[R-390] Today I Tweaked my PTO endpoint and lubed gear train.

[Barry Hauser]

Phil wrote:

>Then, I went down to the auto parts store and bought a Quart (!!) of
>Valvolene DuraBlend (synthetic blend) 85W-140 gear oil.

Is that hypoidal gear oil -- with sulphur content?  I picked up a quart of
Valvoline synthetic gear oil (75W-90, I think). Enough to do 5000 radios,
but has that sulphur odor.  Nolan warned that this stuff in proximity with
silver will cause extreme tarnishing (as with silver plated contacts).
However, I conducted a long term experiment, suspending a freshly cleaned
silver plated connector over about 1/4 inch of the gear oil in a styrofoam
coffee cup.

After many months -- no tarnish.  However, the experiment did firmly
establish to a high degree of statistical significance (well... as high as
you can get with an N of one) that synthetic hypoidal gear oil eats through
styrofoam.  Fortunately only a small puddle.  I suppose the stuff is OK, but
it does stink.

<snipped>

>They were taken care of when I went through the RF deck, along with
>a very light coat of Valvolene DuraBlend grease on the inner surfaces the
>racks rub against.

If you wanna really gild the lilly, first treat the surfaces with moly lube
paste.  You don't glop it on -- you simonize it in.  The moly fills the pits
and pores in the metal and makes the surface very smooth.  Then apply very
very little lube -- the surface won't hold as much anyway.  You can also
leave it dry on sometimes sliding surfaces (slug rack ends and frame) to
avoid attracting dust.

>Anyway, after using a toothbrush and a artists paintbrush (I buy
>"throw-a-ways" at Ace Hardware for 29 cents each, buy them by the dozen for
>odd jobs) to apply a light coat of the gear oil to all the gear teeth,
>planetary gears, 10 turn stops etc.  I'd dip the toothbrush in the oil,
hold
>it against a gears teeth and "tune" the set.

While you're at "Ace is the Place", they have flux brushes for about 10
cents apiece.  Those are the ones with the hollow sheet metal handles.  I
find that they are very handy for cleaning and applying lube.  I take some
and cut the bristles halfway to make them stiffer for working into the gear
teeth, etc.

>After everything was oiled I
>used a small cloth on seizers to soak up any residue or excess so it
>wouldn't run where I didn't want it to.  This is my first experience with
>the gear oil and I'm not sure how well it'll stay "put", but the set is
>MUCH, MUCH smoother in it's tuning (It wasn't too shabby before) and
doesn't
>have any "sticky" spots in it's tuning.

Interested to know if the stuff you bought has that sulphur aroma.  Even
though I have a lifetime-supply-and-a-half remaining of the Valvoline gear
oil I bought, I don't care for the "bouquet."

Barry