Grease; Please educate me

[Volfandt]

Thanks for checking DP.
The grease actually seems to work pretty well. It's a red gell looking type of grease that sticks to everything, leaves a slipery residue when wiped up and it seems to flow easily into tight places.

 

[schiker]

Is there a certain website that give these characteristic test values of greases? Or are ya'll looking at the mfg website?

I just bought some Valvolene synthetic grease according to the package it was the best they offered .

How much do you squirt in zerk fittings? I like to pump til I see some movement of grease flowing. I have read you should displace 50% by volume on some things.

I mainly grease my truck steering linkages and ball joints. Also my tractor no heavy equipment yet.

 

[DieselPower]

The majority of manufacturers have their grease and oil spec's listed on their website. Some that do not list them will release them if you ask via email. A very few either don't release any test data or don't know what your talking about.

How much to grease depends on what you are greasing. Regular chassis components only need to be greased to the point you see grease starting to come out.

High speed bearings (ie. electric motor bearings) are best greased using a ultrasonic indicator since to much grease will cause overheating. I doubt you will ever run into a application like this though and they are most frequently found in industrial plant applications.

 

[Z-Michigan]

Most lubricants manufacturers also offer a "Moly" grease. Usually this is the same as their other greases with the addition of 3-5% (by volume) Molybdenum Disulfide powder. Moly is specified by manufacturers like Caterpillar in most of their excavating equipment. The benefit of a Moly fortified grease is it's ability to continue to provide lubrication in what is called boundry conditions. Since Moly forms a solid film lubrication on the metal surfaces there is still something there to seperate the lubricated parts if all of the grease get's squeezed out under extreme loads.

Moly sounds great for lots of applications, especially greasing my FEL pivots every 10 hours - are there any disadvantages to it?

Also, any opinions on the Deere brand Lithium and Polyurea greases? I've read your other posts on incompatibility of polyurea grease with most other types. I have been using Deere brand lithium grease per my dealer's recommendation, even though the Deere manuals indicate that polyurea is preferred.

 

[IslandTractor]

Are there any major incompatablilities that one should be aware of in selecting grease types? I tend to grab several tubes of lithium or multipurpose grease when I am in a place like NAPA or even Walmart. I don't buy the cheapest stuff but haven't paid close attention to the differences in the various grease tubes. I never thought much about incompatability until I saw that one of the greases I bought was a completely different color (reddish) than the usual dark blonde color I was used to. My use is typical CUT maintenance for FEL, axles, BH, mower etc.

 

[Z-Michigan]

Color of the grease means nothing. Per DP's posts, if you stick with a lithium complex base (which is very common) all brands should be OK replacing each other. Lithium also OK but slightly less compatible, and beyond that refer to the compatibility charts. IMHO, if you are not spending serious cash on grease but are buying good brands, you most likely are buying lithium complex greases and shouldn't have a problem mixing them.

 

[IslandTractor]

Thanks Z. That's what I was hoping to hear. Reading about all the Molys and other high end greases made me start to wonder.

 

[EastTnFarmboy]

IT, I went through the same internal debate yesterday at the local TSC. I finally settled on the multi-purpose with MOLY. It nearly gave me a headache trying to understand the differences between all the choices.

Why can't anything be simple anymore?

 

[Z-Michigan]

Just for clarity, moly can be added (by the manufacturer) to lots of different grease types including the common lithium complex base. I am currently using JD branded grease that is a HD lithium complex with moly (this is gray/black color, as I think all moly greases are because of the moly). I also have 3 tubes of non-moly HD lithium complex grease from JD (tan color, bought before I realized moly was better with little to no downside) and one tube of Lucas "red and tacky" which I believe is also a lithium complex grease, again without moly. The basic good grease for a tractor is an HD lithium complex grease with an EP rating. Avoid greases that are specifically light duty or non-EP rated; an ignorant dealer parts person sold me some light duty JD lithium grease (red color) which probably wasn't good for my FEL pins. Moly is highly desirable for FEL or backhoe pins, and not real important either way for other grease points common on a tractor.

 

[DieselPower]

As has already been said, color means nothing. It is only a coloring dye added by the manufacturer, usually to differentiate between different grease's from the same company (red just happens to be a popular color).

As far as grease base compatibility goes it's not really a big problem. If you should happen to switch to a grease that is not compatible with the last one used you just need to make sure you do a good purge job and do your next few grease jobs a little more frequently to purge out any of the remaining old grease.