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 Posted - January 20 2008 : 01:29:16 AM
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Do any of the mechanical experts here know just what kind of grease Tyco used in many of the PowerTorques?
I'm specifically talking about the brownish kind that seems to have the look and consistency of Peanut Butter. And I have found that, given a couple decades... it actually seems to turn into peanut butter... because it works about as well as you might expect peanut butter to do as a grease. Which is to say, NOT AT ALL.
Actually, what really happens is it turns SOLID and you practically need to chisel the stuff out. There is NO HOPE for a PT drive with old "peanut butter" that has gelled... without a thorough cleaning and rebuilding.
And I have found one that looks like it was oiled... but the oil mixed with the grease and turned to "jelly'... YUCK what a sticky, disastrous mess!
I'm just curious what this stuff was originally... so I know what NOT to use!!
Of course, not all powertorques have this kind of grease... the white kind seems to age better, and I have encountered others that just have basic oil.
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 Posted - January 20 2008 : 5:03:15 PM
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It was Peter Pan---L-O-L.. Seriously--probably the cheapest kind on the market in the 70's. The white grease you are talking about is lithium based which gives it the white color. The peanut butter looking color and hardness is from age as it has lost it purites and petroleum distillates--humidity--heat--cold. Not greasing your car/truck/suv etc regularly over many years--you get the same hard gunk. The main culprit to the peanut butter hardenss is from heat and as many of us know--power torques generate heat. The hardening is from carbonization due to the grease reaching it's drop point.
Edited by - Brianstyco on January 20 2008 5:33:13 PM
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Posted - January 20 2008 : 6:14:52 PM
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Whoa.... so you're saying the "mayonnaise" and the "peanut butter" is the same stuff?
At what age does it actually go bad? I'm surprised by this because I have found and run PTs with the white stuff... and they can't be that much newer (relatively speaking) than the ones that went bad... I mean the newest PTs I have are probably 20 years old... some of the bad ones were the scarce 1982-only diesels. So it happens somewhere between 20 to 26 years... and yet older PTs than that, work fine... what was the grease used previously?
Know what you mean about old car grease. Ugh... becomes a substance all its own... just like fused rust!
Edited by - GoingInCirclez on January 20 2008 6:16:10 PM
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Posted - January 20 2008 : 6:37:35 PM
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At what age does it actually go bad? I mean the newest PTs I have are probably 20 years old... what was the grease used previously?
Originally posted by GoingInCirclez - January 20 2008 : 5:14:52 PM
[/quote] What age it goes bad-- there are a lot of factors for that question. Generaly speaking-if it is ran an average of 10 hrs per week for one year solid w/o being greased between weeks- i would say that the grease would be half way if not hardened up due to the heat and loss of purities. If it was ran in an humid hot envoirment--would probably be peanut butter hard half way through year. I would say tyco used a mineral based grease-non white on the earlier models and lithium based on newer models. There are 6 general types of grease--mixture of mineral oils and solid materials--heavy,asphaltic-type oils blended with light oils-extreme pressure greases,roll neck greases,soap thickened mineral oils and multipurpose grease.
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Posted - January 21 2008 : 06:34:05 AM
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Hi, (yeah... I've been busy with entries and ideas that have helped my trains.)
I have been using the GNC product of petro and vitamin E as a lube and quick track wiper.
Works wonders. Then, when I cause a small injury to my skin, well, it's right there.
Matter of fact, I also have a roll of Life Saver's in one of my cabooses as a weight and emergency sugar. Like, a real "Operation Life Saver" caboose. I figure that if ever someone has a medical condition where I run our trains, I am prepared.
Also have small packages of raw sugar in one of the "Club titled" boxcars Kamloops Model Railroaders.
I know, off subject. Just thought I'd express some creativity.
I have more ideas, from other people's trials.
John
I don't have a one track mind. It depends on the turn-out.
"I love your catenary!"
Is that a power-trip or just another pick-up line?
Edited by - zebrails on January 21 2008 06:35:13 AM
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Posted - March 04 2008 : 2:06:01 PM
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quote:The white grease you are talking about is lithium based which gives it the white color. The peanut butter looking color and hardness is from age as it has lost it purites and petroleum distillates--humidity--heat--cold. Not greasing your car/truck/suv etc regularly over many years--you get the same hard gunk.
Originally posted by Brianstyco - January 20 2008 : 9:03:15 PM
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Bt:
All greases contain lubricants and thickeners. Most general purpose greases, white or otherwise, contain petroleum ("mineral") oils that actually do the lubricating, and are thickened with water-insoluble lithium soap...just as the name says, a soap with a lithium base.
Think of it as a semi-fluid "sponge" to hold the oil.
I expect that's the kind of grease Tyco used - a general-purpose lithium grease. It may have even been white or slightly yellow, but the color really doesn't matter. Some are colored for identification; others are white so they don't stain cloth.
Now, over the years, the oil leaves this "sponge". Heat, as you say, makes the oil evaporate more quickly. What is left is the lithium-soap thickener -- hard, darker, and poorly lubricating. That's the "peanut butter"...a grease that has lost a lot of its oil. Clean it away, repack, good as new.
Ref:
http://www.usace.army.mil/publications/eng-manuals/em1110-2-1424/c-5.pdf
Some greases, like "moly" grease, and general-purpose greases with "extreme pressure" (EP) additives, contain particles of dry lubricant, suspended in the grease. In moly greases, these are indended to do the lubricating, and the liquid grease is mostly there to keep them in place.
Edited by - Autobus Prime on March 04 2008 2:09:10 PM
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Posted - December 06 2008 : 4:33:57 PM
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Folks:
I just bought a tube of Labelle 106 grease with teflon from the hobby shop and used it on my Silver Streak. It seems to work really well!
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Posted - December 06 2008 : 8:44:55 PM
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I think the Labelle 106 is very good for Powertorques, because it's actually kind of sticky and resists slinging off the gears. It quiets them down a lot.
For sealed gearboxes I use Super Lube grease, which is better for enclosed gearing.
The Tyco Depot
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