Lost a full day's pay because I didn't check the grease points on a rental skid steer.

Wendy Hall · 2026-03-17T15:40:06.918759+00:00

The u-joint on the drive shaft seized up after about four hours. That cost me $800 in lost work and a tow. What's your quick check routine on a machine you've never run before?

patkelly7mo ago

My buddy lost a whole job last year from a bad hydraulic line on a rental.

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gonzalez.rowan6mo ago

Did they even give you a quick walk-around before you took it off the lot?

3

the_seth7mo ago

Wait, they rented you a skid steer without showing you the grease points first? That's on them, not you. My quick check is to pop the hood and look for any zerks that are bone dry or leaking. Then I cycle all the hydraulics before putting it under load. A seized u-joint after four hours means someone skipped basic maintenance for a long time.

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