Which grease to use and when. HD Lithium vs HD Moly Lithium grease

[Silvic]

As the title states.
I have always thought I knew the correct answer but have recently started to question my understanding of which and when.

HD Lithium and 3% Moly in a Lithium base grease. A recent piece of equipment I purchased stated to not use moly grease but just a "good" quality HD Lithium.

When do you use each?
In which applications?
And finally Why?

Thanks

 

[Oldtink]

I wouldn't question the manufactures wishes. Here is some informative reading on lubrication.
Greases - Resources And Advice

 

[Copperhead]

I have grown fond of moly with aluminum base grease as opposed to lithium base. I use it in everything from my JD zero turn mower up thru my commercial semi truck. Since I move from lithium base to aluminum base with moly, I have gotten significantly longer life out of u-joints, king pin bushings, brake cam bushings, etc on my semi truck. I have been using Schaeffer #274 for most everything.

http://www.schaefferoil.com/documents/151-274-td.pdf

 

[Furu]

I wouldn't question the manufactures wishes. Here is some informative reading on lubrication.
Greases - Resources And Advice

Good reference.

I have grown fond of moly with aluminum base grease as opposed to lithium base. I use it in everything from my JD zero turn mower up thru my commercial semi truck. Since I move from lithium base to aluminum base with moly, I have gotten significantly longer life out of u-joints, king pin bushings, brake cam bushings, etc on my semi truck. I have been using Schaeffer #274 for most everything.

http://www.schaefferoil.com/documents/151-274-td.pdf

I have previously used moly as well for those applications. I am shifting now to only using moly on things that have a heavy load but no high speed rotational force. The more I read the more I find out the less I know.

For the OP it appears from what I have been reading that you should avoid the use of Moly when you have high speed bearings, pillow blocks and the like

 

[vsteel]

Personal preference, I use John Deere polyurea grease. That specific grease is compatible with lithium grease. I just use it because most of my greasing needs are for the tractor and the things like the front ends of some of my vehicles can work with it as well.

If I was going to use grease with moly in it, I would use it for sliding loads or slow twisting loads (pins in a loader) I have read that high speed bearings can cause the moly to separate and clump together.

 

[Copperhead]

High speed is relative. Wheel bearings are not high speed. U-joints are not high speed. Even using moly in motor oil is common. Many major motor oil brands have some moly in them, as does the Schaeffer I use. When talking high speed applications and not using moly, one needs to realize high speed means 10,000 RPM or more.

 

[vsteel]

High speed is relative. Wheel bearings are not high speed. U-joints are not high speed. Even using moly in motor oil is common. Many major motor oil brands have some moly in them, as does the Schaeffer I use. When talking high speed applications and not using moly, one needs to realize high speed means 10,000 RPM or more.

The things I read said that wheel bearings were fast enough to cause issues with moly, I don't remember the percentage which was the crossover. It was also something to do with the bearings (hydraulic films didn't count), but it has been a few years so I have forgot all of the science behind it and just stuck with not using moly in bearings and just stick with the lithium or poly. Moly gets used in sliding or twisting loads.

 

[MHarryE]

There can be issues with using moly grease in roller and ball bearings in that moly has such a low coefficient of friction that rollers and balls might not roll which is a bad thing. Moly is used as a dry coating for things like rifle barrels where the reduced friction results in higher muzzle velocity. That's just one illustration. It's low friction coefficient and resistance to all kinds of degradation such as heat make it a great lube for pin and bushing joints, u-joints, splined joints, etc. however our lube engineers have told me in general not a good idea for ball and roller bearings. It's surprising to think that a lube can be bad because it's too slippery but this is one case.

 

[Zerk]

I was thinking about just getting ATV grease.

 

[Copperhead]

Lithium or Aluminum based grease with moly meets Timken, NTN, and many other roller bearing manufacturer specs for wheel applications. The typical wheel is turning significantly less than 1000 RPM. From the data sheet on the Schaeffer #274 I use in most everything including wheel bearings.....

Moly EP Synthetic Plus meets and exceeds the following specifications and manufacturer痴 requirements: US Steel 346, 352, 355, 370 371 specifications, Caterpillar MPGM, Caterpillar痴 3% Moly Specification, Komatsu, MIL-G-234C, Case-IH 251H, John Deere, New Holland, Ford M1693A, General Motors, Chrysler, P&H 472B, 472C and 472D, Federal Specification VV-G-632A, MIL-G-4343C, MIL-G-10924G, MIL-G-23515, MIL-G- 7722,MIL-DTL-23544D DOD-G-24508A(Navy), JIS K2220, DIN 515825, SKF, Fag, INA, Torrington, Timken, Rexnord Link-Belt Bearing Division, NSK, Koyo, NTN Bearing, and Roller Bearing Company of America .

http://www.schaefferoil.com/documents/151-274-td.pdf