Best grease for FD needle roller bearing... Moly again?

beaver

beaver

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Are we using Moly here also.. or std grease on the needle roller bearing??
 
I do.. I just need to know if thats good or if some 'other' type / make is prefered from the experiance he's had.. also, is it worth cleaning out the new INA ball bearing I have and greasing with the same stuff?? :thumb2
 
I used CV joint moly grease fully packed. OK last time I looked.
It’s due to be regreased so it will be interesting to compare with how the original fared.
 
although its fair to say that the needle rollers will actualy get a bit more movement... may be 2 or 3 full turn top to bottom?
 
Perhaps I’m mistaken on which bearing we mean.
The bearing at bottom of final drive moves back and forth through only a few degrees. On mine the worn rubbed areas did not touch. Packing it full allows the grease to move with the rollers rather than having it rub dry (as mine did). The long front suspension swing arm has about the same swing angle and same problem.
However filling rolling (e.g. wheel) bearings, where the grease needs space to move, would either blow the seals or have them overheat.
 
yes... its the ones at the bottom of the final drive.... and yes, it does move the same amount as the front ones... but with the rollers being much smaller than the fronts, they should at least do a few rev's top to bottom?... unlike the fronts that just rock about....
The seals must be better on these.. my needle bearing is fine... just a bit a water ingress into the double race ball bearing, but they are cheap to replace...
so, your suggesting moly again... not waterproof marine like mike says?
Moly is quite thin... and maybe could wash out??
 
I used Moly because I hoped some might burnish into the metal but who knows if it really will. Waterproof is likely to be as good it’s generally sticky stuff.
Rollers are small but the bearing itself isn’t huge. In mine the rubbed areas did not overlap and some rollers had a flat on them.
 
The flats are because the rollers didnt turn.. stuck in old hard grease maybe... so happen thinner grease is better allowing movement? Did you say you were inspecting yours?.. how many miles on?
 
beaver said:
The flats are because the rollers didnt turn.. stuck in old hard grease maybe... so happen thinner grease is better allowing movement? Did you say you were inspecting yours?.. how many miles on?
Click to expand...

The worn bits of race did not meet. The rollers were not doing anything close to a full turn. The grease was hardhat TBH there was almost none in there. New bearings were fitted at 50K miles. It's now done 70K. I really should have regreased it sooner. I'll post pictures when it's opened up.

The drive shaft splines were previously treated with a high solids copper grease. Copper was rubbed nicely into the metal and no signs of wear. It might work just as well on the suspension needle rollers but I wasn't brave enough to try.
 
I was reading an article that said you should use grease with a high oil bleed for roller bearings but I think that was for bearings that are spinning as opposed to pivoting. By the same token it would perhaps tie in with the thinner grease idea, at the same time i would be inclined to go with Mikeyboy if you could get a brand name, there's no substitute for experience.
 
Mmmm... just thinking thick grease may tend to hold the needle rollers and stop them rotating?... may be not initialy, but after time as the grease gets even thicker and less liquid... Its a rocking and not a turning action we see at these joints and I fully get the molly thing as that is used for high loads on the splines....
Who knows.... but as you say, mike has seen many so guess he's got the most experiance... What do BMW say?... do they just use std stuff...
And is it worth re-greasing my new INA bearing with something also??
 
Mac One said:
I was reading an article that said you should use grease with a high oil bleed for roller bearings but I think that was for bearings that are spinning as opposed to pivoting. By the same token it would perhaps tie in with the thinner grease idea, at the same time i would be inclined to go with Mikeyboy if you could get a brand name, there's no substitute for experience.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. Rolling bearings (wheels etc) should not be filled more than 50%. I just grease one side and all is fine. The grease must have space to move. Too much grease causes churning and can quickly overheat a bearing. Ive seen electric motor bearings turn blue from too much grease, but saying that a normal bearing would blow its seals long before that happens.

The suspension bearings do risk rollers sliding, but where there's not enough grease they soon go to metal/metal and then it hardly matters what grease you have because none is where it's needed.

The Castrol moly grease I used is quite thin but very little has escaped from the seals (such as they are).
 
beaver said:
Mmmm... just thinking thick grease may tend to hold the needle rollers and stop them rotating?... may be not initialy, but after time as the grease gets even thicker and less liquid... Its a rocking and not a turning action we see at these joints and I fully get the molly thing as that is used for high loads on the splines....
Who knows.... but as you say, mike has seen many so guess he's got the most experiance... What do BMW say?... do they just use std stuff...
And is it worth re-greasing my new INA bearing with something also??
Click to expand...

Having seen the mess my Paralever bearing made of itself I don't think you can do any harm by filling the bearing with a good moly grease. As said earlier I suspect even a high solids anti seize would do the job as it effectively plates itself onto the metal surfaces. I've not been brave enough to try, but if it was a bronze bush I'd definitely go for a copper based grease. Properly knowledgeable lubricant specialists will know for sure.
 
Have a look then.. see if they are still okay.... then I can do mine this weekend :thumb2 LOL
 
The movement is very small so a pair of bonded rubber bushes would have been just as good and be there literally for life. The needle rollers and all that precision engineering is inappropriate overkill. But its what we have so good luck. If its
 
Would rubber take all the power through it?... I have 4 per corner on my TVR (or had)... shagged at 40k so so a couple on the bevel box with side load?... not sure they would walk the walk?...

right... so, have got some marine HP grease for the ball side and will fully pack by removing the shields.. and 3% Moly for the needle side, as anything over 5% can make them slide and result in flats.. but it is more like a CV neddle use than a rotating bearing... will be done tomorrow... descission made ;)
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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