silcone vs teflon vs moly vs ?

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Tonight I disassembled and cleaned 6 of the joints. They had been in use for almost a year. Actually I have no memory of if they were prelubed when I got them. They came from a 3rd party new on a suspension system, not Currie, so I don't know if that 3rd party lubed them when they assembled them, they probably did (?). Before I put the Jeep on the road I of course greased them with the Chevron grease I use for ujoints (Ultra Duty ep 2, only thing I had in my gun).

Upon inspection tonight there is some slight metal transfer into the urethane and some slight urethane transfer onto the metal ball/sleeve on a couple joints. Not bad, I can get it off with my finger nail pretty easily, they'll clean up. But I am glad I decided to tear down for cleaning and regreasing. There was a slight lube film on the ball/sleeve, the urethane on the other hand felt very dry.

One thing is for certain, I feel there is a definite need for either moly or teflon. It will likely be moly since it is in the greases I am considering. I would also very much like to not use lithium thickener for best water resistance so the grease will last as long as possible before the next complete tear down and cleaning. So that means either aluminum or calcium complexes with moly. I'm going to check on some things tomorrow and will post any updates in case people are finding this interesting.
 
For me, I sometimes enjoy the thrill of the hunt more than the actual results, and end up using some plain old product (within reason).

Another thing that stinks is when the highly researched product fails. I tried "wonder grease" purple Bendix ceramic brake lube and it dried out in my specific application...worse than the simple old Silglyde.

The original post shows zerk fittings, which seems to negate the need for a super permanent grease. Yes? No?
 
There is a grease fitting in the head of the bolt. There must have been a running production change, because only 1 of the 6 joints I disassembled tonight has a hole in the ball/sleeve part. Without this hole grease pumped into the fitting can not actually get into the joint. I am considering drilling holes in all sleeves that do not currently have them. I don't know why they did away with this hole.

There was talk from Energy Suspension and implied by Currie's instructions that a moly paste is used during assembly (or they said I could use the silicone with teflon product for assembly). I'm considering the option of using moly paste, although I checked today and the moly lube/paste I was seeing in parts stores really just seemed like lithium grease with a low % of moly added. Without the lube hole in the sleeve using a moly paste for assembly would seem like a good option. With the lube hole I'd rather just be able to pump fresh grease into the joint periodically.
 
The Amsoil product that the tech rep on the phone told me not to use continues to intrigue me. Amsoil Synthetic Polymeric Offroad Grease, nlgi 2 w/ 5% moly. The tech rep's issue against it was pumpability. Which is supported by this:

Quote:
AMSOIL GPOR2 pumps best in temperatures
above 40°F; GPOR1 pumps best in temperatures above 0°F. A heavy
follower plate may be necessary when pumping grease from larger
package sizes. GPOR2 is not recommended for automatic or centralized
lubrication systems on heavy equipment unless the system is
designed to successfully pump a tackier grease

http://www.amsoil.com/lit/databulletins/g2698.pdf


However, base oil viscosity cSt 40*C/104*F (ASTM D-445):
Amsoil Polymeric Offroad - 220
http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/gptr2.aspx
Schaeffers 238 - 226.7
http://www.schaefferoil.com/238-supreme-grease.html
CAT Desert Gold - 370-425
http://parts.cat.com/parts/machine-fluids/greases/desert-gold-grease

All of the above are a nlgi 2 rating. The CAT Desert Gold is crazy thick. At 100*C it is still 38-42 vs Schaeffer 238 of 18.89 (Amsoil Polymeric unknown at this temp).

ASTM D-217 penetration is all same ball park at 25*C/77*F:
Amsoil - 265-295
Schaeffers - 280-295
CAT - 265-295

If the Amsoil rep was steering me away from their polymeric grease primarily because of difficulty to pump then by that line of thinking the other two above would be lumped into the same boat, no? And 238 is also a very high tach, similar to the Amsoil polymeric? If 238 is acceptable for automotive use and pumpable, then why not Amsoil Polymeric?

I told the rep that my application was heavy duty offroad too, but not like heavy equipment or anything and he kind of laughed saying, no that isn't the grease you want. I don't pretend to know more than he, but I can't fully understand the reasoning compared to some other greases. There must be something I am missing? Can anyone enlighten?
 
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I don't even see why pumpability is a concern. I just wanted to know if a #1 or #2 grease is recommended. Sounds like #2 will work. I'm telling you the Amsoil Synthetic Polymeric Offroad Grease is very heavy duty and will work fine.
 
All this talk about the difficulty I would have with this product in a grease gun, and then I read a review online where this nlgi #2 was applied with a pistol grip style gun with 6000 psi. If that is all it takes I have a better grease gun then that so it shouldn't be an issue. I don't doubt it is thick, but I don't expect any issue.

This is the grease I'd like to try and go from there. I could have gone any direction, but after all these posts I should go with the product I think suites my needs best or what's the point right? If I went with just the most accessible and cheapest I would have used Delo HD 5% moly, which would probably be good, but not the best. Amsoil and Schaeffers is equally accessible, I could probably order CAT grease online, but if not I'd have to drive the furthest for that grease which is less appealing especially when it isn't not substantially superior to the others.

A couple things that appealed to me on this Amsoil grease beyond some others. The water washout figure is amazing, 1%. I thought the Schaeffers could have been better in that category. Could not find one on the CAT grease. Will I notice the difference between 1% and 5.5% washout? I don't know, but going with the more resistant grease is a better feeling.

Also, while I'm sure all these greases will adhere and stay put well, the Amsoil Polymeric Off-Road grease uses this specific aspect in their promotion which appeals to me as these joints may go longer in between service greasing than I would like. Also, depending on if and where I drill additional holes for grease flow and new zerk fittings, getting any grease into these joints via the zerks could be a challenge. I'll assemble the joints with this grease and trust that it will be there if I can't get around to servicing again in short order.

The fact that the Amsoil tech rep did not think I should use it doesn't bother me. The Schaeffer rep didn't say their grease would work either. Just like many other things, it is important to do your own research from several sources in order to come to a decision that you find right. If it doesn't live up to my expectations then that is on me and my decision making process and I'd rather it be that way then not digging deeper and settling for something that would end up being less than ideal. I'm happy I can move on from this now. My wife is tired of hearing me talk about grease!
 
It looks like an extremely light duty application. I think the grease is just to keep it from squeaking.
 
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