-
Hi Guest!
You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
There are some perks with a member upgrade!**Upgrade Now**
(PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Hey - did you know if you click on the title of a thread it will take you to the first unread post since you last visited that thread?
but were afraid to ask: 
STOP!! Never post your email address in open forums. Bots can "harvest" your email! If you must share your email use a Private Message or use the 
smilie in place of the real @
Pretty Please - add it to our Events forum(s) and add to the calendar! >> 
TR2/3/3A Steering box oils - grease ?
- Thread starter the dude
- Start date
Share this page
The " Pennrite stuff " from the '60's is like Vasoline . No matter how long you warm it up . The type you use is ? . Just a gear box oil GL-4 ? .
Leatherman
Member
Offline
I am confused because I have been told by two British car restorers to just use grease in the steering box. Eliminates leaks and lubricates as good as lighter weight stuff. They said they have been using it for years in steering boxes with no problems. I just rebuilt my box and packed it solid with STP universal grease when I closed it up. I can still turn the shaft with two fingers and there is no voids for parts to not get lubed. So what is wrong with using grease when it is packed into the box. I can see trying to put a thick grease in the hole in the tube and it not able to run down and reaching all the parts needing lubrication but if you open the top cover and pack the box solid what harm can come from that?
Geo Hahn
Yoda
Offline
I found that it went faster if you jack up the front so you can work the steering side-to-side a bit to help the stuff move down.
CJD
Yoda
Offline
Geo...where you been??
I've been using oil for years without problems or leaks too. You can use grease if you want...just not the factory recommended lube. My issue with grease is it is an oil dissolved in a soap to give it the paste texture. Eventually the oil comes out of solution and the soap dries out, so the box will be full of the old soap and needs to be cleaned out and re-packed. It is easier to pop the plug and top off the oil. My impression is the old heads would switch to grease to extend breaking down the box to replace the oil seals.
I've been using oil for years without problems or leaks too. You can use grease if you want...just not the factory recommended lube. My issue with grease is it is an oil dissolved in a soap to give it the paste texture. Eventually the oil comes out of solution and the soap dries out, so the box will be full of the old soap and needs to be cleaned out and re-packed. It is easier to pop the plug and top off the oil. My impression is the old heads would switch to grease to extend breaking down the box to replace the oil seals.
I thought I had seen where Moss was selling a Semi Fluid grease for steering boxes.
We would use a product called F GOO EP It was a sloppy grease or a stiff oil. Used it in a gearbox that had a reputation for leaks when they used oil. The F GOO EP seemed to fix the problem.
I used oil from TRF.
David
We would use a product called F GOO EP It was a sloppy grease or a stiff oil. Used it in a gearbox that had a reputation for leaks when they used oil. The F GOO EP seemed to fix the problem.
I used oil from TRF.
David
TR3driver
Great Pumpkin - R.I.P
Offline
I use Valvoline Synpower 75W90 (full synthetic GL5 gear oil). In my limited experience, it gives easier steering than grease. Plus, IMO, the main reason they leak is because the brass bushing is worn; which also allows the box to bind under load. Using grease is a band-aid for when you're not willing to fix it right.
I use the same GL5 in the rear end, but don't put it in the transmission. It's too slick for good synchro operation.
Nice to see you Geo—I remember when I was about 17, and I asked the guy about the oil at my favorite auto parts store. His answer was to pull the top cover and pack it with grease because I did not want it going dry and it leaked anyway. That sounded potentially dangerous and too much work, plus it might take me off the road for who knows how long. So, I would pull the little rubber plug on the column and put in gear oil, I think, probably once a week, but it never really took too much or maybe it was like 40w motor oil. Anyways, that was a while back.
Offline
Grease would be fine, if you don't drive at all in winter. Thickens up until warm. Have been using the 90W in all British cars for years with no problem. Leaks just need fixing so you don't loose the oil. Let them go to long you have a mess. Land Rover used 90W in the steering swivel balls and switched to a grease that can be used in all weather. I might try that next time, as I have some left over, might work in my steering box.
TR3driver
Great Pumpkin - R.I.P
Offline
Depends on which GL5 you're talking about. Some of them (often the cheaper ones) do use an additive that can, over time, break down and damage copper alloys. Actually, some GL4 oils use that same additive, they just don't use as much of it.
But the Synpower doesn't use that additive and so is safe for "yellow metal".
There are others that are safe, that's just the one I've been using for some 35 years. IMO anything that meets the requirements of MT1 probably won't use the additive that breaks down. MT1 (like GL4 and GL5) doesn't say directly which additives to use, but does have a more stringent requirement for long term stability than the GL grades do.
Geo Hahn
Yoda
Offline
I suspect the reason a lot of manuals & lube charts say you must use GL4 is because they were published before there was a GL5 designation - but I could be wrong about that.
As for John & Steve who noted my reduced presence here - true enough. I sold my TR3A a year ago and although that only halved my TR family the reduction in TR activity (esp maintenance) seems to have been reduced quite a bit more that that. The TR4 is mostly to drive rather than work on though the rear oil seal on the gearbox may be trying to get my attention lately.
As for John & Steve who noted my reduced presence here - true enough. I sold my TR3A a year ago and although that only halved my TR family the reduction in TR activity (esp maintenance) seems to have been reduced quite a bit more that that. The TR4 is mostly to drive rather than work on though the rear oil seal on the gearbox may be trying to get my attention lately.
TR3driver
Great Pumpkin - R.I.P
Offline
That's probably true, but there have also been many sources that specifically warn against using GL5 with brass or bronze components. I know TRF does (or at least did), ISTR Moss did too.
glemon
Yoda
Offline
I used the Penrite product in my Healey steering box (similar, but not the same as, early TR) it seemed to work well, and stopped a mild leak after I put in new seals. It seems to be getting harder to find here in the States. There has also been quite a bit of discussion of John Deere Corn Head grease as a similar product. I haven't tried it. Similar discussion to this one here: http://www.britishcarforum.com/bcf/showthread.php?93270-Steering-box-oil
You beat me to it. I had to replace the grease in my Honda gearbox and tried to find the JD corn head grease. I ended up getting OO grease from Tractor Supply, which appears to be about the same thing. For a TR3 though, I would spring for the genuine stuff.