to work with his favorite grease dispenser and did not let a little compatibility issue stop him.  All text and pictures below are credited to Leighton.  If readers have hacked a favorite maintenance product in some way, please feel free to send our way. 

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Finish Line's grease injection pump gun is fantastic, but I prefer Phil's waterproof grease. Alas, FL's supposedly "standard" thread, 9/16", doesn't seem so standard: It won't accept tubes of either Phil or Park grease. Don't let that stop you though: You can make it work for about $5, albeit with a few tools. Naturally you'll need a FL grease gun and a tube of Phil's fantastic grease.
 
First, at your local hardware store, buy a 9/16" bolt in mild steel (as soft as possible, basically) and two rubber O-rings (try the plumbing supplies section). The first should fit snugly around the top of the tube of Phil, the second around the bolt. Before you buy the bolt, verify that it will thread easily into the FL grease gun.
 


 Cut off the bolt with a hacksaw about 3/16" (5mm) from the head. Clean the threads with a small file and ensure that it goes all the way into the FL grease gun's opening.
 


 Drill a pilot hole in the center of the bolt head with an 1/16" drill all the way through. From there, gradually increase the drill size until you get to 11/32" (that's a lot of drill bits). This is best done with a drill press, but a hand drill will work as well, though with more effort and less accuracy. That done, use a 10mm/1.25mm tap to thread the newly created passage in the bolt. You don't have to go all the way through, as the opening of the Phil tube is only about 5mm deep, but if you feel like it, go for it.
 


 Put the large O-ring over the bolt, the small O-ring over the threads of the Phil tube, and thread the whole thing together.
 


Squeeze the tube of Phil until you work out all the air in the system; when the pump's action hardens up, you know you're there. And now you've got the best of Phil and Finish Line.

Comments

[Mike Freiberger]

Love it. A Tap and Die set is one of the most under-rated tools in the home!

[Steve]

Or you could buy a Dualco grease gun from Amazon.com for $15.45 and save yourself the trouble.

[Paul]

Great hack, but instead of modifying a bolt, it's much easier just to buy a brass adaptor fitting for a few bucks.