SDS Drill

[bluenose]

I have a Bosch PBH 2000 SDS Drill that is a really useful bit of kit.

I have been using it with the chisel to break up a load of concrete in order to bury a waste pipe in the bathroom. I am getting towards the end of the work but unfortunately the drill seems to be discharging what looks like oil or grease which is running down the chisel.

Is the drill dying or will it just be some sort of seal within the chuck/drive mechanism that can be replaced.

Has anyone had a similar problem and have they overcome it. I am quite good at repairing such things if the parts are available but, I don't want to start stripping it down yet particularly if it can't be repaired. I'd rather try to finish the job and let it die on me.

Any thoughts will be much appreciated. Thank you.

 

[GerryT]

I have a Bosch PBH 2000 SDS Drill that is a really useful bit of kit.

I have been using it with the chisel to break up a load of concrete in order to bury a waste pipe in the bathroom. I am getting towards the end of the work but unfortunately the drill seems to be discharging what looks like oil or grease which is running down the chisel.

Is the drill dying or will it just be some sort of seal within the chuck/drive mechanism that can be replaced.

Has anyone had a similar problem and have they overcome it. I am quite good at repairing such things if the parts are available but, I don't want to start stripping it down yet particularly if it can't be repaired. I'd rather try to finish the job and let it die on me.

Any thoughts will be much appreciated. Thank you.

If the drill is still working don’t start taking it apart unnecessarily unless your certain it is faulty.
There is grease in the chuck to start with and some manufacturers say that you should add a little bit of grease each time you insert a bit, I’ve only done that occasionally as the more frequently you add grease the more it may eventually leak out.
I‘ve had the same issue (Dewalt) and it appears that as the tool heats up, the grease softens/liquifies and leaks out the chuck as the bit moves in and out.
May not be your issue but as your breaking up concrete it may well just be a heat issue and not a fault .

 

[PerryGunn]

With SDS bits, you normally apply some grease to the end that goes into the chuck - it's fairly thick when applied but under sustained use the impact function generates a fair bit of heat which tends to make the grease a bit more fluid and it can run down the shaft if the drill is pointing down.

If you've never applied grease, it's probably some that was applied during manufacture and you've never got it hot enough before that the grease has started to run

 

[Distinterior]

During extended use, an SDS drill warms up by quite a bit and the lubricating grease will start to come out of the chuck.

Have you been replacing the grease as you've been using the drill..?

I have a couple of SDS drills and most of them have come with a little container of grease for exactly this purpose.
I believe it's called " Graphite Grease"....?

Here's a picture of a little tube that came with my 240v Millwaukee SDS drill.

Pen is shown for scale.

Edit. Perry & Gerry beat me to it...!!

 

[bluenose]

Thank you for your input chaps, much appreciated. I did have the thought in my mind that it was grease as opposed to oil and that it was the heating up of the drill that was causing it to become runny.

No I have never added any grease at any time during the life of the drill (slapped wrist!). What was worrying me more than anything was the fact that if all of the lubricant eventually leaks out, the wear on the moving parts would become greater and it would wreck the drill. As I am in my 82nd year I don't do much in the way of concrete breaking anymore and so the drill is being used rather more heavily that would be the norm for me.

Another thought. I wouldn't have thought that adding a bit of grease to the end of any inserted bit would actually get to the moving/operational parts of the drill. Perhaps the manufacturers ought to include a grease nipple at the side where the hammer bit is.

I will add some grease before getting on with the last bits of concrete smashing. Thanks again chaps.

 

[PerryGunn]

Edit. Perry & Gerry beat me to it...!!

Only just, and Gerry beat me by about 10 seconds 'cos I corrected a typo - you snooze, you lose....

 

[Distinterior]

Another thought. I wouldn't have thought that adding a bit of grease to the end of any inserted bit would actually get to the moving/operational parts of the drill. Perhaps the manufacturers ought to include a grease nipple at the side where the hammer bit is.

I will add some grease before getting on with the last bits of concrete smashing. Thanks again chaps.

Depending on what type of work you are doing with the tool, will depend on how often you need to apply the grease.

If I'm just using mine to drill a few holes, applying grease to the drill bits & chuck is rarely done....Months can go by between applications of grease...But, using it as a breaker for a lengthy period will require grease application far more often.

 

[bluenose]

Depending on what type of work you are doing with the tool, will depend on how often you need to apply the grease.

If I'm just using mine to drill a few holes, applying grease to the drill bits & chuck is rarely done....Months can go by between applications of grease...But, using it as a breaker for a lengthy period will require grease application far more often.

This is the first (and last) time that I will be using it to break concrete, it has always been used purely for drilling holes up until now. I will definitely put some grease in it though.

If the drill does give in, I've still got an original Rawlplug chisel and lump hammer in my workshop, That brings back some memories I can tell you. Bloomin' hard work in those days!!

 

[user 35906]

I find using my Dewalt SDS drill on hammer without rotation works really well but does generate a fair bit of heat, a lot more than with rotation, and I let it cool every 10 minutes or so.
I still get warm black grease escaping the gearbox. I have never greased the SDS bit so it's not that. The amount is small so I haven't bothered topping it up.

 

[Sideways]

In an SDS drill, inside and out of sight inside the rounded seal at the nose, the bit slides back and forth in the chuck. It isn't gripped tightly while the whole chuck moves back and fwd. That's part of the difference between SDS and old style hammer drills, and why they are more effective. You do need to add grease, because everytime you remove a drill, it brings away a little of the lube that was put in the chuck by the manufacturer. Smear it in the 4 grooves on the drill shank before you push the drill in. Just occasionally. Not everytime you change the bit.

 

[Adam W.]

I just dip my tool in some grease before I insert it in the hole.

 

[pe2dave]

Ditto. Bosch SDS, hammer only, to remove a post. After lots of work it was v.warm and 'grease' (or oil) seen dripping down the tool.
I didn't find any mention of 'greasing' the bit in the handbook?

 

[user 35906]

I find using my Dewalt SDS drill on hammer without rotation works really well but does generate a fair bit of heat, a lot more than with rotation, and I let it cool every 10 minutes or so.
I still get warm black grease escaping the gearbox. I have never greased the SDS bit so it's not that. The amount is small so I haven't bothered topping it up.

I should have mentioned the grease was coming from around the selector knob on the side of the gearbox not the bit.

 

[Jonm]

As I am in my 82nd year I don't do much in the way of concrete breaking anymore and so the drill is being used rather more heavily that would be the norm for me.

Good for you. You must have looked after yourself plus a bit of luck.

 

[johnbaz]

It sounds like you've slightly overworked it if the grease is coming from the gearbox rather than where the chisel fits in, The gears will have warmed up enough to melt the grease, Maybe you could give the drill ten mins to cool every so often

My brother bought me this from an elderly chap that had recently retired, This was about twnty years ago, I've only used it once in anger to remove some brand new gates that a friend had fitted then got a compulsory purchase order on his house!

He had paid thousands to get his front hedge and wall removed, The kerb dropped and the gates fitted then almost immediately he received the order!

It did a cracking job of breaking the concrete up that thesteel gate posts were set into!!

John