"Fibrous" Grease?

[GrahamPaige29]

Hi guys.  My owner's manual for my Graham Paige 612 says I should use a "fibrous grease" for certain joints like the universal joint and steering gear box.  I'm not sure what they're referring to.  Any ideas?

[Bhigdog]

Google............. fibrous grease..............Bob

[GrahamPaige29]

I did.  There's some augment about whether modern products are sufficient for this application.  Just wondering what our members use or substitute.

[Rusty_OToole]

I believe this product was also called sodium soap grease. It was very thick with a fibrous consistency like shredded wheat soaked in molasses. A thinner product will lubricate as well but will it stay in the joint? If you can find a can of wheel bearing grease from the fifties or earlier, and it is like a brown grease with decayed rags in it, that is the stuff.

[Bloo]

What application exactly?

 

For a steering box, that is just plain wrong. Yes I know some OEMs did it. The stuff I know as "fibrous grease" does not flow. In a steering box, it will wipe off of the gears and not relubricate them. When grease is used in steering boxes there have been reports of it migrating up the steering column and coming out on the steering wheel. Penrite makes a special steering box grease. In the US, it is available at Restoration Supply. This is semi-fluid, so it keeps the box lubricated, but it doesn't leak out. Others here have mentioned John Deere Corn Head Grease.

 

For general chassis use, I use Redline CV-2 for anything I have cleaned out completely and rebuilt. This is a synthetic extreme-pressure general-purpose grease that is good enough for CV joints. It is tough to go wrong with this.

 

For stuff that hasn't been taken apart, I use Texaco Marfak #2 (now called Chevron Multifak #2), which is just a good old fashioned chassis lube. Several online sources call it "long fiber". It does not seem like the fibrous grease of long ago to me.

 

I just checked and "Mopar Multi Mileage Lube" is still available from Chrysler. This is an old fashioned long-fiber grease but with a special property. It leaks oil. I suspect this is the closest you will find today. It is (and was) used as general purpose chassis and wheel bearing grease. It works great for that. I guess It would be more likely to protect steering box gears than many other greases because of the oil that leaks out of it. I would be afraid of the godawful mess it is going to make. This stuff is great for torsion bar sockets on Chrysler products (its original application), and anywhere else there is a grease cavity, because the oil will continue to run out of the grease cavity and lubricate whatever it is you are trying to lubricate. If you put a tube of this grease on your bench in 6 months there will be a trail of oil down to the floor. I bought my last tube of it in the mid 90s. It is in three plastic bags and the oil is STILL getting out.

[Guest SaddleRider]

3 hours ago, GrahamPaige29 said:

........ I should use a "fibrous grease" .... ?    Any ideas?

 

Yes - here's an idea - use any modern legit grease - may I suggest my favorite..... "GREEN" grease.   That's the SAE color code for the super sticky water resistant grease for farm equipment. 

 

If you prefer the color BLUE....that's the SAE code for marine applications ( including wheel bearings for boat trailers).

 

NO NO...I am not making fun of you - just pointing out the obvious...that there have been improvements in petro-chemicals over the years.

 

Yes - I understand your question....I was a bit worried when I  FIRST serviced the wheel bearings on my  then just-acquired pre-war car.  The manual is pretty clear...better use a fiber grease. 

 

 So I tried an experiment.....and been using modern "off-the-shelf" greases ever since.      So far....so good.    May I suggest my "experiment" confirms no problems...?    

 

Oh...forgot to mention.....I got the pre-war "collector car" I am "experimenting" with.....and am STILL driving it more or less regularly ( from time to time at extreme speeds........)....SINCE 1955 !

[Bloo]

2 minutes ago, Rusty_OToole said:

If you can find a can of wheel bearing grease from the fifties or earlier, and it is like a brown grease with decayed rags in it, that is the stuff.

 

Ya, that is the answer. I couldn't even source that in the 80s. Good luck.

[GrahamPaige29]

2 minutes ago, Bloo said:

What application exactly?

 

For a steering box, that is just plain wrong. Yes I know some OEMs did it. The stuff I know as "fibrous grease" does not flow. In a steering box, it will wipe off of the gears and not relubricate them. When grease is used in steering boxes there have been reports of it migrating up the steering column and coming out on the steering wheel. Penrite makes a special steering box grease. In the US, it is available at Restoration Supply. This is semi-fluid, so it keeps the box lubricated, but it doesn't leak out. Others here have mentioned John Deere Corn Head Grease.

 

For general chassis use, I use Redline CV-2 for anything I have cleaned out completely and rebuilt. This is a synthetic extreme-pressure general-purpose grease that is good enough for CV joints. It is tough to go wrong with this.

 

For stuff that hasn't been taken apart, I use Texaco Marfak #2 (now called Chevron Multifak #2), which is just a good old fashioned chassis lube. Several online sources call it "long fiber". It does not seem like the fibrous grease of long ago to me.

 

I just checked and "Mopar Multi Mileage Lube" is still available from Chrysler. This is an old fashioned long-fiber grease but with a special property. It leaks oil. I suspect this is the closest you will find today. It is (and was) used as general purpose chassis and wheel bearing grease. It works great for that. I guess It would be more likely to protect steering box gears than many other greases because of the oil that leaks out of it. I would be afraid of the godawful mess it is going to make. This stuff is great for torsion bar sockets on Chrysler products (its original application), and anywhere else there is a grease cavity, because the oil will continue to run out of the grease cavity and lubricate whatever it is you are trying to lubricate. If you put a tube of this grease on your bench in 6 months there will be a trail of oil down to the floor. I bought my last tube of it in the mid 90s. It is in three plastic bags and the oil is STILL getting out.

 

It seems weird to me that my steering gear box says to use grease.  It has a filler cap and paper gaskets so I would think it would use a gear oil.  I will look into the products you mentioned.  Thanks.

 

[GrahamPaige29]

Seems like this is the stuff...

 

http://www.penriteoil.com.au/products/categories/veteran-vintage-classic/steering-box-lube

 

I can't understand why anybody would use a thicker grease that would not "self-level" and fill in the gaps around the gear.

[Rusty_OToole]

Even in the teens and twenties they knew heavy oil was a better lubricant than thick grease. But the seal technology they had was inadequate to keep it in. So they used a thick fibrous grease and recommended repacking at frequent intervals. Today's grease is better if you can keep it in with modern seals or renew it regularly.

[Bloo]

The Penrite product I mentioned is the right thing to use in a steering gear. On older cars with a manual steering box, some form of gear oil was usually specified. It will just run out on the ground. The steering box will be found to be empty and full of rust. People have driven themselves crazy trying to use modern seals on pittman shafts, etc. If you look around on the web you will see plenty of examples. Invariably, the oil runs out on the ground. I suspect any OEMs that used thick grease did so because they couldn't keep the oil in.

 

Edit: Yes thats the product. If you are in the US, restorationstuff.com has it. I understand it is more widely available in Australia.

Edited September 6, 2017 by Bloo (see edit history)

[Rusty_OToole]

Here is another old trick for steering boxes. Carefully clean the dirt away from where the pitman arm shaft comes out. Wrap the shaft with string or a strip of cotton rag as tight as you can. Pack the space between the box and pitman arm.This helps seal in the grease and keep out dirt and mud. Use the corn grease or heavy oil or gear oil mixed with grease. I don't see how you could use fibrous grease in a steering box.

[GrahamPaige29]

Thanks you guys!  Appreciate the advice.

[GrahamPaige29]

It looks like the corn head grease is a pretty affordable option as well.  John Deere sells it and it's not expensive.

[ArticiferTom]

Double Ott grease . Available at Tractor Supply in squeeze bottle $5 .  Also any Snapper mower dealer .  It is NGI 00 rated as Pennite  . The  "00"grease is in the three point hitch supply area not lubes . Regular grease is about a NGI 2 rating and will not flow in steering . All have rating for use in brass as sulfur is no longer used in it's manufacture .

[Larry Schramm]

On ‎9‎/‎6‎/‎2017 at 1:46 PM, GrahamPaige29 said:

It looks like the corn head grease is a pretty affordable option as well.  John Deere sells it and it's not expensive.

 

I bought some for my steering gear a couple of months ago and it was about $3.50/tube.