The Zerks are cleanable, but seem to wear out- causing grease to leak when lubricating..
Why not try a foreign car dealer - if you can find a good one..Trouble is, the fittings are passe with them as well.And I believe they use the standard 1/8" zerk - I think..
Maybe a good old hardware store..They had this stuff 20 years ago - whatever happened to this old stuff??
I'd think the antique people would know - IMO, it is insane to just pitch these "obsolete" items....

Try this, remove the fitting. If it unscrews,consider yourself blessed, some are just pressed in. Hold it on the nozzle of your grease gun. You may want to wear a glove or a plastic bag for this. Pump the grease. Some may not go through the Zerk, but most times a plug of solidified grease will pop out. The Zerk will now take grease. If this doesn't work there are 2 different nozzles you can buy at Auto-zone , etc One is a cone that screws onto the head of the gun. one is a needle like a big hypodermic needle. I have to use the cone nozzle to grease the flat fittings on the double cardan U-joint on the front drive shaft of my Jeep. Anyway, just use the cone directly into the hole th Zerk threads into.

Your best bet may be McMaster-Carr. They have several pages of zerk fittings, including "Drive" type, which are un-threaded and pressed into place. They are sold for 1/8", 3/16", and 1/4" dia holes. You will probably have to buy a dozen and shipping may be more than the cost of the parts.

MTD probably used drive fittings because they are cheaper and the fittings usually outlast the tractor.

You will need to remove the old fitting and hammer in a new one. They sell a tool for $10 or $12, but you can probably improvise something.

Here is a link that might be useful: McMaster-Carr

I checked our local hardware store in Manchester; they stock 1/4 by 28" and the larger 1/8 pipe" grease fitting...
Shipping - that is the killer !

$6.60 for a part the size and weight of a aspirin pill - yet $9.90 for shipping and handling !
Let us know how you make out..

My observations on snow blower grease fittings:

The usual place grease fitting problems arise is the "reel". One fitting on each side, feeding grease into a fairly tight fit between reel drive shafts and the reels. If old grease is hardened in the fitting it's the same inside the reel. Getting grease to flow through and around the hardened grease all the way to both ends of the reel is a crapshoot. Old = "dismantle, clean completely and assemble and regrease".

While reels are off shafts, retap to a "modern" size grease fitting. When installing new fittings in reel holes make sure the end is not protruding THROUGH the hole and contacting the shaft. A long fitting will bottom out on the shaft and push itself right out as it's tightened or vibration will knock the fitting out. Shortening the threaded end of the fitting sometimes is required (file/grind) but you shouldn't need too many threads anyway.

"Drive fittings" are only supposed to be used on NON PRESSSURE fitting applications. In other words where there is NOT supposed to be resistance to the flow of grease through a drive fitting. Ball joints, some bearings, etc. are HI PRESSURE applicathons and a "drive" fitting will blow out due to pressure from grease gun. Snowblower reels are a low pressure applications as grease is supposed to flow freely to BOTH ends of reel/shaft. If a drive type fitting blows out it tells you there is too much resistance and jamming in another one in won't fix the original problems.

The main purpose for greasing this part of a snowblower is to keep the reels from "freezing" on the shafts from rust caused by water. Rust builds up jamming the shaft to the reel and not allowing the "shear bolt" to break off when necessary. Now this can be a very $$$$ situation. (Just ask my buddy about his Cub walkbehind blower! He didn't think this area was important until he hit a big frozen Sunday newspaper!)

FWIW....:)

I picked up some 1/4-28 fittings in the local HW store. I made sure that they had short shaft on the thread end even before I read your post. Of course, I need a 1/4-28 tap.

I'll drill and tap the one that is missing and as I need new fittings I'll do the others over time.

Thanks for all the help!!!

NJTrout

Hydroharold does know his stuff, from him I learned things that I did not previously know.
Also, I have some more work cut out for me....

Those grease fittings are made by "Alemite" They are a #3019 Straight Drive Fitting for a 1/8" diameter drilled hole. They can be found at industrial bearing suppliers, possibly NAPA Auto Parts and/or Lubrication Distributors. Fastenal Inc.is also another source. They deal with a lot of specialty items like this. Hopefully you will find them available locally.