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Spheerol semi liquid bearing grease in steering box

Acollin

Acollin

Platinum Level Sponsor
Hello all

i saw the video on spheerol semi liquid grease in the steering box and had a couple of questions.

1) does it work?— never leak again claim.
2) will any semi liquid grease rated for bearings work?
3) why bother doing all the cleaning and attention to drainingwiping all old oil out. Won’t the semi liquid grease stay in place and old oil eventually all drain out either way?
4) have you tried it?

Thanks all
Andrew
 
Here are answers to what you asked.

1) It worked for me. I did it last fall on my IV, no problems this year at all.
2)I stuck with a Castrol Spheerol product (not too easy to find in Canada but got it from Napa)
3)Why not? Then there is no cross contamination. In my case only 1/2 a cup of oil was left so it wasn't a big deal to clean out.
4)See (1)

David
 
I have heard from Rick at SS - when I wanted fluid for my clutch- that Castrol has pulled out of the American market place.
Other recommendations for a liquid like grease?
Castrol product are very tough to find near me and off shore sites have refused to ship to the US.

Thanks for the replies
Andrew
 
Here is what I used from Tractor Supply
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/super-s-cotton-picker-spindle-grease-00
1056828
 
after some research, it seems that "00" grease specifies viscosity and grade.
there seems to be some domestic candidates out there.
has anyone had an opportunity to use any of these?
I havent seen the comparison table for NLG1 and EPL

this seems to be a suitable solution

Mobilux EP 004​

www.wsimachinery.com

Mobil Mobilux EP 0 Grease in 14-Ounce Tubes, 00L0289525D - Pack of 5Default Title

Mobilux™ EP 0, 1, 2, 3 products are a high performance family of four general-purpose industrial greases. These lithium hydroxystearate greases are formulated to provide extra protection against wear, rusting and water washout. They are available in NLGI grades ranging from 00 to 3, with base...
www.wsimachinery.com www.wsimachinery.com

1735607286420.png 1735607783971.png
 
See my post over here:

Steering box rebuild and fill plug fix

I have not been able to find a fill plug, so I did this. It is 1 thousandths over and pressed in, and I can use a thread in plug now.
forum.sunbeamalpine.org forum.sunbeamalpine.org

I use it in my MGTD rack, and I have since also purged my Alpine steering box and replaced it with this 00 grease and it works just fine in both. I heartily recommend it.
 
puff4 said:
See my post over here:

Steering box rebuild and fill plug fix

I have not been able to find a fill plug, so I did this. It is 1 thousandths over and pressed in, and I can use a thread in plug now.
forum.sunbeamalpine.org forum.sunbeamalpine.org

I use it in my MGTD rack, and I have since also purged my Alpine steering box and replaced it with this 00 grease and it works just fine in both. I heartily recommend it.
Click to expand...
Puff
great post.
I knew someone had crossed this bridge.
I think "00" is the generic designation..
I found out on the Mobilux data sheets that there are EP grades. I believe 023 is best suited of these choices. and i will be using it in my box.
1
2
3
004
023
See excerpt below

1735622917466.png
 
John Deere Corn Head 00 grease is readily found at any JD dealer
 

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Two questions:
1. My seal is so bad that the regular grease flows out almost as fast as I put it in. It’s probably all drained out within 5 minutes. Do you think the flowable grease will work as is or should I replace the seal first?
2. I bought this EP 1 about a year ago because I couldn’t find 00. Do you think this will work or should I keep looking?
 

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X2 on DanR’s advice.
If your current seal is allowing regular grease past it, there is no way it will keep a semi liquid grease in check.
If regular grease flows out in 5 minutes, my advice would be to look even more closely. Can regular grease move that quickly without a lot of heat behind it?
 
Acollin said:
X2 on DanR’s advice.
If your current seal is allowing regular grease past it, there is no way it will keep a semi liquid grease in check.
If regular grease flows out in 5 minutes, my advice would be to look even more closely. Can regular grease move that quickly without a lot of heat behind it?
Click to expand...
That’s what I was afraid of. I’ve read that the steering column shaft is attached to the gear box. Is there room in the engine bay to remove the gear box with the engine still installed?
 
You must be talking about gear oil running out, not grease. That is the reason people use the semi-liquid grease, which may not run out.
 
I will go out to my car in a few hours and get a better understanding of the situation, but I want to return to this aspect that confounds me— the “grease” running out in 5 minutes.
What is it that you are actually putting into the steering gear box? If possible, and you still contend it is “grease”, please post a picture of the grease container and the substance.
As I understand it, the reason the gear box is not pump filled with regular grease is that it does not flow well enough to maintain the lubrication required for the steering gears. It will separate, gap and then not be a sufficient lubrication. The “liquid” grease retains a fluidity that maintains contact with the gears and thick enough not to leak through worn seals.
I hope my undersatnding is accurate.
 
Acollin,
You are 100% correct. That’s the reason farmers and hotrodders use John Deere Corn Head grease. It thick enough not to leak and flows through the gears. I have used it for about 6 years now, no issues, no leaks. And it’s easy to find.
 
Ditto on Bluenose
Pull the pitman arm, replace the o-ring seal. install pitman arm.
extract any remaining gear oil. Any EP series grease will be better than gear oil. 023 is the highest viscosity as far as I can find any data on.
See my earlier post on Mobilux
 
Acollin said:
I will go out to my car in a few hours and get a better understanding of the situation, but I want to return to this aspect that confounds me— the “grease” running out in 5 minutes.
What is it that you are actually putting into the steering gear box? If possible, and you still contend it is “grease”, please post a picture of the grease container and the substance.
As I understand it, the reason the gear box is not pump filled with regular grease is that it does not flow well enough to maintain the lubrication required for the steering gears. It will separate, gap and then not be a sufficient lubrication. The “liquid” grease retains a fluidity that maintains contact with the gears and thick enough not to leak through worn seals.
I hope my undersatnding is accurate.
Click to expand...
It’s been at least a year since I tried adding gear oil but I’m sure I used either Lucas 80W-90 or 70W-90.
 
It looks that way to me too—pulling just the pitman arm or what the wsm calls the “swing lever” to replace just the seal. ****Disclaimer *** I have no experience here at all, but in my try it myself mindset it appears more involved than one nut and done - although it could be “one and done”as there could be some wiggle room once the arm is pulled from the spline. Likely
Tie rod end like pieces ( swivel bearing? In wsm) need to be disconnected and probably replaced and a puller to get the swivel arm off the splined rocker shaft. You might check out a front end rebuild video for information
Other things I would consider:
Other bits needed to redo what you have undone
Availability of seal— other not reusable parts
Once revealed, will the seal easily give up its position?
Condition of the rocker shaft bushing
Mark positions of anything you undo

*****
And I don’t wish to sound like a broken record, but you need to understand why that grease is leaking out so quickly.

Not sure this helps, but I like projects that force me to act and one really can’t drive your car without a functioning steering box. That said, if your only steering box issue is the leak, what do you have to lose?

Good luck - let the forum know what you decide.
 
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