[Hammarlund] Graphite is NOT an Abrasive...it is TOO!

[Todd Bigelow - PS]

Bruce Marton wrote:

> Ken,
> I too used the infamous graphite/motor oil concoction in a 1976 Lancia
> Beta.  It did not destroy the engine after 10K miles, but the motor did
> start to use/burn oil at a very high rate at about the 70K mile mark.

Can't remember what year my Beta was, but it did the same thing, Bruce -
with regular Castrol motor oil in it. I noticed it mainly while running
downhill on back pressure or when starting it up. I blamed crappy valve
sealing since it seemed to be more the case than anything else. Wasn't rings
or it would've smoked contantly. What a high-revving engine, though! What
was the redline...7-7.5K? Maybe that was part of the cause? Didn't strike me
as tremendously high-quality construction throughout the vehicle.

My original question about using graphite came from my days of racing model
cars many decades ago. We used tiny pipes for the metal axles to ride in,
this allowed you to heat the axle and melt the plastic wheel onto it so it
wouldn't come off later. As well as packing the cars with window
glazing/putty for additional weight, we also pumped a little graphite into
the 'pipe-axles' as we called them and it made a big difference. So, I know
it does help, I just never understood the mechanism at work nor had any
knowledge as to whether or not it was damaging to the device over time. My
thought was to use it simply at the shaft points on the gear mechanism in
the SP-600 to make it run smoother, not all over the gears too. When I
originally used light oil, I applied it to these points but it still found
its way out, causing the tuning to slip a bit.

Interesting conversation, though. I would expect what Ken says about wearing
out the parts over time, yet I've also seen the improvement it brings. This
is what matters: the long-term effect on the parts in question.

Boomer,  KA1KAQ