Chassis lubricant - compatible with unknown existing grease

[Fitz98]

I have a few ball joints that I would like to lubricate on my 98 expedition. I don't know what is existing in the joints.
Is there a universal grease that is compatible with all/most greases for chassis lubrication?
I picked up a Lucas Xtra heavy duty grease from HD today, but didn't put it in yet, so it's not too late to change it.
.

 

[WyrTwister]

Do not think any of our cars have " greasable " suspension . Certainly , the Chevy Sonic does not . Wish they did .

I think the best advice I can give you is ;

A - to be safe , use what the owners manual indicates .

B - Use a good , quality brand of grease labeled for suspension components . There is no telling how many types of greases are made for no telling how many applications .

C - Just guessing , but most any brand is better than nothing .

D - Do not over grease and rupture the seal / boot . Just enough grease to see the seal / boot expand slightly .

 

[doitmyself]

The tech sheet for that Lucas grease indicates it is a polyurea type. There are two common types of polyurea grease, the shear stable type is compatible with most other types. I tend to choose lithium complex grease as a very compatible grease when in doubt.. Just my bias to stick with the most common grease type, tried and true. The Mystic high temp JT6 grease is always considered a good choice if you don't want to spend a lot of time on decision making.

https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/1865/grease-compatibility

https://lucasoil.com/pdf/TDS_XtraHDGrease.pdf
http://docs.mystiklubes.com/msds_pi/M20026.pdf
https://lucasoil.com/pdf/TDS_Red-Tacky-Grease.pdf

" The compatibility of polyurea greases with soap-thickened greases is probably the most debated area of grease compatibility today. Greases based on simple lithium soaps (lithium stearate or lithium 12-hydroxystearate) and lithium complex soaps (containing simple soap and a complexing agent, such as lithium azelate) may or may not be compatible with polyurea greases.

This is because of the wide variety of materials that can be reacted to form a thickener that is termed polyurea. Some polyurea thickeners are completely compatible with lithium and lithium complex thickeners, while other polyurea thickeners are definitely incompatible with the lithium and lithium complex thickeners."

 

[Rob_Roy]

I would not use a polyurea grease. If you like Lucas products, their Red and Tacky grease is lithium complex (best chances of compatibility with existing grease is chassis components).

 

[Fitz98]

Thanks for the chart and the feedback.
It looks like the Xtra Heavy Duty is a shear stable Polyurea type, based on the tech sheet from Lucas

Lucas X-Tra Heavy Duty Grease Tech Data Sheet