Steering rack lube

[kram350kram]

90 weight gear oil seems the way to go. Any options? Thanks 

[BDA]

The manual says when assembling the rack to pack it in grease. I use moly grease though good wheel bearing grease might be better since moly is best used for sliding friction and I think the most important friction is between the pinion and the rack which is rolling friction.

[jbcollier]

Gear oil works well but can be more prone to leaking.  Grease stays put but separates and dries out over time, then it’s a mess.  I use either semi-fluid grease or steering box lube.  They are basically very “wet” greases that that last much longer than regular grease.

[kram350kram]

Thanks, was looking at 00 grease for the rack?  Same might work well for the lower trunnions?

[jbcollier]

Two controversial issues in one post.  Are you going for the record?  ;-)

Some people grease, some people use gear oil.  Both argue vehemently.

The factory says oil, period.  Enthusiast publication in the day actually issued warnings against using grease due to sudden, total trunnion failure.  England is a wet land and water gets EVERYWHERE and corrosion follows shortly thereafter.  If you are in a dry climate, you may not have the same issue.

Using oil means the trunnion operates in a oil bath.  The trunnion has a cap soldered at the bottom to retain oil.  It also has a large slot through the thread to help oil spread to all the threads.  Therein lies the problem.  That same slot allows the fresh grease being pumped in to simply bypass the threads and go straight out past the rubber seal.  The old grease is not forced out and simply remains there, drying out and deteriorating.

Again, dry climate, sunny day use, 200 miles a year total (the norm for restored vehicles) there will probably not be any issue at all.

However, if you actually drive your Europa, rain or shine, and put on the miles -- slow year for me, only actually got it out in late August but will still have 5K+ by the time it goes away -- then you need to use oil.

[Clifton]

I'm with JB on the gear oil for Trunnions. Many stories of people thinking they know better and using grease on Triumphs only to have them fail.


"Unsurprisingly given the variety of cars in which it was used the Triumph upright remains in manufacture today, by Coventry company ESP Ltd using refurbished original tooling. Alford and Alder itself, with a history stretching back to the early years of last century, ceased to exist when it was absorbed into British Leyland. ESP boss Tony Cook still receives enquiries about the upright from around the world and makes a special variant for racing in which the central bore through the lower section – designed to carry lubricant (strictly engine oil, not grease) from a rear-mounted nipple to the base of the trunnion thread "

Link to quote https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/october-1999/67/the-alford-alder-upright

[kram350kram]

So oil it seems to be. Linked article states engine oil, so what weight do you suppose? May not make a difference, SAE 30, 10W50, etc... whatever is going in the crankcase.

[jbcollier]

Given the high pressure, wiping contact, I ‘d use GL4 gear oil.  Some GL5 oils can attack bronze so I would avoid those.

[GavinT]

The trunnion has a cap soldered at the bottom to retain oil.  It also has a large slot through the thread to help oil spread to all the threads.  Therein lies the problem.  That same slot allows the fresh grease being pumped in to simply bypass the threads and go straight out past the rubber seal.  The old grease is not forced out and simply remains there, drying out and deteriorating.

As an experiment, I once used my gear oil filled grease gun on a Uni-joint.
Intuitively, you'd expect the existing grease to be pumped out hydraulically but that isn't what happened.

Oil came out of two of the caps and no grease was expelled.
That suggests to me that the oil found a pathway through the existing grease all the way to the caps and exited via the seals.

That probably means that adding oil to an upright after the original packing of grease perhaps doesn't necessarily distribute the oil evenly throughout.
Maybe that's fine.

I wonder if steering box lube wouldn't be a better bet from the outset.

[Clifton]

That probably means that adding oil to an upright after the original packing of grease perhaps doesn't necessarily distribute the oil evenly throughout.
Maybe that's fine.

I wonder if steering box lube wouldn't be a better bet from the outset.

If yours had grease, I don't think it was original or from the factory.

http://lotus-europa.com/manuals/s2work/o/index.htm#12

[GavinT]

If yours had grease, I don't think it was original or from the factory.

Oh, I presumed they came from the factory with grease but specified gear oil for ongoing maintenance.

Is that not right?
Did they come from the factory with oil?

[jbcollier]

Yes, trunnions were always lubed with oil.

[GavinT]

Well, there ya go . . learn something every day.
I've always used oil in the trunnions and had presumed the controversy over grease arose from an initial OEM filling with grease.

If that's wrong, then perhaps the issue has arisen due to the word usage of 'grease' nipple where oil is the specified lubricant.

[Fotog]

If I were to lube this rack up with semi-fluid grease, as JB recommends, how should I go about it?  Just slather it on to the rack and whatever I can reach by hand?  I think somewhere I've seen something about filling the bellows though.  That sounds like a lot of grease, and I'm afraid it would end up everywhere.

Vince

[jbcollier]

Coat the parts as you assemble then extend the rack all the way one way and slather as you push it back in.  Put a dollop into each gaiter and that should be fine.