Grease and grease nipples

Post by **Mike Shipman** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 11:30 am

Having mastered the art of headlamp replacement and dash pot filling

, my next mechanical foray is into the murky world of grease and grease nipples...

Ive bought myself a natty little grease gun (Machine Mart - small pistol type recommended in Practical Classics), my questions are:
Is there a particular type of grease I need to use

?
Ive heard of grease nipples shearing off so I wanted to buy some replacements, question is what size sjhould I get ? - Ive seen 1/4 " and 1/8" BSP - BSF - UNF ?????? on ebay...

Thanks as always for your help.
Regards, Mike.

Post by **simmitc** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 12:16 pm

For most applications you need a good quality general purpose grease. If you get "High Melting Point" then you can use it in bearings as you gain experience. Castrol LM, Duckhams, Shell, in fact any well known make will be fine. Purchase from local car spares shop or Minor traders.

As to the nipples, unfortunately they've varied over the years. I have two sets of NEW trunnions and they both take different nipples. Then you've got the propshaft (special long ones) and the track rod ends, not to mention steering rack and handbrake cable.

The good news is that (in my experiencfe) they rarely break. If they gaven't been touched for a well then soak in penetrating oil to releas the little valve before using the grease gun. I'd buy a few of each sort from a Minor trader and just keep them handy. At least they'll be the correct type of thread. Good luck.

Post by **JimK** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 2:09 pm

Workshop manual says Castrol LM for grease points. My dad and the previous owner of my car have used Castrol Moly.

I'm going to get a little gun for the steering rack oil so I don't have to clean out the main grease gun.

Post by **ColinP** » Sun Nov 05, 2006 5:13 pm

Jim,

I did that - spare grease gun filled with hypoid 90 for the steering rack!

The oil leaks out of the gun

so I had an empty gun and a shelf full of oil....

Great idea, but empty the gun every time....

Mike,
Have a browse at ESM, Bull Motif etc website. They are very useful in working out what you want (and a phone call away for assistance!)
I bought myself (well the car really) some new nipples for the suspension - all with 90 degree bends in them. That makes it much easier to fit the grease gun onto them.
I'd bought a grease gun with a flexible hose, but now I don't need it.
Colin

Post by **RogerRust** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 6:48 am

When I use my grease gun I invariable get grease leaking out everywher around the nipple. Do you think
a) the nipples are worn
b) I need a new nozzel (?) for my grease gun??

if b where can I get one?

Post by **Alec** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 7:02 am

Hello Roger,

this often (always?) happens if the nozzle is not square onto the nipple. If it then still leaks it is probably the nozzle. You could try a good engineers supplier if you have any in your locality, or possibly a good motor factors or agricultural engineers. Basically not the DIY outlets.

Alec

Post by **Kevin** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 4:21 pm

Roger its also possible that the nipples are partially blocked, you cal always remove them and then connect to the gun as this will often unblock them, and you can also Willies trick involving a piece of cloth over the nipple to improve location although I have not tried it.

Post by **chickenjohn** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 5:00 pm

For the steering rack, I unbolt the nipple and use a small oil can to add oil through the hole.

For greasing the trunnions I found a flexible end to my grease gun was better than the fixed end. Easier to hold at the right angle (in line with the nipple end) to make sure the grease gets in.