Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hi All

I tried to lubricate my trunnions the other day but both my grease guns wouldn't fit. The end adaptor was too big and wouldn't get a tight fit, can you get smaller adapters and if so where?

Also how do you know when the trunnion is full?

Cheers
Gareth

At admins, not sure whether to post this in the the suspension section or tools, feel free to move.

Good evening Gareth,
your supposed to oil front trunnions. Oil guns are readily available. If Im wrong I will soon be told
all the best
Stuart

Europatc wrote:Good evening Gareth,
your supposed to oil front trunnions. Oil guns are readily available. If Im wrong I will soon be told
all the best
Stuart

I think you find this is an area of debate... some say oil, some say grease.Personally I used grease because I live in a hot climate, if i lived in cold climate then I might be going for oil.

You should be able to get grease fittings with the right thread that screws into the upright and that match the nozzle on your grease gun. Most tool stores carry a suitable range.

Technically grease is the correct lubricant to use on a low speed, water exposed moving thread like the trunnion has IMHO despite the specification for oil in the Lotus manual ( and by Triumph the original manufacturer).

For many years I have tried to find a reason for this specification for use of oil but I have failed to find a good technical reason so I have used grease. Both appear to work ok so do what you like.

cheers
Rohan

Presumably the "Search" function is no better than the last time we had an "upgrade" to the software?

I have two lubricant guns, one filled with stern-tube grease and one with very, very, thick oil. Two pumps with each seems to work. That said; the trunnion is a very cheap (Chapmanesque) solution to a simple problem which was solved by Spyder some few years ago.

Hi Pete
I presume you must have an Esprit submarine to need to stern tube grease on a Lotus

cheers
Rohan

elansprint71 wrote:Presumably the "Search" function is no better than the last time we had an "upgrade" to the software?

I have two lubricant guns, one filled with stern-tube grease and one with very, very, thick oil. Two pumps with each seems to work. That said; the trunnion is a very cheap (Chapmanesque) solution to a simple problem which was solved by Spyder some few years ago.

Er thanks however you will notice that my question was not about oil or grease (I have used the search function here and made my decision for grease). My question was not about oil or grease but rather - if my decision is to use grease (clue given in the thread topic) then can I buy smaller grease gun ends as both my grease guns didn't fit


Cheers
Gareth

rgh0 wrote:Hi Pete
I presume you must have an Esprit submarine to need to stern tube grease on a Lotus

cheers
Rohan

It rains quite a bit here Rohan.
I was talking about grease washing out of exposed applications to a Marine Engineer and he prescribed Duckhams Stern-tube grease; it seems to be completely water resitent and and an excellent lubricant too.

A message on my Photo-website this morning:


Subject: Do you ever read posts correctly
From: one of many no doubt [[email protected]]
Message: You are one big mouth idiot too quick to respond without
reading and engaging your brain. Retire off the forum if you can't act
and respond like a grown up


Nice one Iamfamous.

Cheers Rohan, I've interpreted your message to mean that I can buy different sizes, which is excellent news, thanks

Gareth

Iamfamous must be famous for something, maybe it`s hypocrisy.
Jim

Regarding the on-going debate about grease and oil for lubricating the trunnions,the attached document, which discusses the topic, may be of interest/use. It may have been downloaded from this forum but it would have been several years ago.

Good document, as with most things in life a compromise gives an ideal solution!

Cheers

Gareth,

There is a variety of different nipple types. I am not an expert, but have seen several, including nipples for oil rather than grease. My first contact would be a bearing factor such as Brammer, who are closely associated with lubricant application. These people normally supply lubricant guns and the various fittings that go with them.

If you have an independent lubricant supplier in your area they could probably help.

On the subject of grease/oil for our trunnions, my experience is based mainly on Morris Minors, which had a similar threaded arrangement to our Elans. Morris/BMC specified grease, which seemed to work fine if applied frequently. These Morris trunnions would seize and snap if properly greased. Grease would become almost impossible to pump in if not applied frequently which probably also lead to them being neglected. I found that if I dismantled them, cleaned them, and greased every 2 weeks they worked fine. I looked after 5 Morris Minors in my youth.

Richard Hawkins

As with a great many things now days, there is a great deal of variation in the grease nipples one see's and in the grease nipple coupling's as well. Apparently depends on which Asian country made them. As a farmer I have greased a ton of grease nipples over the years but never had as much trouble getting things to match up as in recent history. Good luck in matching things up!

If you want to use heavy oil [SAE 140] it is an easy matter to remove the plunger from the standard grease gun and by keeping it upright pump oil through it. In the USA midwest at least another alternative that is popular for greasing BMC steering rack's is John Deere corn head grease. It is a thin high pressure grease that comes in a tube and can be used in a standard grease gun.

Kurt
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