Grease is Grease???

[BIGNASTY]

Have a semi new vehicle in the barn, was looking at lube spec's and seen two different types of Grease for two different lube points. Can it REALLY be that critical???

NLGI-2 moly grease for the double-cardan joints, and an NLGI-2 lithium-based grease for the u-joints and slip yokes


BIG

 

[fox]

Moly grease is far superior to a lithium grease. Lithium will and does absorb water.

 

[seafish]

I use StaPlex Extreme Red Moly on all my equipment AND bearings. Its a dam good water resistant Lithium grease.

http://www.crcindustries.com/ei/product_detail.aspx?id=SL3191

http://www.amazon.com/CRC-SL3190-St..._sim_sg_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0NGTTF9SZFEFPDEJRBYB

 

[RikDavis]

Shortly after I bought my 2WD 99 new I drilled the ball joints and installed grease fittings. Back then the rest of the front end already had fittings.
I grease it myself every 2 or 3K with whatever Tractor Supply has on sale.
At 576,000 I have yet to replace a front end part. It may be more how often than what with.
My concern is the 2013 has a lot of places that look to me that they should be lubricated and no way to do it. Not sure how I am going to approach that yet. It also seems like every time I get a grease needle from Advanced it either has no hole through it or blow apart under pressure

 

[Wayne M.]

Grease is DEFINITELY not grease... I've had arguments with fellows who pack wheel bearings with chassis grease LOL! Lith vs. Moly on the same veh and the same type of app. is crazy though. I always liked AMZOIL red tacky for the chassis, and good 'ol old school long fiber for the bearins- Mopar 4318064

 

[BIGNASTY]

Have been using this http://www.valvoline.com/pdf/hd_palladium_grease.pdf with great luck so far, on ALL equipment around the place. I have used it on trailer wheel bearings Dodge U-joints, tractor lube points just about anything that needed to be lubed, with better than anything else results, that I have used before. My only concern was the 4x4 suspension components Not that im going to submerge them in a river but winter weather is pretty darn close at times.

 

[Wayne M.]

IMHO, flushing the water out of any joint is a huge factor. I get gallons out of the outer tie rods and the outer axle ujoints.

 

[BIGNASTY]

The amazing thing about this new truck (to me) is that the Japanese can put in U-joints that have grease zerts and other suspension and drive-line parts that also have them,

SO WHY is it that Dodge couldn't have done the same thing on a truck that cost more???

And then some wonder why the American car companies cant compete in some classes of products!!

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

Solid u joints without grease passages are stronger. If the grease seals and the grease are good, the joints will last a long time. The u joints I discarded at 160,000 miles on my 2004 were still good with enough grease in them. There are different base stocks such as sodium, lithium, aluminum complex, and polymer. Make sure what you put in is compatible with the old grese, or you must fully flush out the old stuff.

 

[BIGNASTY]

Joe

Im not going to argue about the stronger part, I don't think that any of us put that much strain on a truck to where that would come into play, I took my U joints out on my 04.5 at 60k because one of them was frozen in position and caused a vibration, when I pulled the drive line to check them is when I found it had frozen. Could it have gone further? I don't know, but some of the places I go its a pretty long walk to a parts store.

I don't know how a Class 8 trucks u joints can stand what they do, I have NEVER seen one without a grease fitting?

 

[Bob V]

I have seen non greaseable u joints, and bearings, go much longer than greasable ones. One problem is when you pump grease in utill it come out the seal you have just compromised the seal and can get contaminants into the bearing surface. If the seals are good and they start with the proper amount of quality grease they could go almost forever. Another thing to remember is that grease is NOT really thick oil. It is oil with a thickening agent. Different types of thickeners have different characteristics and are each better suited for different applications. The actual viscosity of the OIL in the grease will have different applications also.

 

[BIGNASTY]

I don't know because im old school but I think the idea is to NOT BLOW THE SEAL out of the joint make sure it has grease when installed and every 3k I put in a little squeeze to make sure they are NOT DRY. The old NON grease types lasted 60k I now have going on 180K on the truck now???? im sorry I will take the hard task of putting a little dab of grease once in awhile its not that hard to crawl under the truck.

same goes for the ball joints that are grease type poke the boot if it feels like there is something in it THERE PROBABLY IS !!! if it feels a bit soft with no resistance to the touch, put some grease in and DON'T BLOW THE BOOT SEAL!! again

Its a preference, I will take the grease type ANYTHING, anytime I can get them. BUT THAT'S JUST ME

 

[JLEONARD]

All grease is not equal. You can mix greases where they turn into basically mud and will not cool properly.

 

[Bob V]

The third gen u joints where not built correctly and did not last. My 1997 still had ALL the original joints at 225,000 miles and my 2011 has 85,000 with no problems.
Have you ever thought what happened to the grease in the joints/bearings? If the seals are good, and there is no leaks the grease is still in there. I do industrial maintenance (Millwright) and work a lot with bearings and lubrication. There are a lot of applications that the original lube is all it will get in its lifetime. And that is fully loaded 24/7 for YEARS and no lube related failures. The original lube is the proper amount and type and is still there doing its job.
There is also applications such as high heat, high speed, and contamination from dirt and water that extra lube is required. MOST automotive u-joints and sealed bearings are not in this category. The lubes and seals we have today are so much better then 40+ years ago that the maintenance we did then is not requited today.

 

[Bob V]

The third gen u joints where not built correctly and did not last. My 1997 still had ALL the original joints at 225,000 miles and my 2011 has 85,000 with no problems.
Have you ever thought what happened to the grease in the joints/bearings? If the seals are good, and there is no leaks the grease is still in there. I do industrial maintenance (Millwright) and work a lot with bearings and lubrication. There are a lot of applications that the original lube is all it will get in its lifetime. And that is fully loaded 24/7 for YEARS and no lube related failures. The original lube is the proper amount and type and is still there doing its job.
There is also applications such as high heat, high speed, and contamination from dirt and water that extra lube is required. MOST automotive u-joints and sealed bearings are not in this category. The lubes and seals we have today are so much better then 40+ years ago that the maintenance we did then is not requited today.

 

[crispyboy]

I've been using Valvoline Synpower for a couple of years on most everything. Not sure if I'm wrong in my thinking but I didn't want several different types of grease around the garage. No bearings have blown up yet.
The only thing I don't like about it is that the grease gun seems to drip from time to time.

http://www.valvoline.com/products/consumer-products/grease-gear-oil/grease/63

 

[fest3er]

... My 1997 still had ALL the original joints at 225,000 miles...

My '98 still has the original permanently lubed ujoints in the drive shafts at 280k miles with no sign of getting tired. The front axle ujoints are a different story; they regularly fail in 20k-30k miles.

 

[BIGNASTY]

I've been using Valvoline Synpower for a couple of years on most everything. Not sure if I'm wrong in my thinking but I didn't want several different types of grease around the garage. No bearings have blown up yet.
The only thing I don't like about it is that the grease gun seems to drip from time to time.

http://www.valvoline.com/products/consumer-products/grease-gear-oil/grease/63

the valvoline grease that I use is the Palladium, it hasn't done the drip thing but I used to not wear latex gloves when I work but anytime I mess around with this grease I use them, it is the hardest stuff to get off of parts even wheel bearing that are washed to inspect and re-pack and the hands look as if im changing from one Nationality to another for a week until they come clean.

 

[Wayne M.]

Different joints have different seals. A lot of steering joints have what I call umbrella seals that just slip over the joint. Some have a wire ring or other positive lock to make a tight seal. Most car joints and permanant u joints fall into this category. Once that seal is breached, it's all over. If it's an umbrella seal, likely there's a fitting and it must be flushed out. Once it stops taking grease, it's done as well.
There's an old S10 jimmy in my hood that I can hear from a block away. It has a SCREAMING ball joint or something. Driver is a real ZERK!!