white lithium grease

[J Burns]

Neighbors have had a screw-drive garage-door opener for 15 years. They had trouble. I downloaded the manual. It says to lubricate the rollers and hinges of the door, but there's nothing about lubricating the closer.

Online experts advise silicone on the rail and white lithium grease on the screw, annually. I didn't know if this brand was different. I found a Q&A at the manufacturer's site. It recommends white lithium grease on the screw and rail every 4 years.

I have two cans of white lithium grease, but what is it? One can is Lith-ease and the other is Pennzoil 705. Both lids say "White Grease." In the days when lubricants came from animal carcasses, white grease was the purest, but lithium grease uses lithium soap as its base, not white grease. The stuff in my cans is the color of peanut butter. I'm not sure if it whiter when new.

The Pennzoil can says it's NLGI #2. That just means it's like peanut butter at room temperature. That's the only specification on either can. Lithium soap is a base for additional lubricants, which determine what the grease is good for. How is a guy supposed to know what he's using?

I had the Lith-ease first. When I had to pack wheel bearings, I read the list of uses on the can. They included bearings on boat trailers and breaking bearings in, but didn't include wheel bearings. So I bought the Pennzoil.

I don't know why Lith-ease is recommended for the wheels of boat trailers but not other wheels. I don't know why Pennzoil 705 is better for wheels.

The manufacturer of my neighbors' opener doesn't specify any kind of white lithium grease. Genie, who makes most screw openers, recommends a particular white lithium grease that costs $10 an ounce. I have no idea whether another brand costing $3 a pound, or the stuff I have on hand, would for practical purposes be as good.

[Stormin Mormon]

At stores near me, we have spray cans of "white lithium grease". I'd be tempted to buy a can from a good brand such as Ace, or Lowe's. Spray it onto the moving parts, and be done with it.

The reason I say good brand, one time I sprayed a bicycle chain with Popular Mechanics silicone from Walmart (great price!) and the chain siezed up a few days later. Might have been more solvent, and less silicone.

- . Christopher A. Young Learn about Jesus

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[Tony Hwang]

Hi, MY Genie Blue Max screw drive opener motor died after ~20 years. I replaced it with Genie 140V DC motor opener Power Max. I use spray white grease on the screw very little amount. Same with hinges, rollers. Trick is using it very sparingly. Good one has wide range of temperature from below freezing to hot. I once used liquid Teflon spray but no more.

[rbowman]

I've never lubed a door opener but Lubriplate is my go to for white assembly grease. They do make a couple of opener specific products. Whether it's any better than what you have on hand is another question.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Wheel bearings on cars get hotter from braking so they need a higher temperature grease. That said, in 50+ years of driving, I've seen more trailers on the side of the road from bad bearings than I've ever seen from cars. I'd use a better grease on my boat trailer.

From the Penzoil web site

Product Data Sheet PENNZOIL® MULTI-PURPOSE 705 WHITE GREASE Outstanding shear stability ensures dependable protection against breakdown. Pennzoil® Multi-Purpose 705 White Grease has rust-preventive properties, resists water and has excellent low-temperature properties. White in color (minimizes staining). Pennzoil® Multi-Purpose 705 White Grease is not recommended for wheel bearing use on vehicles equipped with disc brakes.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, If you pack the bearing and install it wrong(torquing), you can destroy it in no time. I always carried spare bearings in the days when I towed fiver camping trailer. I had tire failure but no bearing failure during that time. Worst one was truck drive train steady bearing going out in the middle of no man's land. I could drive only 10mph to get to a shop.

[J Burns]

After driving amtracs in the ocean, we'd take a grease gun with 25 pounds of grease and pump grease into the 18 road wheels, driving old grease out. I wonder if you're supposed to do that with a boat trailer. Not doing it could account for bad bearings.

If Lith-ease is recommended for boat trailers but not car wheels, maybe for some reason it won't last indefinitely in a bearing. I wonder why.

[Ed Pawlowski]

Heat.

Water is definitely a factor with boat trailers, but I've seen problems with utility and campers too. I think a lot has to do with the quality of parts to start with.

Back in 1981 my brother bought a flatbed to tow with a car on. He drove from San Diego to Philadelphia. Sold what be brought and bought another car to take back. I drove it back along with my BIL. In St. Louis a spindle broke. Next morning we got it to a trailer shop and the guy showed us why it broke so soon. It was built wrong from the factory. It was a twin axle so we could limp to a shop.

[J Burns]

I'm considering CRC white lithium. Not long ago, I freed up the handbrake lever in a brake drum. The manual said to grease everything with high-temperature grease. The peanut-butter stuff I have wouldn't spread itself in a thin layer or wick into tight spaces, so I decided to put it back together and grease it later.

Is spray grease a bit like WD-40, with a solvent to help it spread and penetrate?

There are more expensive sprays that advertise a wider temperature range than CRC. I don't know if it would benefit me.

Last year, when I first serviced the opener that stopped in cold weather, the only drag I found was in the plain bearings of the motor. I used a q-tip to apply a little 20W machine oil to the shaft. Removing the sprocket allowed some end play, so I worked the oily shaft in and out of the bearings. It turned much better.

When there was more trouble this year, I figured I hadn't used enough oil. This time I used 30W. A couple of weeks later, when there was another cold snap, there was more trouble. Thinking the 30W was too viscous for cold mornings, I flushed it with WD-40 and applied 20W.

For the first time, I noticed the plain bearings on the screw shaft. I oiled them, too. It didn't help. The manual said nothing about lubricating bearings, the screw, or the rail, but lubricating the screw and rail was recommended online. It appeared that the screw and rail had never been greased; I don't know if silicone spray had been used. I used a little white lithium. It didn't help.

I found the manufacturer's Q&A online. It said to grease the screw and rail. It also said that if it keeps stopping, either there's too much end play, or what I call the optical interrupter wheel, is out of place. Sure enough, the wheel had slid perhaps 4mm up the motor shaft. I pushed it back and everything worked. With it out of place, I guess contraction in cold weather moved it enough that it didn't interrupt the beam to give the safety sensor a speed reading.

A professional had installed the opener and serviced it several times for cold-weather failures. He'd turned the up and down force adjustments to maximum. With the interrupter properly positioned, I turned the adjustments to minimum and found that I still had to apply a lot of force to the door to stop it. There's torque to spare. I guess the professional didn't know about the need to check the interrupter. That company needs a better manual!

I'll use spray white lithium on the screw and rail, but what's the best lube for the plain bearings of the motor and screw?

[Bobby R.]

On 11/23/2014 11:52 AM, Tony Hwang wrote: . I always carried spare bearings in the days when I towed

Nobody cares! It's too bad you made it back.

[J Burns]

I care, and I'm glad he made it back!

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Then you belong to a land where no one cares. Having a bad day?

[J Burns]

I wonder if a couple of nylon cords with multipurpose lithium white grease, would have steadied it.