After the ball do you lube leaf springs?

[schiker]

I replied to thread about greasing my hitch. I do grease the ball.

Since my trailer sits for long periods w/o use I also like to spray some PB Blaster, WD-40, Marvel Mystery Oil, Chain Lube etc, what ever is nearest at hand, on the leaf springs, shackles, and pivot. Seems to quiet the trailer down so you don't hear quite so many creaks and squeaks. There are no pads between my leafs and they are generally not real dirty. If it was real gritty and dirty I would spray it off before lubing.

What else little things do you do each time you hook up?

 

[Rara Avis]

I replied to thread about greasing my hitch. I do grease the ball.

Since my trailer sits for long periods w/o use I also like to spray some PB Blaster, WD-40, Marvel Mystery Oil, Chain Lube etc, what ever is nearest at hand, on the leaf springs, shackles, and pivot. Seems to quiet the trailer down so you don't hear quite so many creaks and squeaks. There are no pads between my leafs and they are generally not real dirty. If it was real gritty and dirty I would spray it off before lubing.

What else little things do you do each time you hook up?

The one caveat I would like to share is that WD-40 is NOT a lubricant. Please note that nowhere on the cans bottles and literature does it say lubricate. Although there is an amount of "slipperiness", this is a rapidly evaporating carrier. The primary function of WD-40 is a solvent and rust dissolver. It "lubricates" by breaking stuck bonds, not by making something less "frictionable" for any length of time. Silicone, Teflon and Lithium are better, more longer lasting choices for true lubrication.
For example, Holmes Halley garage door machines call for monthly lubrication and specifically advise against WD-40 and recommend white lithium grease. An initial spray of WD-40 may help dissolve old layers of grease and dirt build up, but needs to followed up by an application of an actual lubricant for best results.

 

[bialecki]

The one caveat I would like to share is that WD-40 is NOT a lubricant. Please note that nowhere on the cans bottles and literature does it say lubricate.

Their web site claims that WD-40 is a lubricant Welcome to WD-40 * Our Brands: WD-40 Product Information

 

[Skyco]

Beat me to it It is a lubricant although not a great one...I use the stuff by the gallon in pump sprayers...BTW not sure about the health effects of it but it makes a great hand cleaner when grimy/greasy and it doesn't dry your skin

 

[schiker]

WD-40 is not my favorite by any means. It tends to gum up precision stuff but its better than nothing (for bare metal non precision components), does have multiple uses, its cheap, and you can get it anywhere. Probably because it is a solvent, rust prevention, and water dispersant etc etc.

One of the more colorful stories I heard was WD-40 was a spin off of NASA and it was the 40th water dispersant trial hence the name WD-40. I don't know if its true but sounds good.

 

[RobertN]

It is not good on guns either; it will leave an ugly yellowish residue. that is hard to remove. I don't know to this day, why my Dad did that to a .22lr rifle. Nasty...

The one caveat I would like to share is that WD-40 is NOT a lubricant.

 

[Rara Avis]

Their web site claims that WD-40 is a lubricant Welcome to WD-40 * Our Brands: WD-40 Product Information

Well if they have changed their advertising...so be it...but I WOULDN'T USE it as one...I use it for what it was designed for...a water displacement agent and a degreaser...and for that it does an EXCELLENT job...

If you read their FAQs...
How is WD-40 different from 3-IN-ONE?
WD-40 is the ultimate multi-purpose problem solver. WD-40 cleans/degreases, penetrates to loosen up stuck parts, prevents corrosion and is a light lubricant. 3-IN-ONE, with it's special drip spout, enables you to lubricate without any overspray or splatter. 3-IN-ONE is ideal to use on tools, rollers, hinges, in-line skates, wheels...nearly everything that moves.

They compare it with 3-IN-ONE?!?....I don't recommend 3-IN-ONE as a major lubricant either...

I notice they use the term LIGHT LUBRICANT...I wonder what they mean by that???

 

[Skyco]

It is also a desert topping and a floor wax! - Saturday Night Live sometime in the 70's, showing my age here

 

[KICK]

WD-40 is not my favorite by any means. It tends to gum up precision stuff QUOTE]

since the guy was asking about using it on leaf springs

 

[Bird]

It is not good on guns either; it will leave an ugly yellowish residue. that is hard to remove. I don't know to this day, why my Dad did that to a .22lr rifle. Nasty...

That's a new one on me, Robert. I've used WD-40 on guns for over 40 years and never seen any yellowish residue. About 40-41 years ago, many police departments got a bulletin warning against spraying WD-40 on ammunition. The claim was that some officers had ammunition that failed and it was determined that the WD-40 had penetrated the seal between the lead and the brass, wet the powder, and caused the failure. I don't remember where that supposedly happened, so I don't know it to be a fact; only that such a bulletin was widely distributed in my department.

 

[sandman2234]

I will tell you one use of WD-40 that can't be disputed. It works very well on drilling or machining aluminum. I use it by the gallon and love the way it keeps the aluminum from sticking to the endmill and the finish it leaves on the aluminum. There are other lubricants available that will do the same thing, but wd-40 is available almost everywhere.
I don't lube my springs, as the sand here sticks to the lube and creates problems.
David from jax

 

[jsborn]

I notice they use the term LIGHT LUBRICANT...I wonder what they mean by that???

They must mean one of two things either they want you to use it on very small tractors OR it will keep your light bulbs lubricated.

 

[Skyco]

The WD40 ruining ammo is a fact. About 25 years ago I had an old Cool Whip tub that I kept bulk .22 ammo in. Got the idea somehow that spraying it all down with WD40 would be a good idea. Note this was YEARS before I ever saw this problem published...but then in the pre-internet days we all missed a lot
So scroll forward a few months. Went to shoot that ammo...probably 95% were duds- wouldn't light off, they had been fine before my WD40 treatment
Reminds me of the time I Armor-All'd my motorcycle seat about the same time frame, looked great made- it so slippery I couldn't hardly stay on it. That was also long before the warnings came out to not put it on brake pedals, motorcycle seats and rubber footpegs etc

 

[RobS]

I had an old Triumph car years ago with a transverse leaf spring for the rear suspension. The owners manual actually recommended lubing the spring with used oil periodically. I can't say as I've ever lubed leaf springs but it surely can't hurt.

 

[Bird]

I had an old Triumph car years ago with a transverse leaf spring for the rear suspension. The owners manual actually recommended lubing the spring with used oil periodically. I can't say as I've ever lubed leaf springs but it surely can't hurt.

Rob, as a teenager, I worked in my Dad's service stations back in the days when lots of cars and pickups had leaf springs. And it wasn't unusual for vehicles to have squeaky suspensions. We had a rubber lubricant that we could spray on rubber grommets, and we could spray some lubricants on leaf springs. However, the consensus of opinion back then was "if it ain't squeaking, don't mess with it because once you start spraying stuff on them, that will stop the squeak temporarily, but you'll have to keep repeating it from then on." Supposedly the only way to stop the squeak was to take the leaf springs apart and thoroughly clean them. Of course a lot of them had little fabric or rubber pads between the leafs.