Mobil 1 Synthetic grease is junk!

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Is it bad to use marine grease in an auto application? One of my guns is for my boat trailer and I keep Penzoil marine grease in it.
 
I have noticed separation in Mobil 1 grease as well. This evening I was organizing the garage and I saw a significant amount of oil coming out of my M1-filled gun. Here it is after I moved it to the sink:
m1separation.jpg

This grease was about 3 years old and about half the tube was remaining. I transferred the remaining grease to a tub to minimize further oil loss.

This was my last tube of M1. For availability reasons, I am switching to Mobilith SHC 220. I have heard that it is more resistant to separation. I guess I will find out.
 
stu_rock, any grease you keep in a gun like that with the internal plunger compressing the grease will bleed out.
It's no different than squeezing a sponge and having the liquid come out of the sponge- the internal plunger is compressing the grease and the base oil will come out of suspension and leak out the rear of the gun because the gun is not 100% sealed on that end, even more so if the gun is orientated vertically so gravity is helping the seepage. the oil will seep past and synthetic oil will seep much better past the end cap and around the plunger shaft than mineral oil, which is probably why the mobil-1 "synthetic" seems to do it more.

unless you have a quality gun that is completely sealed, leaving the plunger compressing the grease in the gun is an IMPROPER way to store the grease for an extended period of time. You need to pull the plunger all the way out and twist it a half turn so it stays retracted (what you would do when installing a new tube of grease in the gun).

Now if you had just a tube of grease, sealed or opened, and it separated then it does not necessarily mean it's bad. Oil is supposed to separate out of the grease and how easily it does it is subjective and it may be a good thing for some applications, a bad thing for others. I'm not a fan of mobil-1 grease, i think it's more boutique and there are better greases for the money but having it separate out on you is more a problem of the way you are storing it rather than with the grease itself. Don't forget grease is reversible, the oil will remix with the thickener and reform the grease into original consistency; it doesn't care whether it's in a sealed bearing or in the dispensing tube.
another way to look at it is if the grease in an application had the base oil leak out and onto the ground, is it the fault of the grease or with the grease seals? If the oil did not separate out of the thickener then you would certainly have a problem.
 
1FMF, what you say makes qualitative sense given how grease works. I'm going to try storing the grease gun with the rod out. It can't hurt. Also, for the record, the gun shown above was stored horizontally.

That said, I have never heard this suggestion before--not from the grease gun manual, friends, coworkers, or even now a Google search of "storing grease gun."

Even with the plunger engaged, the pressure inside the tube is not very high. I figure it's at most 25 psi--really, probably less than half of that. My prior assumption was that 25 psi would be less than the amount necessary to cause significant separation. After all, pressures upwards of 1000 psi are encountered in the D4425 oil separation test, and some greases pass that test with 0% separation!

I wonder what amount of separation one should "expect" for typical chassis/bearing grease under 25 psi.
 
Originally Posted By: Stu_Rock
I have noticed separation in Mobil 1 grease as well. This evening I was organizing the garage and I saw a significant amount of oil coming out of my M1-filled gun. Here it is after I moved it to the sink:
m1separation.jpg

This grease was about 3 years old and about half the tube was remaining. I transferred the remaining grease to a tub to minimize further oil loss.

This was my last tube of M1. For availability reasons, I am switching to Mobilith SHC 220. I have heard that it is more resistant to separation. I guess I will find out.


I had the same problem with M1 grease. Switched to Amsoil, store the gun the same way I did with the M1, only no dippping with the Amsoil.
 
Originally Posted By: 1 FMF
stu_rock, any grease you keep in a gun like that with the internal plunger compressing the grease will bleed out.


Not like that shown in the pic...
 
Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Originally Posted By: Stu_Rock
I have noticed separation in Mobil 1 grease as well. This evening I was organizing the garage and I saw a significant amount of oil coming out of my M1-filled gun. Here it is after I moved it to the sink:
m1separation.jpg

This grease was about 3 years old and about half the tube was remaining. I transferred the remaining grease to a tub to minimize further oil loss.

This was my last tube of M1. For availability reasons, I am switching to Mobilith SHC 220. I have heard that it is more resistant to separation. I guess I will find out.


I had the same problem with M1 grease. Switched to Amsoil, store the gun the same way I did with the M1, only no dippping with the Amsoil.


Same here, used Amsoil water resistant grease for years and not once has any of it ever leaked or dripped or seperated.
I am in no way Pro Amsoil, I will never use their engine oil again but I do like their greases and and gear lubes.
 
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Isn't grease oil in suspension of a carrier?
I am not comfortable with separation.
This should be figured out by now.


Thats what I thought and why I tried another grease.
 
That is exactly what mine looks like. All three guns stored the same way but only M1 is bleeding.
 
I used to have the Amsoil GLC grease and left the grease gun pressurized. It would bleed on me after a period of time. I now release the pressure.

That being said I use nothing but Amsoil.
 
I used Amsoil Series 2000 Synthetic Racing Grease for packing new wheel bearings a few weeks back. That was the grease Amsoil suggested for wheel bearings.

I loaded it into a Linclon grease gun, and used it with a bearing packing tool I have. I didn't relieve the pressure on the grease gun and laid the gun flat on the bench. I needed to do something on the bench today and picked the gun up, oil was all over the place, what a f'in mess!

I usually don't pull the rod back on the grease gun. I was complaining about the M1 grease (Sorry Mobil), this was much more of a mess. The Synthetic Heavy-Duty Grease NLGI #2 never drips out of the gun.

I'm disappointed and hope that I don't have a problem with the bearings I packed with it!
 
Plunger should always be pulled out after your through using the grease gun. I know most don't, but read the directions sometimes.

The Mobil SHC220 is an excellent synthetic grease.
 
I realize that now Johnny, I'm comparing apples to apples with what I did, and commenting here. M1 dripped, I complained, the Amsoil 2000 grease was a total mess much worse than the M1 and in a very short period of time. That grease is not cheap either. The NLGI#2 was no problem at all.

Sorry Amsoil guys I'm not bashing here so don't take this as an attack, OK?

Since in now over 35 years (yes I'm getting old) I never had this problem I'm a bit concerned about the bearings I packed.


BTW I now have the plunger pulled out now.
 
The reason I moved away from the Mobil 1 grease was not the fact that it separated (which it did) but rather the price.

I can get the Petro Canada stuff MUCH cheaper, and it offers the same, if not better performance.

Code:


Petro Canada Synthetic Grease

NLGI Grade 1

Colour Gold

Texture Buttery

Dropping Point, °C/°F 294/561

Worked Penetration, 60 strokes 314

Oxidation Stability 100 hrs, psi drop 1.5

Base Oil Viscosity,

cSt @ 40°C/SUS @ 100°F 100/518

cSt @ 100°C/SUS @ 210°F 12.7/69

Timken OK Load, Kg/lb 27/60

Four Ball Weld Point, kg 250

Four Ball Wear scar diam mm 0.54

Copper Corrosion 1b

Water Washout % @ 79°C/174°F 6.7

Recommended Operating

Temperature Range, °C -45 to 170

Temperature Range, °F -49 to 338



vs

Code:


Mobil 1 Synthetic Grease

NLGI Grade 2

Colour Red

Texture Smooth, slight tack

Dropping Point, °C/°F 288/550

Worked Penetration, 60 strokes 280

Oxidation Stability 100 hrs, psi drop N/A

Base Oil Viscosity,

cSt @ 40°C/SUS @ 100°F 220/NA

cSt @ 100°C/SUS @ 210°F 23.8/NA

Timken OK Load, lb 45

Four Ball Weld Point, kg 250

Four Ball Wear scar diam mm 0.4

Copper Corrosion N/A

Water Washout % @ 79°C/174°F 6

Recommended Operating

Temperature Range, °C -40 to 150

Temperature Range, °F -40 to 302
 
Good to know OVERKILL, when I finish up with what I have I'll be looking to try something else. Thanks!
 
Let's put it this way: I can get TEN tubes of the Petro Canada grease for the price of THREE tubes of the Mobil 1. That's a no brainer to me.
 
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