[R-390] Gear train lubricants

Wed, 30 Apr 2003 09:09:16 -0700

Hi ,  I think one of my reactions to the Phil Wood grease was that it was too
thin,  but then the Mobil synthetic gear lubricant seems thin also but I used
it.  I picked up a "review" of the PW grease
Strengths: Good lubrication. Pretty green color. Smells like a machine shop.
Beautiful Phil logo. Weaknesses: There's no such thing as waterproof grease.
Expensive. Similar Products Tried: Lubriplate. Gold Medal. Chassis lube. Bottom
Line: A good grease with lots of sulfur in it so it has that good machine-smell
(and scuff resistance too). The green color is cool, but RED chassis lube is
cooler. Don't know where the waterproof claim comes from. This grease will
eventually wash out like any other if exposed to water. You can get comparable
performance from regular auto bearing lube or chassis lube for MUCH less money.
The squeeze tube is convenient though.

In searching I came across "Militec-1"  touted as a gun lubricant.  It is pretty
expensive except for the free sample that you can get.  ($28 for 16 oz - like
the quart of Mobil 1 I bought,  that's a lot of lubricant).   Does anyone have
experience with Militec-1 relevant to 390 gears?  Evidently it is hard to get
off your hands and a little goes a long way,  and it's a synthetic oil?  Dan.

Bob Tetrault wrote:

> Synthetic is synthetic. They don't evaporate. That's why they are the only
> lubricants for gas turbines and such. Thicker is better for the gear train
> as it is less likely to wander. You can get synthetic wheel bearing grease
> if you talk to your local race car parts store. I use RedLine 75-90 gear oil
> and their CV/wheel bearing grease for everything needing lubricant. Well,
> almost. My Audi quattro has 286K miles on RedLine, still gets 5K/quart,
> original clutch, though that's my fault, I take it outta gear at the
> stopsign even. But the running gear is original and still breaking in as far
> as it feels.
>
> Bob
> Portland, OR
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]On
> Behalf Of Dan Merz
> Sent: Monday, April 28, 2003 3:19 PM
> To: Terry O'Laughlin; R-390 List
> Subject: Re: [R-390] Gear train lubricants
>
> Hi,  another data point....  in a sea of 390 experience.   I have some Phil
> Wood's around somewhere that I bought when I was into bicycle lub tasks.  I
> thought about using it when I starting cleaning my 390a but instead followed
> the "conventional wisdom" posted somewhere about Marvel M O and Mobil 1.
> I'm
> glad to hear that Phil Wood's grease works so well.  Maybe I'll dig it out
> and
> see if mine has congealed yet,  hi.  As I recall it was still pretty "juicy"
> and flowed out from the light green plastic toothpaste type tube it came
> in - I
> may have tossed it because it was about 30 years old 2 years ago.  Another
> data
> point may have been lost,  but maybe today's Phil Wood's grease is different
> than the stuff I had.   Dan.
>
> Terry O'Laughlin wrote:
>
> > The best lubricant I have found for a freshly stripped and cleaned R-390
> > gear train in Phil Wood's bicycle grease.  The viscosity is perfect, it
> > does not creep and it maintains the same viscosity for years.  It makes
> the
> > gear train feel almost silky, which is no mean feat.
> >
> > I did my first R-390A with it seven years ago and the tuning still feels
> > almost silky.  I use lacquer thinner to strip the old lubricants, but I
> > also clean and relube the slug rack.  I clean all the slug rack rollers,
> > guides and cams with swabs and lacquer thinner.  I use a swab to put a
> thin
> > coat of Phil Woods on the appropriate edges of all the rack parts.
> >
> > I've done three complete cleanings this way.  They still feel great (two
> > have been sold).  It's a one time job with no need to pull the radio for
> > periodic lubrication.  Oil does not evaporate.  Every re-application is
> > just replacing oil that migrated somewhere else inside your radio.  I
> > wouldn't do that to my R-390s.
> >
> > Phil Woods is commonly available at better bicycle shops and it works
> great
> > on bicycles as well.
> >
> > 73     Terry O'     WB9GVB
> >
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