Maintenance

[Galwaylotus]

Ok. May have been covered previously but maybe someone can save me a lot of digging. In the shop manual it says to remove the plug in the lower steering swivel, replace it with a grease nipple, then use a grease gun to pump in 90 wt gear oil. Then remove the grease nipple and replace the plug.
Can grease be used instead of oil? If not, can the swivel be oiled by syringe rather than grease gun? If the grease nipple must be used, why does it need to be replaced with the plug and not left in situ? By the way the thread for the plug/grease nipple is 1/4 UNF (1/4-28).
My other question concerns the vacuum hoses for the headlamps. The hoses in my car are cracked and will probably start leaking soon. I bought some reinforced fuel hose as it will tolerate the normal oily environment in the engine bay. Is there any reason not to use it? 8mm (5/16 inch) I.D.

Oh, as Colombo says, "One more thing". Is a good 80W-90 gear oil ok for the transmission and differential? I have some Shell Spirax 80W-90 Gear Oil and want to know if it's ok in each application.
Thanks, guys.

[Baggy2]

On the first point - Yes it must be oil - grease can cause the bottome of the upright to shear off. I guess the nipple / plug thing is just to maintain cleanliness as unprotected nipples ( Oooh ere missus) tend to attract dirt that will be pumped into the joint. I dont think the syringe would work because you need the pressure applied by the gun to force the oil level above the nipple level.

They are my opinions - I'm sure more will follow shortly.

Good Luck

Baggy

[paddy]

Is a good 80W-90 gear oil ok for the transmission and differential. I have some Shell Spirax 80W-90 Gear Oil and want to know if it's ok in each application.

For the diff you need to use a hypoid oil (EP or GL5). On the other hand, these oils attack the brass synchro gearbox components so you need something different for the gearbox and I guess your Shell 80W-90 is fine for that.

It's covered a few times in the archives, eg here:

elan-f15/simple-question-which-oil-for-the-diff-t12203.html

Paddy

[summerinmaine]

Agree on the oil vs. grease issue. Similar considerations on lubricating the kingpins on the Morgan +4s I used to own.

I have a great pump for gear oil through "zerk" fittings, as that's what is used to lubricate the swingarm pivots on a Norton Commando. It's similar to a regular oil can but with a higher pressure pump, flexible hose, and nozzle just like a grease gun.

If you're interested, I can post a pic and maybe try to remember where I sourced it.

[summerinmaine]

BTW on the vacuum hoses, so long as they will handle normal engine vacuum without collapsing, I don't see any reason why they shouldn't work.

[Galwaylotus]

I have a great pump for gear oil through "zerk" fittings, as that's what is used to lubricate the swingarm pivots on a Norton Commando. It's similar to a regular oil can but with a higher pressure pump, flexible hose, and nozzle just like a grease gun.

If you're interested, I can post a pic and maybe try to remember where I sourced it.

Please do! Thanks for the reply.

[paddy]

BTW on the vacuum hoses, so long as they will handle normal engine vacuum without collapsing, I don't see any reason why they shouldn't work.

Works for me.

Paddy

[Galwaylotus]

For the diff you need to use a hypoid oil (EP or GL5). On the other hand, these oils attack the brass synchro gearbox components so you need something different for the gearbox and I guess your Shell 80W-90 is fine for that.
It's covered a few times in the archives, eg here:
elan-f15/simple-question-which-oil-for-the-diff-t12203.html
Paddy

Thanks, Paddy. The Spirax 80W-90 is GL-4 so I guess that's correct for the gearbox as you said. I'll see who around here carries a good GL-5 synthetic diff lube!

[Galwaylotus]

Thanks to all who replied. "Keep those cards and letters coming!" This Forum is great!!

[summerinmaine]

I have a great pump for gear oil through "zerk" fittings, as that's what is used to lubricate the swingarm pivots on a Norton Commando. It's similar to a regular oil can but with a higher pressure pump, flexible hose, and nozzle just like a grease gun.

If you're interested, I can post a pic and maybe try to remember where I sourced it.

Please do! Thanks for the reply.

Here's the pic. Now for the head scratching. I've owned it for years, and it has no makers marks anywhere. I may have gotten it from a Norton parts supplier.

Jim

[rgh0]

Ah the great oil versus grease debate in the front trunnions. They both work, personally I believe a proper EP water proof grease is the better lubricant than an EP gear oil for a range of technical reasons i have expounded on before.

cheers
Rohan

[512BB]

There are 2 reasons why the nipple on the front upright should be replaced with a blanking plug after filling the trunnion. 1, as Baggy says, they get covered in dirt, and therefore, theoretically, some of that dirt will find its way into your trunnion when pumping in your EP90, leading to premature wear. And 2, the ball inside the tip of the nipple can, and does, rust up, leading to a stuck valve as it were, ie. no oil can pass through it.

For my part, I dont bother with a blanking plug after filling, I just replace the nipple when it no longer works. Lazy I know.........must get round to doing something about that.

And lastly, my tip of the day, whilst we are on the subject of trunnions. The day before my trip to Classic Le Mans, I gave both a good squirt of oil till it started to emerge from the dust cover, then off we went. Exactly 1100 trouble free miles later, door to door, thought I would just have another squirt, if you see what I mean . Took quite a few pumps on the handle to get it to emerge from the dust cover again.

Now I am not sure if it was my dodgy pump or if the trunnions were drained, or rather the oil had seeped out through the bottom, but my tip is this. When you fit new trunnions, or when you next overhaul your front suspension, soft solder up the join between the steel end cap and the brass body. That way, you will know that no oil is leaking out of the bottom of your trunnion.

Now have a nice day y all.

Leslie

[alexblack13]

Hello all, Hi leslie...

Never saw you again that day. Never found the water tap either!!

I too did the trunnions prior to setting off and did nearly 1500 mls also trouble free!! Ya beuty!! I have given the car a service Lub and also re-did the trunnions. They took very little of the liquid grease I used. I did notice a little brass wear product in the stuff that scooted out of the seal though.

Looking good boss...

AB..........

[kstrutt11]

I have been using a mixture of gear oil and Molly grease which seems to have worked fine for me over the last 15 years, I have now discovered the semi fluid greese intended for landrover front swivels which seems ideal for the job.

[rgh0]

Injection of a little engineering into this discussion is always good. Exploring the "semi fluid" grease theory versus oil or common grease is also interesting

cheers
Rohan

Below is the viscosity index range defined for grease. Common NGLI 2 EP water proof grease is what I and others have successfully used. The semi fluid adherents propose a grade 00 or 000 I presume ( though home mixed semi fluid probably does not meet the specification) Why is a low viscosity grease needed in this application? I am looking for engineering lubrication science not " they use it in xxx and it works there ok" which is a legitimate answer but does not expand our knowledge of why it works or is preferable compared to oil or common No2 grease which also work in this sort of application


Grease Lubricating Institute) has established a scale of 000 to 6 representing very low to very high viscosity.


NLGI Grease Classification
NLGI Grade ASTM Worked Penetration
at 25?C (77?F) Consistency
000 445 - 475 Semifluid
00 400 - 430 Semifluid
0 355 - 385 Very Soft
1 310 - 340 Soft
2 265 - 295 Common Grease
3 220 - 250 SemiHard
4 175 - 205 Hard
5 130 - 160 Very Hard
6 85 - 115 Solid

The worked penetration values in the table are determined by the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) testing methods. ASTM D 217 and D1403 are described as "Standard Test Methods for Cone Penetration of Lubricating Grease". To measure penetration, a cone of given material, weight, and finish is allowed to sink into a grease for 5 seconds at a standard temperature of 25?C (77?F). The depth, in tenths of a millimeter, to which the cone sinks into the grease is the penetration.

The test methods provide different results for "worked" and "unworked" grease. Handling or working a grease tends to soften it a bit, resulting in a higher penetration number. Since any grease that is delivered through an automated greasing system is definately worked, we have provided only worked values here.Data sheets, available from grease manufacturers usually provide the worked and unworked penetration values, along with the NLGI grade.