• 12 parts
  • Checked October 2026

Parts of a Grease Gun

A lever grease gun cut open: name each part from the T-handle to the coupler.

Parts of a Grease Gun

Name Date

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Barrel
  2. Head
  3. Lever handle
  4. Coupler
  5. Grease cartridge
  6. Follower rod
  7. T-handle
  8. Spring
  9. Bleeder valve
  10. Rigid extension
  11. Flexible hose
  12. Grease fitting

Own drawing from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: the parts of a caulking gun

All 12 parts on the diagram

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The grease gun 12

  1. Barrel The tube that holds the grease. It unscrews from the head.
  2. Head The pump body that the barrel screws into.
  3. Lever handle Each stroke of the lever pumps grease out through the head.
  4. Coupler The end piece that snaps onto a grease fitting.
  5. Grease cartridge A ready-filled tube of grease that slides into the barrel.
  6. Follower rod The rod pulled back and locked to load the gun.
  7. T-handle The grip for pulling the follower rod back.
  8. Spring Pushes the plunger forward, so the grease is pressed toward the head.
  9. Bleeder valve Lets trapped air out of the gun when it is pressed.
  10. Rigid extension A stiff pipe from the head to the coupler.
  11. Flexible hose Used in place of the rigid extension to reach awkward fittings.
  12. Grease fitting The nipple on a machine that takes the grease. Also called a zerk.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-10-01 and kept only where two makers use it. The operating instructions of four makers' grease guns, read as page text: https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6230587 (gun head, lever handle, barrel, cartridge, follower rod and its handle, spring, bleeder valve, rigid extension, grease whip, coupler, zerk), https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6347423 with https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-6348878 from one seller (gun head, container tube, cartridge, plunger rod and handle, long spring, air vent valve, nozzle extension, flex hose, coupler, grease fitting), https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-7037471 (head, barrel, cartridge, T-grip handle, coupler) and https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-5788395 (lever, cartridge, spring, flexible hose, grease fittings). Licence: own work

The drawing: Own drawing from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A grease gun pumps grease into the fittings of a machine. The drawing shows a lever-action gun from the side with its barrel cut open, and twelve parts to name.

Read the full guide

Inside the barrel

A grease cartridge slides into the barrel. Behind it a spring pushes a plunger forward, so the grease is always pressed toward the head. To load the gun, the follower rod is pulled back by its T-handle and locked; once the barrel is screwed into the head, the rod is released.

From the head to the fitting

Each stroke of the lever handle pumps grease out of the head. It leaves through a rigid extension or a flexible hose and reaches the machine through the coupler, which snaps onto a grease fitting. The bleeder valve on the head lets trapped air out.

  • Other names: container tube for the barrel, plunger rod for the follower rod, air vent valve for the bleeder valve. The quiz accepts each.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a grease gun called?

The head and the barrel that screws into it, the lever handle, the grease cartridge, the spring and follower rod inside the barrel with a T-handle on the rod, the bleeder valve, an extension or hose, and the coupler.

What is the rod at the back of a grease gun for?

It is the follower rod. Pulling it back by its handle draws the plunger and spring back so a new cartridge can go in. After loading it is released and pushed into the barrel.

What does the bleeder valve on a grease gun do?

It lets air out. Air trapped in the barrel after loading can stop the gun pumping, and pressing the valve releases it.

What is the tip of a grease gun called?

The coupler. It snaps onto a grease fitting, also called a zerk, and comes off again when it is tilted to one side, twisted and pulled.

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