On Wed, 25 Sep 2013 16:36:25 -0700, wrote:

On Wed, 25 Sep 2013 13:49:51 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

On Sunday, September 22, 2013 9:12:01 PM UTC-6, John Doe wrote:
What is gear grease called? I'm talking about the common grease that's used to lubricate gears. It's usually a glob stuck someplace on the gears. I guess over time it works its way into the gears. In any case, it's thick grease. Anybody know specifically or keywords that I can look for? Thanks.

There's white lithium that's used on small-motor gear trains that use metal gears that aren't high speed or loaded heavily. There's moly grease that's used on metal gears that are loaded heavier. There's hypoid lube that's used in heavily loaded enclosed gear trains, full of zinc and sulfur compounds that stink. Then there's synthetic gels with PTFE added for nylon and plastic gear trains found in a lot of other appliances. There's any number of chassis greases of various sorts for low-speed, high-pressure application in vehicle suspensions. All of this stuff is in common use and can be found at auto parts or hardware stores. What's your application?


I was looking into this some time ago when it came to the plastic
gears in my mini mill. The vendor recommended grease (white lithium,
NLGI #2) which is not available locally.

The question is, how much latitude is there in substituting or, to put
it the other way, how much damage can you cause by using a different
grease. In my case I had a NLGI #2 black moly grease, apparently high
quality, which I use for everything else.

What could go wrong apart from the color change?

Does it contain plastic-eating solvents or additives? Oops! g

You can find spray white lithium grease at AutoZone in the USA, dunno
'bout Princess Auto up in the Great White Nort.

--
Try not to become a man of success but
rather try to become a man of value.
--Albert Einstein