What type of grease to use

[irontooth]

Hello everyone. I am just wondering what type of grease everyone uses to regrease running gears on their engines? That is, after cleaning out the old gunk,any thoughts on the newer greases available?

 

Thanks Irontooth

[rtraincollector]

I personally use the white lube Lionel sells, with that said theres one gentlemen on here that swears by regular motor oil period he claims it works great. he claims it won't get hard well the stuff lionel and the rest put out won't either anymore it was the old red lube that would harden with time and become like rock in there. There is another called red and tacky that I have never used but others swear by also. 

[TrainLarry]

Use naphtha to dissolve the old grease and flush it out.

Larry

[cwburfle]

I typically use Labelle 106.
Lots of folks like Lucas Red N' Tacky grease. I tried it, and now have a big tube of it. I prefer the Labelle.

I pick out old hardened grease with various tools: screwdriver blade, knife blade, dental picks, whatever. Then I use pure mineral spirits to dissolve / clean out what is left.

You'd be amazed at what gets packed between the teeth of gears that are cast onto the back of drive wheels.

[Buckeye Riveter]

I use the Labelle 106 and I have never had a single problem.  Incidently, I don't use it to brush my teeth.  

[servoguy]

I use 5W-20 motor oil for everything.  I have used motor oil for more than 50 years.  In 1965 I put a 2025 I have in a box in the closet.  It was oiled with Valvolene 20W-40.  I took it out of the box about 5 years ago, and it ran just fine.  The oil had not dried out or gotten gummy.  I found the vapor pressure of motor oil on the internet.  It is 1/100th of a torr at 100C.  A torr is one millimeter of mercury or a column of mercury 1 millimeter high.  Atmospheric pressure is 760 mm of mercury.  At room temperature, motor oil has a vapor pressure of about 1/100000 mm of mercury.  In other words, it evaporates so slowly that it lasts forever in terms of a human life.  This is why it doesn't evaporate from the crankcase of your car.  Other lubricants like white lithium grease, 3 in 1 oil, light machine oil, Lionel Lube, sewing machine oil, WD-40, etc., all dry out and get gummy.  Are LaBelle lubricants OK?  I don't know as I can find any data on them.  

If you have dried grease on something, you can put motor oil on it and the motor oil will make it back into grease.  

[sir james I]

I have always used 106. Local repairman says to use oil on the gears of these newer engines. I am following his advice with no ill effects so far but I still use 106 on the older engines.

S.J.

[KRM]

I agree with Labelle 106. Never a problem and made for trains.