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Is Super Impact Grease #45104 compatible with polyurethane?
I know that many otherwise good lubricants are not suitable for use on polyurethane, but I don`t know whether 45104 is OK or not. Sure don`t want to mess up any of my suspension components, but I have a tube of it on-hand and if it`s OK for this it`ll save me from having to buy something else.
Bumping this...need to do some Poly bushings on the Crown Vic and if this stuff isn`t suitable I oughta throw it out and fill the gun with something that`s OK.
Yeah, yeah..I could call Customer Service and see if I get somebody competent (last person was of zero use at all...had no answer to my problem, never did provide the promised return call, and left me wondering how to fix something that broke during its first use) but I figure that having the answer from the Horse`s Mouth and posted here might also benefit others.
Maybe try the folks over at bobistheoilguy? Any time I’ve poked around over there, seems like there’s a lot of knowledgeable folks. Maybe someone would be familiar with what may or may not be compatible?
Sorry I’m no help otherwise. Any time I’ve installed Poly parts, I’ve used the supplied grease; after install no one ever asks about up-keep.
Accumulator:
I looked at the Material Safety Data sheet on Armchem`s website (the manufacturer) and it states that this product MAY be incompatible with "unsaturated hydrocarbons". So what are examples of "unsaturated hydrocarbons`?? A Google search says they are polymers like polyethylene and Teflon. Polyurethane does NOT fall into this chemical description, SOOO I would think it would be "compatiable" with your bushings as a lubricant.
That said, as a side note to grease compatibility, I worked for a helicopter company (Enstrom Helicopter; Menominee, MI) and read a FAA report about a helicopter "crash incident" investigation of a different manufacturer`s helicopter in Alaska. A rear rotor bearing failure was traced to the use of two different bearing greases being used, which caused an acidic reaction to form between them and corroded the bearing enough to cause its failure. Needless to say, Enstrom STRONGLY recommends ONE manufacturer for its grease. I never forgot this story because I have mixed greases in the same grease gun, IE replaces a spent grease cartridge from one manufacturer with a new one that is "different" from another manufacturer. You would think it is the same: grease is grease. NOT SO. The "difference" is in the "soaps" they use and apparently not all are compatible with one another. To avoid this dilemma, it may be best to keep pumping the grease gun until the new grease appears in some quantity to displace the old grease left in the gun line. Now should you wash out the old grease in a bearing when re-lubing it with a new grease, especially if you are not sure of the manufacturer??? Depends on the critical-ness of the application. In a helicopter rotor bearing, YES. In a lawn mower wheel bearing, NO (which is my application "experience").
That leads to another dilemma of lubricating Teflon-impregnated or Rulon (Hi-wear plastic) solid bearings or bushings, as they are sometimes referred to. The WORST lubricant to use on these is WD-40, as they tend to "gum up" the plastic. It is suggested to use 3-in-1 Oil. This is especially true in snow-blower chutes that rotate, where these types of plastics are used as a solid bearing lube strips OR on garage door chain slides on the tube or channel track. I KNOW that there are a lot of individuals who "lube" their plastic bearings with WD-40 or similar products. Resist the temptation; you may be causing more harm than good. (More than you REALLY wanted to know...)
Ah, responses! Much appreciated even if they have`t put my mind to ease :D
oneheadlite- Yeah, I suppose I could go to BITOG and I sure agree about all the useful info there (like not having to sweat motor oil particulars or even OCIs on the Crown Vic). But eh, I`d rather just see what GG says and now it`s sorta turned into a Customer Service Test ;)
Made-for-Poly lubes are pricey! Don`t mind paying out again if that`s what I oughta do, but eh, you know...this tube of Super Impact only fits that one gun and it`s just sitting here.
Wonder what your customers do?!? No, such stuff doesn`t really need relubed all that often IME, but still..
Lonnie- Thanks for that research! Don`t want to take any chances though, some of this stuff is a HUGE PIA to redo.
Hey, I liked hearing about your helicopter maintenance learnings! Doing stuff to aviation-specs has never bitten me and some things are done a lot better in that field (dunno whether such care is needed with autos but generally figure "why not?").
Yeah, I always purge the old stuff from my greaseguns. That`s a good thing to mention as somebody might not know to do such things; another reason for discussing this one here. I`ve dedicated the gun in question to poly bushings for just that reason; the lube works fine for other around-the-house stuff, but at a cost so I *usually* go get the other gun for non-critical stuff. Finally used up the last of my good lube and *some day* I`ll get around to wrenching on it some more (that car`s at risk of turning into another of my mothballed toys :o ).
Lonnie - Awesome info! That level of incident reconstruction always blows me away. To be able to take what`s left over, examine it, and figure out it`s because the guy didn`t do the final torque on a bolt because he was finishing his dairy queen is just wild. :D
Accumulator- Also great info. Always interesting to read more about the things you might not put that much thought to otherwise. And for the customers? They just run them until they`re noisy or loose again. :blink:
Two things, as long as we are continuing this dialog on polymer (plastic)-specific lubricants and aviation-specs:Quote:
Originally Posted by Accumulator
There is a company called Nye Lubricants that custom-design greases and lubricants for specific applications. Chances are that their lubricants are used SOMEWHERE in a vehicle you own. If you`ve ever look at a Service Manual for a vehicle and see a manufacturer-Specification and Part Number for say, a heater cable slide lube or a radio push-pull knob, its probably from them.
Your analysis of cost (pricy-ness) for these lubricants is correct. If you have to ask, you cannot afford it.
That said, I do think many hardware stores sell grease for garage door chain tracks that have hi-wear plastics a "bearing slide" for the chain holder/coupling. It IS what should be used for this application.
Aviation-specs is also what lead me to "discover" that OTC Simple Green causes aluminum-bloom (white corrosion) and its ban in the US Air Force as a degreasing agent in aviation maintenance because of that (aluminum being used EVERYWHERE in airship construction). Cannot say enough about that discussion here in this forum over the (many) years and which side I take on it. Yes, I still use it to clean coffee pots (or the occasional minor house cleaning, like coffee-stained countertops), as that was the ORIGINAL intent and development of this product: to remove coffee bean oils from bean roasters, but NOT on my vehicles!(More of more-than-you-really-wanted-to-know....)
Lonnie- Ah, more good info! I`ll have Nye Lubricants in the back of my mind now ;)
I`ll consider the Garage Door Grease, if I got the right one it`d probably save me a bundle but I can`t help but think "easy, affordable solution that just might NOT GO WELL.." so we`ll see if I don`t just order the stuff I used before that I know is OK :o
Not opposed to Parts Store lubes, some firearms run just as well with Wheel Bearing Grease as they do with boutique stuff.
And yeah...wish more people would take the SG-aluminum thing seriously. Some people defend their (mis)use of it right up until they`re asking how to fix the consequences.