I treated myself to two leather recliners and a matching couch with two recliners in it for my Den upon my retirement in 2015.

So ~10 years on, my one broke last week. A wear point wore out allowing a lever to come off a rivet that served as a pivot point and jammed up the mechanism. (I do rotate the chair positions occasionally to even out ware)

The hole was wallered out. I drilled it out a bit larger, drilled out the rivet and replaced it with a bolt long enough so the pivot point is on the unthreaded portion of the bolt shank... then I cut the excess length off the bolt.

Any way...

I noticed that all of the many pivot points were absent of any lubrication.
So I oiled every joint I could find on both chairs and now they work as good as new, or better!

I'm thinking perhaps if I had oiled them occasionally... once or twice a year perhaps... it would have greatly increased their working life.

SO
Do you oil your recliner workings? Something to think about.

Some of them use a rivet system impregnated with graphite for lubrication - you can put oil on it but it isn't necessarily getting to where it is needed.

They are all crap - they are not *really* meant for rocking.
My wife destroys one every 4 or 5 years - I have welded a rod and tube system with grease fittings before - but now we order replacement bases (the base often has a label with that info).

Only if they squeak. I do crawl under with a wrench to check the hardware every other year or so.

Mine has washers between the pivot points, look like a fibre type, possibly were oil impregnated, but look dry now. Almost certainly a little oil occasionally would help. I know the chair now works smoother than I ever remember it working

I broke a coil spring once, and replaced it.
No, never any lube.

quote:

The hole was wallered out.

Added to my descriptive vocabulary.

Loved it.

quote:

Originally posted by RGRacing:

quote:

The hole was wallered out.

Added to my descriptive vocabulary.

Loved it.

More commonly, "'wallowed' out." I usually say "hogged out," myself.

I don't see why you couldn't lube the jackscrew (like in automobile power seats, if present), pivots and joints with something like white lithium grease, if they are accessible. Use a can or tube and "paint" it on with a brush, not the spray, which can get into places you don't want.

quote:

Originally posted by RGRacing:

quote:

The hole was wallered out.

Added to my descriptive vocabulary.

Loved it.

I learned that term 60+ years ago from my father.