Spindle Bearings

[Auto Doc's]

Armchair theories are good for morning coffee meetings. When it comes to reality, study the published data.

NLGI consistency number - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[BrentW]

I am learning a lot more about greases through this thread.

 

[slomo]

Red and tacky is all I use and buy it by the case. If it were so bad (slomo) how do they sell so much of it? Ha ha 2x

You are the first I've heard that buy it. LOL

Would love someone to show some real testing that proves any Lucas product is better than say wallymart SuperTech grease. Most of it is hype and sales gimmicks. Not just Lucas products either.

What I miss is the old days when you greased driveshafts and front end parts. I, and I know the rest of you old timers, had grease all over yourself LOL. My grease gun today is a filthy EPA slime BIO hazard LOL.

 

[Auto Doc's]

I think some people are just brand loyal because it has proven through the years to be a reliable product they can trust.

I've never met a technician yet who does not know the products they use well and why they are their favorite. Some are learned since youth while others are proven through many years of trial and error.

 

[ILENGINE]

You are the first I've heard that buy it. LOL

Would love someone to show some real testing that proves any Lucas product is better than say wallymart SuperTech grease. Most of it is hype and sales gimmicks. Not just Lucas products either.

What I miss is the old days when you greased driveshafts and front end parts. I, and I know the rest of you old timers, had grease all over yourself LOL. My grease gun today is a filthy EPA slime BIO hazard LOL.

Here is Project Farms comparison between Supertech and Lucas Red n Tacky

Just got 3 cases of Lucas Red n Tacky delivered today.

 

[slomo]

The heat test was at 191C or 375F. Way hotter than any real world usage. If your bearings are running close to 400F, you got other problems than grease. Is the ST grease even rated that high for temp? I see 300F for ST grease. Lucas I see rated at over 500+F. Lucas is just higher temp rated.

Notice at near 400F, the super extra deluxe tacky red Lucas wonder grease never moved at all. Meaning poor lubrication after one rotation of a bearing or one wiping away of lube. Shows again what I was talking about.

Snapper uses a lower viscosity 00 grade to flow lube around the chain case and rear diff.

 

[ILENGINE]

The heat test was at 191C or 375F. Way hotter than any real world usage. If your bearings are running close to 400F, you got other problems than grease. Is the ST grease even rated that high for temp? I see 300F for ST grease. Lucas I see rated at over 500+F. Lucas is just higher temp rated.

Notice at near 400F, the super extra deluxe tacky red Lucas wonder grease never moved at all. Meaning poor lubrication after one rotation of a bearing or one wiping away of lube. Shows again what I was talking about.

You are looking at it like since the Lucas didn't move it isn't providing lubrication. I see it as the Supertech is no longer lubing because tt has broken down and has been flung out of the bearing. But you are also dismissing that the Lucas had a smaller wear scar, higher resistance to water, lower resistance in rotational force during cold than the Supertech.

I am not saying that the Supertech is a bad grease, and could be adequate for your applications, But for my overall use the Supertech doesn't meet my operational requirements. If I want to repack my wheel bearings the Supertech doesn't meet the temp requirements unless I go to the red Supertech grease.

A few years ago I did use the normal general purpose grease, due to changes in applications had to upgrade to using red grease.
And last year due to another change in operations had to add urea based green grease to the circle. And the green is not compatible with red or general lithium based grease.

But since the new red n tacky is calcium sulfonate thickened and not lithium soap based things could change.

 

[slomo]

You are looking at it like since the Lucas didn't move it isn't providing lubrication. I see it as the Supertech is no longer lubing because tt has broken down and has been flung out of the bearing. But you are also dismissing that the Lucas had a smaller wear scar, higher resistance to water, lower resistance in rotational force during cold than the Supertech.

I am not saying that the Supertech is a bad grease, and could be adequate for your applications, But for my overall use the Supertech doesn't meet my operational requirements. If I want to repack my wheel bearings the Supertech doesn't meet the temp requirements unless I go to the red Supertech grease.

A few years ago I did use the normal general purpose grease, due to changes in applications had to upgrade to using red grease.
And last year due to another change in operations had to add urea based green grease to the circle. And the green is not compatible with red or general lithium based grease.

But since the new red n tacky is calcium sulfonate thickened and not lithium soap based things could change.

Lucas red is all thickeners. Hardly any oil dropped out at 400F in the video. Thickeners do not lubricate. All they do is thicken.

So you are saying back in the day, you saw failed grease? Now you need a higher temp grease? I can see this in a turbine engine (high revs) but a lawn mower? High temps in spindle bearings at a whopping 3500rpm? Probably faster do to some pulley sizing.

Do you have mower bearings running at 400+F? Truck/car bearings turn super slow. Only reason for the heat requirement is the brake systems. Way different than a mower.

Someone needs to get a FLIR cam and shoot it at some deck bearings. Curious minds want to know.

 

[ILENGINE]

So you are saying back in the day, you saw failed grease? Now you need a higher temp grease? I can see this in a turbine engine (high revs) but a lawn mower? High temps in spindle bearings at a whopping 3500rpm? Probably faster do to some pulley sizing.

Do you have mower bearings running at 400+F? Truck/car bearings turn super slow. Only reason for the heat requirement is the brake systems. Way different than a mower.

I have seen several cases of grease failure over the years. A couple of those cases was Valvoline synthetic wheel bearing grease. Your trailers don't have brakes and greasable hubs. My trailer has 21 grease zerks. Or how about repacking the wheel bearings on your own vehicles with disc brakes. Can't use general purpose grease on disc brakes systems. Not high enough temperature rating.

I work on some of my own equipment that is not OPE related

 

[Tiger Small Engine]

I have seen several cases of grease failure over the years. A couple of those cases was Valvoline synthetic wheel bearing grease. Your trailers don't have brakes and greasable hubs. My trailer has 21 grease zerks. Or how about repacking the wheel bearings on your own vehicles with disc brakes. Can't use general purpose grease on disc brakes systems. Not high enough temperature rating.

I work on some of my own equipment that is not OPE related

We are talking about the cost difference of a few bucks a tube of regular cheap grease versus better quality red and tacky grease. I like to save money as much as the next guy, however, when it comes to cents per application and giving the customer better quality, the decision is easy. Plus if I use enough grease out of a tube, I charge the customer a small amount.