Ask the Expert

the Expert

Q: Is the STARFIRE HI-TEMP RED grease

USDA approved?

A: A listing of USDA Registered Lubricants can be found at the following link http://info.nsf.org/USDA/Listings.asp

Q: I need a way to loosen up the pivot arms on a ASV skid loader. Tried heat and penetrating oil. Didn’t work. What liquid lubricant do you use to loosen up the shaft? Can you use a grease gun with it? What method do you think we should try? What is the material called and where can you get it?

A: If the pivot arms are fitted with grease fittings, we recommend applying a multi-purpose grease through the fittings. Be sure to clean the fittings before attaching the grease gun. If no grease fittings are available, we suggest you continue to apply penetrating oil to the joints where the arm components connect.

Q: How is oil separation from grease measured? Is it ASTM D6184 or ASTM

D1742? Is this test of nay significance to

NLGI 0 grease?

A: Oil separation from lubricating grease is measured in different ways. D1742 measures the separation at ambient temperature with slight air pressure above the grease. D6184 uses elevated temperature at atmospheric pressure. IP 121 uses static weight at elevated temperature. All of the tests use a screen (flat or conical) onto which the grease is loaded before being subjected to the test conditions. All of the tests are limited to NLGI 1 grade or stiffer greases. Softer greases have been run, and the tests used successfully, but there is no official precision statement for the softer products’ nay significance to NLGI 0 grease?

Q: I am a Chemical Engineer by profession and classic car hobbyist (currently in possession of a 1967 Dodge Coronet 500).

I am currently in the process of replacing the automatic transmission with a 4 speed manual transmission behind the 440.

In the Mopar service manual for the 1967 Coronet, under sections 21 and 6 related to 4 SPEED and CLUTCH installation respectively there is reference to this grease.

The CLUTCH section calls it “special long-life chassis grease or Multi-Mileage Lubricant, Part Number 2525035”.

This grease is evidently no longer available and I am looking for a substitute. What do you recommend? a side note your website is very informative and interesting. The answer to this question is eagerly awaited by many other hobbyists who can no longer find the soda soap type short fibre greases in the marketplace.

A: We agree that the short-fibered sodium based grease originally specified as Chrysler/Dodge

Part No. 2525035 is no longer readily available.

For chassis lubrication points, we recommend a product carrying the NLGI LB or GC-LB service mark. The LB service category indicates grease that is suitable for chassis lubrication. We recommend purging any old grease from the chassis points when lubricating with a modern chassis grease by pumping grease until all of the old product is displaced.

Q: Describe the purpose and application of A Grease (NLGI 2)? giving examples

A: Lubricating grease is a type of lubricant that is designed to stay in place. It is similar to fluid lubricants (gear oil, engine oil, etc.) except that grease contains a component called the thickener that gives the grease a property called consistency.

Consistency is basically how stiff the grease is, ranging from NLGI 000 (fluid) to NLGI 6 (block). NLGI 2 grade consistency is the most common and popular grade; it is described as medium consistency. Grease is used to provide lubrication in applications where an oil would not stay in place. It is estimated that greater that 80% of rolling element bearings are lubricated with grease. Common applications for grease include automotive wheel bearings, the bearings in electric motors, pin and bushing contacts in heavy equipment, open gears on construction and mining equipment, etc.