Good info from Tim.
Interestingly (at least to me), the Penrite fluid frequently cited by the various antique car clubs does not meet EP standards, but their own published specs (and it's costly).
Many of the locally available semi-fluid "00" greases also have inferior wear-related specs or use a base oil viscosity that is, IMO, too light at about SAE 30 equivalent (including the Super "00" by Smitty's, the Cotton Picker grease available at TSC, Champion "00" from Ecklers, and especially the greases that are marketed for small equipment like the Stens "00").
Many folks use and like the Corn Head grease from J-D, of course (which is a bit thicker at NLGI 0), but J-D only publishes one of the three more critical wear-related specifications, and doesn't list the base oil viscosity, so it's frustratingly hard to compare to other industrial NLGI 00 gearbox greases (roughly same spec as the NLA GM grease), from Mobil, Chevron, and Shell. I don't see anything wrong with the J-D product, but it is a grade heavier, so won't flow quite as well as EP 00, especially when cold.
I settled on Chevron Delo EP 00, due to thoroughness of the published and superior specs (base oil viscosity equivalent to SAE90 gear oil and great wear specs) and local availability (Mobil, Shell, and others have equivalent greases - just harder for me to source and in a couple cases more expensive), the main downside of which is that the minimum direct-buy container is a 5 gallon (35 pound) container on any of these.
[As a result, I have excess Delo EP 00 well beyond the needs for my projects, which I have made available repackaged at my cost, in either standard 14 oz grease cartridges or 1 quart jugs, in the classifieds. If any one is interested, search for semi-fluid steering gearbox grease, and take a look. If not interested, that's fine. Specs are listed in the classified ad thread.]
I've pretty thoroughly researched the various greases (probably disclosing my engineering background and a bit of OCD), so if anyone wants more conversation on the specifics, feel free to send me a PM.
Doug
Last edited by drdoug; 11/13/2019 2:32 AM.
