Grease types

Don't really know what the difference is but I know ARB states to use molybendum grease in my greasable shackles. My Dad is a mechanical engineer and I asked him the difference when I bought the shackles and about an hour later I was beginning to regret it LOL. Can't remember a word he said.

Always use good quality greases..
one can mix them but the ideal situation is to remove all old grease and replenish with new....but this rarely happens in the real world

Roachie,
IMHO the stickier the grease the better. i use a red lucas grease (real tacky) in my unis and wherever else i can. after driving semis and giving them 5/6 pumps at each end of the melb/bris legs, i tried out the lucas grease. surprise....surprise, i only pumped in2/3 pumps at each end. definately cut costs and i believe protected better. use the same grease in all my wheelbearings too and no probs after 130k aprox.
hope this helps and i may not be right

regards

Bob

A bit like me a few weeks ago.

I got the grease gun out, under the Jackaroo, but couldn't find a nipple to grease anywhere.

Has me wondering what the "grease" item on the dealer servicing invoices was for.

Moly is usually used for greasing suspension, driveline and steering components, High Temperature Bearing is used on the front of mainly 2wd's but should not be used on 4wd's or trailers as they tend to not get hot enough to melt the grease to lubricate the bearings.
For wheel bearings on trailers and 4wd's I use Catrol APX which is a very tacky grease that doesn't 'fling' away from the bearings.
For those that want to grease joints that aren't fitted with grease nipples you can fit nipples to some joints by removing a plug.
Most suburban 4wd owners wouldn't keep a vehicle long enough to wear a non greasable joint out.
If you intend to keep and use a 4wd for a long time maybe greasable components should be on a vehicle criteria checklist.
If torn boots on joints are not replaced quickly the joint will fail quickly due to water & dirt ingress especially if it is non greasable.

Roachie,
Greases in a lot of cases won't mix they have different "structures" and if you do mix them one will cause the other grief. You want a good EP grease stay away from the moly greases as mentioned they won't really work for you and they more than likely won't mix with what you have. If I change grease I usually grease the joints up and then for the next couple of trips I re-grease the uni's and other bits until I get the same grease colour coming out of where the waste grease comes from. You are best sticking to one brand / type of grease once you start, the cost diffrence isn't usually worth the hassle. If you get your vehicle serviced by an agent see who they are aligned with it will be one of the majors, just ask what they use and buy a tube.

some easy points,
grease is best described as a base saturated in an oil, most common are lithium soap bases . Think of a sponge soaked in lubricating oil - thats grease, the base is there to hold the lubricating medium in contact with the moving surfaces.
Virtually all automotive greases are a NLGI 2 which means they are a 2 'weight' so you dont have to worry about that (range from 00 to 5). Colour doesnt mean a thing in the non moly greases - manufacturer choice only.
The dropping point refers to the temp at which the grease will drop off a surface so the high temp greases are usually tackier ( our moreplex grease for earthmovers is ridiculously tacky) and there are types for high moisture etc..
The moly greases which are the black types have a molybdenum disulphide additive for extreme pressure etc. DONT USE IN ROLLER BEARINGS. skf, timken etc say not to use moly grease in roller bearings as the moly builds up on the surface and causes the rollers to skid instead of rolling, therfore flat spotting the rollers. Experience has confirmed this to me also. If anyone is really interested i could burn a copy of some of our tech training on greases for them, just let me know. Greases aint greases, just as oils aint oils, btw my mob are the 2nd largest grease manufacturer in the world, over a thousand different types world wide!!

Roachie - best not to mix the 2 types, but you could grease until fresh grease is expelled and then short drive, repeat grease flushing, drive, grease etc.. until most of the moly is gone. Hope the above helps some, Brad