• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

Trunnion oiler

Share this page

B

billspit

Jedi Knight
Country flag
Offline
How does everybody oil their Spitfire trunnions? I bought one of the oilers sold on eBay and am having problems getting it to work. In a nutshell, it won't produce enough pressure to force the oil past the ball springs in the coupling and the zerk. Has anybody bought one? and does your work? The seller won't respond to my emails.

I recall here being a Quicksilver (Mercury marine motor co) oil pump that used to be recommended, but I can't find one on the internet. The ones that show up now look worthless for my use.
 
Good question! I was just wondering the same thing. Years ago I remember using an air powered grease gun filled with oil. That worked, but it was messy and the gun wasn't cheap.
 
I agree, that thing made from a Horrible Freight oil can is worthless for trunnions.

The trick in looking for the Quicksilver pump is that it's a grease pump, not oil. Mine does leak a little bit (making it right at home with a Triumph !) but otherwise seems to work quite well.
https://www.vtr.org/maintain/trunnion-oil.shtml

Go to
https://www.mercurypartsexpress.com
and click on 'Accessories', put in your zip code and select a dealer. Then click on 'Engine Oil/Lubricant/Care Products', 'Mercury Lubricants', and 'Mercury Precision Grease Guns'.
 
All you need is a plastic squeeze bottle with a metal spout, easy to pick up at any parts store.

Remove the grease zerk or plug,1/4 inch wrench required, put the oil in the squeeze bottle, turn the wheels to one side for access and squeeze the oil in from the bottle. You need a ramp to do this easily, but you can get at the trunions from above.

Cheers
 
I built one from the HF oiler too and ended up bending the handle for squeezing too hard trying to push in the EP90 lube. But it worked (once).

I use Mobil 1 syntetic grease in the trunnions now. Works fine and doesn't harden like the grease of yesteryear did. (Of course, that's a whole 'nother can o' worms bringing up that discussion.)
 
I bought one of those oiler kits;They worked fine on my Spit but they won't work if you try to force the grease out with the oiler.My Spit never had grease in the trunnions.The manual for those brain dead is that it says oil not grease.One trick is if theirs grease inum use a pencil torch to soften the grease it may work better.It doesn't require a rocket scientist to figure that out.;-)
 
Back
Top