DeTomaso Mailing List: January 98, Message #595
     



From: 	dave.williams@chaos.lrk.ar.us (Dave Williams)

Subject: Re: Front bearing

Date: 	Fri, 16 Jan 1998 15:20:21 +0000





-> Ok, someone has to ask, might as well be me. What super-duper, high

-> tech, good/bad smelling, rainbow colored wheel bearing grease do you

-> guys use ? And don't tell me to get it from a Pantera vendor ! :o)



 I prefer synthetic; Mobil 1 is easy for me to obtain and inexpensive,

but probably any of them would do.



 There are a couple of odd things I've learned recently about greases,

of course after I've roasted several sets of bearings, fortunately not

on a Pantera.



 First, not all greases are rated for use in wheel bearings.  You want a

grease that says "for use with cars with disc brakes".  Those greases

have a much higher melting point than older greases, which were useful

for drum brakes, boat trailers, door latches, and the like.



 Second, not all of the gooey black "moly" greases really have

molybdenum in them, and if they do, you probably don't want them.  If

you examine the container closely, you will find a few that say "not for

use in wheel bearings."  That's because a true moly grease is suitable

for *sliding* contact, like in plain bearings, and not *rolling*

contact, like in roller or ball bearings.  A true moly grease has chunks

in it, feels sorta like sand, and it will eventually destroy wheel

bearings.



 Now, according to the Hotshot Oil Company Tribologist who was

expounding on this, most "moly" greases are basically either lying

outright or contain so little moly as to be insignificant.  It's an

advertising thing, like "triple chrome plating" or other null words.



 However, if you go down to the parts store or K-Mart, you're likely to

find that only the "moly" greases are suitable for high temperature

"disk brake" use.  Examine the container to see that is says somewhere

"recommended for disk brakes".  Now you need to examine the container

for a phrase something like "Meets FORD specification blah blah

blah...". '60s Fords really roasted the wheel bearings, so Ford's

requirement for a wheel bearing grease had a higher operating

temperature than Chrysler or GM.





 Another tip:  lots of trackies spend considerable time prepping their

car for a track event, then entirely blow off checking the car *after*

the event.  If nothing else, at least check the wheel bearings.  It's

not impossible to carbonize the wheel bearing grease in one event, and

it's stupid to drive around like that until the next event.  And you

really should at least eyeball everything you checked before the event.

If anything was going to fail before, it's likely on its last leg now.



====dave.williams@chaos.lrk.ar.us========================DoD#978=======

  can you help me...help me get out of this place?...slow sedation...

ain't my style, ain't my pace...giving me a number...NINE, SEVEN, EIGHT

==5.0 RX7 -> Tyrannosaurus RX! == SAE '82 == Denizens of Doom M/C '92==