Grease Compatibility Hell

[jyoutz]

For someone who uses a trailer professionally/daily sure

Most hobby guys use it what, few times a year? Just give it a shot or 2 of grease before use and roll with it

I like that it stays in place longer and doesn’t wash out. For as little as I use, another $4 per tube is negligible. I use about 4 tubes per year.

 

[rScotty]

Grease is basically a soft carrier which holds a lot of a base oil in suspension. The carrier used to be either a soap or a clay - which is why you see the reference to light metals in different types of grease. Different metal ions are how different soaps and clays are formed. Soaps and clays both are compounds of aluminum, lithium, barium, calcium and so on. For example, different light metals give you different kinds of clay - bentonite, illinite, montmorillinite, kaolinite and so forth. Same for soaps.

Incompatible greases happen when two different carriers react to form a solid. Then the oil is squeezed out . You may have seen this same thing happen on old grease or grease which is stored at high temperature - The grease tubes will actually drip oil until it has none. So add age or temperature to the list of grease problems.

Then along came polyurea as a carrier. Tests showed it should hold the base oil better & longer. There are two main families of polyurea - called "conventional" and "shear stabilized". Conventional poly had compatibility problems. The newer shear stabilized polyurethane is compatible with just about every other grease carrier chemistry. That's better, but the shear stabilized costs more....of course....

I know this stuff from some industrial work I used to do, but I still don't know the perfect answer. And even if we did, there is no assurance in today's world that one batch is like another.

What I do is use John Deere's tubes of shear stabilized polyurethane TY6341 grease just about everywhere. It's general purpose & also happens to be green - but I don't know if that is because the material is that color or if they dye it. It's always available & medium priced. No problems so far.

The one kind of place I use something else is on dirty low speed & very high load bushing surfaces like the backhoe swing tables or the lower FEL bucket pivot. Those get a sticky molybendum grease - usually a lithium base, but there I'm looking for moly plus tacky plus a higher viscosity base oil.

Your opinions welcome,
rScotty

 

[Williy]

Here's a blerp from the net:

Lithium grease is a multipurpose grease known for its durability, high viscosity, and stability. It is designed to provide long-lasting protection against oxidation, corrosion, extreme temperatures, and wear and tear.

You don't want any grease with clay in it!!!!!!!

willy

 

[jyoutz]

Grease is basically a soft carrier which holds a lot of a base oil in suspension. The carrier used to be either a soap or a clay - which is why you see the reference to light metals in different types of grease. Different metal ions are how different soaps and clays are formed. Soaps and clays both are compounds of aluminum, lithium, barium, calcium and so on. For example, different light metals give you different kinds of clay - bentonite, illinite, montmorillinite, kaolinite and so forth. Same for soaps.

Incompatible greases happen when two different carriers react to form a solid. Then the oil is squeezed out . You may have seen this same thing happen on old grease or grease which is stored at high temperature - The grease tubes will actually drip oil until it has none. So add age or temperature to the list of grease problems.

Then along came polyurea as a carrier. Tests showed it should hold the base oil better & longer. There are two main families of polyurea - called "conventional" and "shear stabilized". Conventional poly had compatibility problems. The newer shear stabilized polyurethane is compatible with just about every other grease carrier chemistry. That's better, but the shear stabilized costs more....of course....

I know this stuff from some industrial work I used to do, but I still don't know the perfect answer. And even if we did, there is no assurance in today's world that one batch is like another.

What I do is use John Deere's tubes of shear stabilized polyurethane TY6341 grease just about everywhere. It's general purpose & also happens to be green - but I don't know if that is because the material is that color or if they dye it. It's always available & medium priced. No problems so far.

The one kind of place I use something else is on dirty low speed & very high load bushing surfaces like the backhoe swing tables or the lower FEL bucket pivot. Those get a sticky molybendum grease - usually a lithium base, but there I'm looking for moly plus tacky plus a higher viscosity base oil.

Your opinions welcome,
rScotty

Thanks for shedding more light on this topic.

 

[lman]

I like Lucas products, but for grease y'all wasting your money.

https://www.ruralking.com/mystik-jt6-high-temperature-multi-purpose-grease-14-oz-10001200

This is better than their HD green. Prove me wrong!

Some could say you're wasting your money.

https://www.ruralking.com/providence-automotive-premium-lith-flex-grease-as-50-14oz-palit14g

 

[Paystar]

I use whatever my suppliers give me for free, LOL

 

[ChiefBodie]

Here's a blerp from the net:

Lithium grease is a multipurpose grease known for its durability, high viscosity, and stability. It is designed to provide long-lasting protection against oxidation, corrosion, extreme temperatures, and wear and tear.

You don't want any grease with clay in it!!!!!!!

willy

Agreed

 

[dadohead]

I just ordered a carton of John Deere Multi-Purpose SD Polyurea Grease TY6341 via ebay.

You'll be good. That's what John Deere uses on the assembly line.... for just about everthing. They even apply it on the wiring harness connectors as a dielectric grease!

Regarding grease for ball bearings, I chatted with the NTN bearing guy (on one of his visits to JD engineering) about a good grease for the open bearings (fed with grease cups) in my 1950 Walker Turner spindle shaper machine (given that it is high speed: 10,000 rpm). He laughed "first, 10,000 rpm is NOT high speed." They use Mobil Polyrex EM for 90% of the bearing applications in their assembly. It's commonly called "electric motor grease." I bought a tube and use that in my wood shop. BTW- it is blue.

 

[Tinhack]

Lithium grease doesn't stand up to high pressure applications. It gets displaced easily and all those special additives get squeezed out, so its lubrication value drops to near zero. Places like ball joints, hydraulic cylinder links, loader pins, U-Joints and the like should use a Moly grease.

I have 5 or 6 tubes of Red & Tacky left and use it everywhere else. But I wouldn't dare use it in my trucks ball joints or other front-end parts. Nor do I rely on it for the heavy tractor joints.

If JD grease is good enough for a dielectric grease, it fits right into their auto maintenance and parts replacement schemes. I gotta say, I do have some of their corn head grease though.

 

[319Quahog]

Lithium grease doesn't stand up to high pressure applications. It gets displaced easily and all those special additives get squeezed out, so its lubrication value drops to near zero. Places like ball joints, hydraulic cylinder links, loader pins, U-Joints and the like should use a Moly grease.

Yeah, moly grease is the right stuff for most tractor parts. I think my current tube is that Valvoline ford Lincoln Mercury stuff I got cheap.

Love Mystik JT-6 for automotive applications though.

Of course any grease is better than none.