You bring up an interesting point Bill, which is about the semi-fluid U-joint lube. In spite of what the factory service manual says. Back in the 50’s and 60’s I worked and hung out in dealerships, parts houses, service stations (when they offered service) and auto repair garages and to this day I have never seen anyone ever pump a semi-fluid into a U-joint. Everywhere and everyone that I’ve been or seen has used chassis grease. I worked at four different Chevy dealerships back in that time period and my first job at Chevy was as a greaser and we never used anything but chassis grease in the U-joints during service.
And in support of the 90wt gear lube for a steering box, if we had to add anything to the steering boxes in any of the service facilities it was just that, 90wt gear lube. If your 90wt gear lube is running out of the side then you quite simply need to replace the bushing, bearing, seal or shaft to make it right. and if it’s still running out the side than you missed something or did something wrong. And if your don’t want to take the time to fix it properly then you may get away with using something of a higher viscosity like Penrite.
Is there anything wrong with using Penrite steering lube or corn cob grease? Absolutely not! I have a tube of the John Deere grease if it ever gets that bad and I use the Penrite myself because my seal is worn. If you read the Penrite label it clearly states that it is intended for “Veteran, Vintage and Classic automobiles” which probably have worn shafts, seals or bushing, which in my case I might get around to fixing the right way one of these days.
Denny Graham
