Found this case of grease

ND teacher · Mar 27, 2011

I found a case of grease a few years back and im not sure if i should be using it or not.

IT is Texaco Marfax multi purpose 2
Looks pretty old, green and silver tube, but ive heard some people say that some of the old grease is better than the new stuff.
ANy one heard of this stuff, should i continue to use it?
I bought a brand new JD riding mower 2 years ago and used it on the mower deck and i had a bearing go out on it and warranty covered it. I figured it was because i washed it after each and every use the whole tractor and water always sat on top of the mower deck afterwards and i assumed that the water worked its way into the bearing and wore it out, JD said that wouldnt have caused it. Im thinking maybe it was the grease, i am using it now on my NH TC 40DA.
ANy help would be great

Nd Teacher

JDgreen227 · Mar 28, 2011

ND teacher said:
I found a case of grease a few years back and im not sure if i should be using it or not.

IT is Texaco Marfax multi purpose 2
Looks pretty old, green and silver tube, but ive heard some people say that some of the old grease is better than the new stuff.
ANy one heard of this stuff, should i continue to use it?
I bought a brand new JD riding mower 2 years ago and used it on the mower deck and i had a bearing go out on it and warranty covered it. I figured it was because i washed it after each and every use the whole tractor and water always sat on top of the mower deck afterwards and i assumed that the water worked its way into the bearing and wore it out, JD said that wouldnt have caused it. Im thinking maybe it was the grease, i am using it now on my NH TC 40DA.
ANy help would be great

Nd Teacher

What specs does the grease meet? Hard to tell if it's good stuff or not without more info. Grease is pretty cheap, IMO. I pay $2.50 a tube for JD premium stuff and I would NEVER pump ANYTHING into my tractor or truck I wasn't sure was good enough.

jonyyuma · Mar 28, 2011

Your Texaco marfax, was the premium multi-type general purpose grease for it's day. I would not hesitate to use it for the general greasing of chassis or tie links....Moly and synthetic types have surpassed it for general load type conditions> Bearing failure??? Maybe it was not up to par, hard to tell about them now..Some are great and very durable, others are just soft copies and don't hold up under loads.. Kind of like wheel bearings on a boat trailer, never can trust to luck for them, either..

JDgreen227 · Mar 28, 2011

"For it's day"...the man says...well, I would be VERY wary about mixing newer and older greases together in just about ALL situations. I doubt if the older stuff would be compatable with anything modern. But that's just my biased opinion.

kevinj · Mar 28, 2011

JDgreen227 said:
"For it's day"...the man says...well, I would be VERY wary about mixing newer and older greases together in just about ALL situations. I doubt if the older stuff would be compatable with anything modern. But that's just my biased opinion.

He does not say but it seems to me the Marfak was lithium grease. If he stays lithium to lithium he should be fine.

I doubt that it will the disc brake wheel bearing spec but should fine for all older low speed ag equipment, loaders etc.

From Texaco.......

Code 958 Marfak Multi Purpose 2

Marfak Multi Purpose 2 is a general purpose lithium soap grease containing oxidation and corrosion inhibitors.

Product Application

Marfak Multi Purpose 2 is a general purpose grease for automotive and industrial applications where specialized products such as extreme pressure (EP) greases are not required.

Product Description and Features

Marfak Multi Purpose 2 is a lithium soap grease containing oxidation and corrosion inhibitors. It exhibits excellent mechanical stability and resistance to water washout.

Benefits

In service Marfak Multi Purpose 2 provides:

*
Excellent resistance to water washout
*
Excellent shear stability
*
Protection against corrosion and oxidation

northwind318 · Mar 28, 2011

Hi, I used texaco marfax lube to grease 250 ton Locomotives for 30 years.Good Stuff ,nuff said

SandburRanch · Mar 28, 2011

ND teacher said:
I found a case of grease a few years back and im not sure if i should be using it or not.

IT is Texaco Marfax multi purpose 2
Looks pretty old, green and silver tube, but ive heard some people say that some of the old grease is better than the new stuff.
ANy one heard of this stuff, should i continue to use it?
I bought a brand new JD riding mower 2 years ago and used it on the mower deck and i had a bearing go out on it and warranty covered it. I figured it was because i washed it after each and every use the whole tractor and water always sat on top of the mower deck afterwards and i assumed that the water worked its way into the bearing and wore it out, JD said that wouldnt have caused it. Im thinking maybe it was the grease, i am using it now on my NH TC 40DA.
ANy help would be great

Nd Teacher

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If your mower has sealed bearings none of the grease ever entered the bearings. Just guessing but it would probably take 200 pumps just to fill the void between the bearings. That's why JD said that wouldn't have caused it. They just put that grease zerk there because their competition did.

LD1 · Mar 28, 2011

SandburRanch said:
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If your mower has sealed bearings none of the grease ever entered the bearings. Just guessing but it would probably take 200 pumps just to fill the void between the bearings. That's why JD said that wouldn't have caused it. They just put that grease zerk there because their competition did.

HAve you ever dis-assembled a new one r have any proof of this

SandburRanch · Mar 28, 2011

LD1 said:
HAve you ever dis-assembled a new one r have any proof of this

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Yes, I have both dis-assembled and assembled, and yes I do have proof (pics if you like). Just did both assemblies on my LA-135 that has 90 hours.

LD1 · Mar 28, 2011

SandburRanch said:
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Yes, I have both dis-assembled and assembled, and yes I do have proof (pics if you like). Just did both assemblies on my LA-135 that has 90 hours.

I dont want you to take that the wrong way. I am NOT calling you a liar.

I just wanted to know if it was typical "internet forum BS" or if it indeed was true. I keep things like that in mind when purchasing.

Did they at least remove the inner seals of the bearings so "IF" someone wanted to put half a tube of grease in there it would at least do some good???

JDgreen227 · Mar 28, 2011

Reading this thread about mower deck spindles led me to wonder...I purchased a new JD 318 with a 50 inch deck back in '89, there were no grease fittings on the deck spindles at the time. I figured they were good for the life of the tractor, but back about 1999, with about 850 hours on the mower deck, the spindles were wobbling and I had to have the bearings replaced.

It always baffled me why Deere, of all companies, who would often overengineer their products, especially back then, would fail to put grease fittings on the deck spindles.

LD1 · Mar 28, 2011

JDgreen227 said:
Reading this thread about mower deck spindles led me to wonder...I purchased a new JD 318 with a 50 inch deck back in '89, there were no grease fittings on the deck spindles at the time. I figured they were good for the life of the tractor, but back about 1999, with about 850 hours on the mower deck, the spindles were wobbling and I had to have the bearings replaced.

It always baffled me why Deere, of all companies, who would often overengineer their products, especially back then, would fail to put grease fittings on the deck spindles.

Because it was more of a "maintenance free" selling point.

Same reasons as new vehichle wheel bearings cannot be greased, or u-joints. Speaking of u-joints, the lifetime warrenty ones are the "sealed" ones. The ones with the grease fitting are only 2-year warrenty:confused2:

And considering you got 10 years out of it without EVER having to grease it is pretty good. A lot longer than a bearing that is DESIGNED to be greased, but gets neglected.

My 1989 JD240 mower spindles are the same way. So is the 261 RFM I have. BOTH have now had the spindles drilled and adapted for a zerk:thumbsup:

JDgreen227 · Mar 28, 2011

Good explanation...thanks.

SandburRanch · Mar 28, 2011

LD1 said:
Did they at least remove the inner seals of the bearings so "IF" someone wanted to put half a tube of grease in there it would at least do some good???

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No, the inner seals were not removed.

LD1 · Mar 28, 2011

SandburRanch said:
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No, the inner seals were not removed.

Versatile Tractors · Mar 28, 2011

I not 100% here, but i'm pretty sure that grease has a used buy date.
basiclly the additives break down.

Versatile Tractors · Mar 28, 2011

check out this link

Lubricants USA - Grease Shelf Life

J_J · Mar 28, 2011

LD1 said:
Because it was more of a "maintenance free" selling point.

Same reasons as new vehichle wheel bearings cannot be greased, or u-joints. Speaking of u-joints, the lifetime warrenty ones are the "sealed" ones. The ones with the grease fitting are only 2-year warrenty:confused2:

And considering you got 10 years out of it without EVER having to grease it is pretty good. A lot longer than a bearing that is DESIGNED to be greased, but gets neglected.

My 1989 JD240 mower spindles are the same way. So is the 261 RFM I have. BOTH have now had the spindles drilled and adapted for a zerk:thumbsup:

There are reason for a sealed bearing, and a lot of people use them in the wrong situation. There is also a thing called over greasing. Sealed bearings are designed for no grease maintenance. Some manufactures will also install grease zerks for unknown reasons, but perhaps they think the owners might install non sealed bearings later, and then the grease is advantageous. It is kind of dumb to be greasing sealed bearings. I have known some people to remove the inside steel and rubber covering so they could grease the bearings. Greasing also keeps the spindle from rusting. There are bearings designed for greasing in some application. The grease does lubricate the bearings. Some people take this greasing thing to far, by greasing every 8 hr use, or a set schedule, and they see grease coming out of somewhere, and think the bearings are all greased up and good for another 8 hrs. They are actually slinging that unused grease all over the yard or whatever. In my lawn cutting years, I used quit a lot of bearings on my Dixie Choppers, as I ran them 8 hrs a day here in the sandy soil of Fla. I tried every kind of bearing, and they all failed sooner or later. I finally stuck with the sealed bearings and no greasing. I got to the point where I could change out the spindle and wheel bearings of the Chopper in quick time. Time is money you know.

So if you know you have sealed bearings, there is no use to grease them. If the shafts start wobbling, the grease isn't going to help much. If the manufacture says to grease the sealed bearings, do it until the warranty wears out. Then it will be up to you to make a logical decision.

ND teacher · Mar 28, 2011

My JD La165 i replaced that bearing at 60 hours, i never thought of that when i take it in before the warranty is up i will ask them why is there a grease zerk here when the bearings are sealed?

The guy that told me the old grease was better than the old grease, greases a gravel washer plant and he said they replace more bearings now than they use to and he thinks it is because of the grease.

So i have a lithium grease and thats what i need to stick to, or replace with new stuff, i have about 6 tubes left, I grease the mower, cars and tractor and FEL