Engine Assembly Lube

[Nikkormat]

What do you guys like for assembly lube? On bearings? Cams and lifters? Pistons?

[REDONE]

Lubriplate 105 for general Assembly, comp sends a tube o' green goo with every thing they sell that I use on bearings. When I don't have any special comp goo I use the 105 for everything.

[tedlovesjeeps71]

You said lube... heehee


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[REDONE]

A note on assembly lube from personal experience; there are a lot of resources that say to use assembly lube with moly, I'm of the opposing opinion. Moly is a high-pressure additive, and it's sticky so it's good for wheel bearings. In a supplied lubrication system like the inside of an engine it just contaminates the oil. It sucks up all the detergents and then it plugs up the filter forcing all the oil through the bypass. Since there's a really good chance that there's some dirt in an engine that's been opened up for any amount of time, I want as much oil as possible going through the filter.
Assembly lube like 105 is a light petroleum grease that protects moving parts during assembly (hand rotating the engine to set TDC or to check for binding), not during start up. For start up protection, the best thing to do always has been and always will be to prime the oiling system. I use an old distributor with the gear removed and turn it with a drill. You can tell from feel when it's primed, it's not subtle. I also don't pack the oil pump with assembly lube or Vaseline, I just cover the gears liberally with grease and put a big enough goober of Vaseline on the back of the gears to hold them in place while I put the oil filter adapter in place.

[SJTD]

"Moly", MoS2, molybdenum disulphide, is a dry lubricant added to the grease. I believe it's in the form of tiny spheres. Stickiness would be a property of the grease and its additives.

I would agree that it's not required on bearings but can see some benefit on the cam where there is sliding. Whether its small enough to go through the filter I don't know.

I question its usefulness on rolling element bearings that you want to roll, not skid like wheel bearings. Guess it works or they wouldn't sell it, right?

I've never bothered with anything in the pump other than a little assembly lube on the lobes or gears same as everything else. If it won't immediately prime spinning it with a drill there's something wrong.

[Charles Kline]

Most builders I've hear talk about it say to lube it with whatever oil you're going to run in the engine if you're going to be starting it up right away and used assembly lube if the motor is going to sit for months before being run.

[REDONE]

Most builders I've hear talk about it say to lube it with whatever oil you're going to run in the engine if you're going to be starting it up right away and used assembly lube if the motor is going to sit for months before being run.

In my opinion that's super sound advice. I've never been a "tear it down friday and fire it on monday" kind of engine builder, and I find I always end up rotating the engine by hand quite a bit more than I think I will. Position the rod caps to get the best angle with a torque wrench, checking piston height, aligning the crank and cam for the timing set, adjusting the rockers, and then verifying 1TDC on compression 5 or 6 times because I always convince myself I haven't done it yet. My engines probably get 30-40 revolutions before I even put the pan back on.

[tedlovesjeeps71]

So a couple questions:
How long is too long to sit before switching to lube?
What's the affordable source for lube?? Summit?


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[Charles Kline]

Month vs Months.

[REDONE]

LP105 is about $10 for 10oz at Napa. It's NOT white lithium grease even though it looks like it. All the other parts stores have white lithium grease in the same type of container.

[tedlovesjeeps71]

LP105 is about $10 for 10oz at Napa. It's NOT white lithium grease even though it looks like it. All the other parts stores have white lithium grease in the same type of container.

Thanks. Am I right in thinking it's just slathered on thick?


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[REDONE]

Not really, just a thick-ish film. Some are of the opinion that too much it's better than not enough, but my thinking is that's it's just there to protect moving parts during assembly (like my example above about rotating the crank over and over). After that it's just contaminating the oil.

[tedlovesjeeps71]

Gotcha! Again... thank you.


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