Need Advice on Which Grease ??

[icedvolvo]

Hi People,

I need some informed opinion on greases.

Basically the problem is that all the greases that we (me personally, numerous other people AND a large truck suspension group) have tried are creating serious problem in leaf/parabolic suspension bushes of trucks.

In the middle of the shackle pin which holds the shackles/bushes to the spring is a small greasing galley hole with a grease nipple on one end. Ideally grease is pushed through the galley to a central slot and then dispersed into the bush. However the grease is "hardening" in the small diameter galleys resulting in blockages This leads to serious damage and/or expensive repairs to suspension components. Not even a 10,000 psi grease gun can clear the blockages; when the pins are removed a screwdriver/wire is needed to remove the "plug".

We have come up with a number of possible reasons why this seems to be happening more often than it used to: from softer pin metal to the increased service schedules of modern trucks but in the end it doesn't really matter why it is happening just how we fix it.

So the question is, keeping in mind that the grease is used in suspension bushings so shock and/or pressure is probably the main issue:

1: which grease is the LEAST susceptible to hardening and therefore blocking the small galleys in the shackle pins?

OR

2: which grease is the MOST susceptible to hardening and therefore blocking the small galleys in the shackle pins?

Should we be using a traditional EP or a copper or moly or lithium or silicon or graphite or what?

Cost is NOT an issue!

thanks for any and all advice

iced

 

[supercity]

What sort of grease have you been using and what does the manufacturer recommend?

I would think a standard sort of chassis grease with Moly would be all that is required for the job, maybe Castrol LMM or SBX 2 but I do not know if it will be any more resilient to hardening than what you are using.

It's unlikely that the grease itself is the problem, more like an external factor, so without knowing what is causing the problem it is difficult to give a recommendation.