VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1933-1936 What Kind of Grease ???

Hello everyone, Who out there can recommend a good front end grease/for packing new bearings and luben up a new front end. I went to a couple of different auto stores out here and they have 3 or 4 different types of Grease for GM cars.Whats the best type to use? Can anyone help me out here? This would be for a 1936 MASTER, With Knee Action Shocks. Thanks, Ken

For packing the front wheel beraings I use the wheel bearing grease that says "Not for car with disc brakes"...I have found that the Disc brake grese runns off the ball bearings.
For lubing the chassis I use the Moly grease recommended for Fords and Chrysler products.What GM recommends for their cars has no moly.Have also used Mobil ! Synthetic grease when making long trips of oover 2000 mils at one time.Otherwise I lube the chassis every 1000 miles or 2 years.
For topping of the knee-action units I would use hydralic jack oil if you are not sure as to what is in them now.When I rebuilt mine I used automatic trans. fluid.Any thin oil is OK.A heavier oil will make the ride stiffer but will not harm anything.
Transmission and rear end 140 grease.Engine oil 10W-30 unless the engine is a sludged up mess.
Any of the greases and oils sold today are light years better than was was available in 1936.
Note that there are 2 grease fittings where the rear spring U bolts clamp to the rear end housing axle tubes-facing to the rear of the car.Also two oilers on the water pump plus grease cup.Best to use a water proof grease in the grease cup.

When using grease and oils in the older cars with brass bushings, check to make sure that they are compatible with brass. Some modern oils and greases can eat brass. Also it is best to use SL grade oils or oils formulated for heavyduty trucks such as Rotella T. They still have the zinc additive that protects cams and lifters.

The best Grease that I could find is the brand name Traveller. Its a Premium Truck and Tractor grease,It says Specification "GC/LB covering disk and Drum brake wheel bearings applications" This would be for packing my new front wheel bearings,(Ball).All the grease that I looked at were for disk breaks until I found this stuff. I also bought a front end grease that has moly in it (same brand). What do you guys think? Is this kind of grease going to work? Thanks, Ken

If its says its for drum and disc brakes it the smooth hi-temp grease.What you want is the long fiber grease.I saw it at an Advanced Auto Parts a while back.What you have may work OK and will not cause any harm.After a summers use pull one of the outter bearings out and see if the grease is still there or if it bled out into the grease cap.

Thanks Gene, for the information. Ill try Advance Auto again. I looked there before and didn't see anything like that. I even asked one of the guys there about the grease, He was no help He knew less than I did so I just moved on to the next auto store. Thanks again.

Hi guys, I don't want to sound dumb but here it goes, what is Moly? Thanks...Oscar :confused:

Oscar,
Moly is short for molybdenum, a metallic element that oxidizes only at very high temperatures.

Actually the term Moly is a shortened name for Molybdenum disulfide. It is a material that has similar lubricating properties to graphite. Unlike graphite it really needs a base such as oil or grease and then enhances the lubricity. It was used extensively in the 1970s until its corrosive nature was discovered. Today it is more of a novelty and selling point than a real benefit for the majority of applications.

It should be safe for general chassis parts-no?...as they don't run at high temperatures.
Its the recommended grese for Ford and Chrysler products for the long term lubrication intervals.
GM does not require it......and it works for me.

Thanks everybody. You learn something every day...Oscar

Sure are a lot of different kinds of grease.
I just ordered the 400 pound drum of Moly for $2836.Should last thru the summer.

Actually I have several tubes of Valvoline Moly grease left.I bought about a dozen tubes for less than a dollar each at a Farm & Fleet close-out sale a few years back.

I have only one modern car that still has grease fittings (guess its not that modern any more) and it gets greased twice a year which is usually ony about every 1500 miles.

Thanks Gene and Louis C for the tip,You guys really seem like you know what your talking about,on your advise I also just ordered the 400 pound drum of Moly grease. Man that sure seems like alot, but I should have enough to get the job done. Shipping was sure alot

Chipper,
Thanks for correcting me on the ingredients in moly grease. You're absolutely right. It's molybdenum disulfide, not molybdenum (the actual element). By the way, here's an interesting piece of trivia about moly grease from wikipedia.org:

During the Vietnam war, a commercial molybdenum disulfide product, "Dri-Slide", was used for lubricating troop's weapons; the military refused to supply it, as it was "not in the manual", so it was sent to soldiers by their parents and friends privately. Another application is for coating bullets, giving them easier passage through the rifle barrel with less deformation and better ballistic accuracy.