FE winter maintenance and tripod grease?

[dsmithwc04]

I'm doing my first winter maintenance of my FE. Thanks to advice from Steve, Kevin, and a few others I've done the following.

So far I've done a full inspection of the gear stack.
Replaced reverse spigot and tapped it to accept bolt threads.
Had clutch rebuilt.
Replaced slave cylinder seals.
Cleaned all around engine bay and under tray as well as bell housing. What a mess!
Had headers recoated with 2500F coating from ProKote Indy. They were chrome coated by PO...
Cleaned coolant system and inspected thermostat.

I'm about to get started on the tri pods but wondering if the tool to pack the tri pod bearings is necessary or can this be done by hand? Also, I understand most use GNK Tri Pod grease. Is AeroShell Grease 33 a reasonable substitute? It's a synthetic grease used by boeing and the military. One of it's main purposes is for greasing roller bearings. It's also half the price. Not wanting to skimp on quality for a couple dollars but if it is as good or better why not? Here is a link. AeroShell Grease 33 Synthetic Mil Spec

[SStadel]

We use a grease grease, not the tripod stuff. Didn't research your stuff but probably just fine. Do you need the tool? No. Good rubber gloves and plenty of time spent getting the grease throughout the tripods and you should be fine. It's greasing a bearing, not teaching a pig to talk.

[dsmithwc04]

We use a grease grease, not the tripod stuff. Didn't research your stuff but probably just fine. Do you need the tool? No. Good rubber gloves and plenty of time spent getting the grease throughout the tripods and you should be fine. It's greasing a bearing, not teaching a pig to talk.

A little off subject but my uncle had pot belly pigs that were inside pets. He's a nuclear medicine software engineer with Siemens so it was really weird to see these guys inside his home. I swear one of them would say "Hello!" when walking in through the door.

I will try the rubber glove method, however. Lol.

[BeerBudgetRacing]

Remember you're not only greasing the roller bears but the tripod ball against the cup.

I bought the GNK stuff and the greasing tool cause I didn't want to second guess...

[Jeff Read]

I use GNK , its only $30 and 1 tube will last a season. I have the tri pod tool but never use it. I prefer doing it by hand. I check the tri pods every other race weekend

[dsmithwc04]

I use GNK , its only $30 and 1 tube will last a season. I have the tri pod tool but never use it. I prefer doing it by hand. I check the tri pods every other race weekend

Where'd you get it for that price? I see it for $41 plus shipping from Pegasus. From my research, tri pod joints like the thinnest grease that will not leak. Packing it with standard hi temp grease or CV grease does not lubricate the needle bearings properly ( according to OEM manufacturers). However, this may only be the case on vehicles that go years or decades before being maintained. If the AeroShell grease is similar in viscosity to GNK grease then it is most likely better suited for the application of tri pod joints. First, it is designed for needle bearings and shear metal on metal lubrication for aircraft applications which must not fail whatsoever and it is mil spec and boeing certified. It appears Aeroshell 33 is the ticket. I will try to pack the grease by hand. I think the tool will be cumbersome since I will have to transfer the grease from a caulk type tube to a grease gun...

[Jeff Read]

http://www.taylor-race.com/part.cfm?...y1=GKN&popup=1

sorry, $39 bucks.

It works great, so I keep using it. I'm sure that Aeroshell is fine .

The ttri pot tool will work without switching to a grase gun, just take the zirc fitting off

[mousecatcher]

I think the tool will be cumbersome since I will have to transfer the grease from a caulk type tube to a grease gun...

Not so bad, you use a caulk gun instead of spooning it from a bucket. I bought some empty grease cartridges, which should be even easier to manage then filling the grease gun cavity. Haven't tried it yet though.

It seems you can use a film container effectively. Might be hard to find these days. We used to use them to carry all kinds of stuff ...

Also, I understand most use GNK Tri Pod grease. Is AeroShell Grease 33 a reasonable substitute? It's a synthetic grease used by boeing and the military. One of it's main purposes is for greasing roller bearings. It's also half the price. Not wanting to skimp on quality for a couple dollars but if it is as good or better why not? Here is a link. AeroShell Grease 33 Synthetic Mil Spec

Your link is to 33MS. It appears 33 is the same price at that same site. The 33MS contains moly additive. Worth noting because the GNK advert says the tripod grease specifically excludes additives like that in CV grease. And if you look at a generic CV grease it includes moly additive for "extreme pressure" applications, which is exactly what the 33MS says the moly is for, and which GNK says is contraindicated for tripods.

I don't see on Shell's site where it says the 33 is specfically for roller bearings. All literature I can find indicates it is a general purpose lithium grease. (I didn't read the mil spec.)

[dsmithwc04]

Not so bad, you use a caulk gun instead of spooning it from a bucket. I bought some empty grease cartridges, which should be even easier to manage then filling the grease gun cavity. Haven't tried it yet though.

It seems you can use a film container effectively. Might be hard to find these days. We used to use them to carry all kinds of stuff ...



Your link is to 33MS. It appears 33 is the same price at that same site. The 33MS contains moly additive. Worth noting because the GNK advert says the tripod grease specifically excludes additives like that in CV grease. And if you look at a generic CV grease it includes moly additive for "extreme pressure" applications, which is exactly what the 33MS says the moly is for, and which GNK says is contraindicated for tripods.

I don't see on Shell's site where it says the 33 is specfically for roller bearings. All literature I can find indicates it is a general purpose lithium grease. (I didn't read the mil spec.)

You are correct. I provided the incorrect link. The 33MS is the stuff I was looking at.