The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Corn head grease cleanup help

Used some corn head grease in my steering box. Bottom bearing race disintegrated. Cleaning out the grease has turned into a nightmare. Gummed up my parts cleaner, Purple power is just not cutting it. Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks
Andy

Corn head grease is supposed to be oil like when working and thick grease at rest.
SO heat should be the help in making it flow out better.
Boil it out, or heat gun

Took a tablespoon of JD corn head grease and added a few ounces
of kerosene, this is what I got.
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/160909927
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/160909931
dg

Denny, with out you what would we do.

That was far to simple. Thanks Denny. Any alternatives to corn head for the steering box?

Corn head grease is the cheapest and easiest to find grease that comes close to the original specifications.

Penrite Steering Gear lube is more expensive and harder to find, but it matches original specifications.

Contact the Co for info on where to purchase Penrite:
http://www.penriteoil.com.au/products.php?id_categ=14&id_products=90
or:
Contact Penrite at 909 476 6068 or email sales@3pconnect.com to assist in your request.
Harold

While JD Corn Head grease is used by many of the guys, I've
found Penrite to be a lighter lubricant which actually will
flow in a slump test without heat. Since the steering box does
not see very much heat I believe the bearings are better
supplied with the Penrite lubricant. The down side to it is
two fold. One it's four or five times as much as Corn Head
grease. Two it was only imported to the States by one vendor
the last time I bought some, so it's pretty hard to get. To
spread the shipping cost from California I ordered several
bottles, which I keep on hand for the next one.
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/115320099
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Everytime this issue comes up, I am reminded of the local farmer who uses STP for that.

That local farmer (and most other people who use STP) most likely have a drip, drip, drip . .

Okay, I'll ask the dumb question.......... Anything wrong with using multipurpose red grease in the steering box? It looks like that's what was in mine when I bought it. I'm assuming corn head grease is much more dense & stiffer?

No Cornhead or the 00 grade grease is less dense more fluid. Multi purpose or axle grease will not flow back upon itself. Imagine taking a handful of multi grease out of the container it comes in... does it find a new uniform level or does it leave a void? That's what happens it the steering gear box as well. You want that grease on the gears not the walls of the steering box.

This might help explain it, http://lubromation.com/pdf/CONSISTENCYGRADES.pdf

Well thanks CASO for setting me straight. Never thought of it that way. So now, I think it will be appropriate to take out all the red multipurpose grease in my steering box, then go down to the John Deere store and get some corn head grease and then repack my steering box with it. That multipurpose grease has been in my steering box a long time, so I hope there hasn't been too much damage done.

And thanks Joe H for the link to the page describing all the types of grease. Never knew there were so many!

Well I guess you could dump some 90wt in there and then sit in the driveway and drive like a madman for an hour to mix it into the red devil blood already there... or not

Old, heavy grease can cake up the ballnut enough that the self levelling stuff can't get in there. IMO disassembling the ballnut and cleaning it and the balls/guides completely are vital to ensure smooth operation. If there's wear present it's most likely gonna be the balls/guides/nut as the gears themselves are pretty durable and have lash adjustment available. I used a cake decorating bag and a spatula to fill mine.

So is there way to get the old grease out without disassembling the steering box so I can add JD Corn Head grease?

Any ideas or ways?

X-2 on disassemble and clean up. This way you can inspect it properly. If your pour something in to clean it theres nothing to say you got all the old crud out.

Mark

You can dig out what you can reach with a flat screwdriver, then top it off with 90 wt gear oil and drive it a while until it works its way in and mixes in with the old crud, then either siphon it out, or leave it in if it doesn't leak.
Carl

This weekend I nearly emptied a 500 ml bottle of the Penrite Steering Box Lube into my '59. Thirsty bugger, but I must say the improvement on today's drive was noticeable.
I used the Ziploc baggie method to fill the box, after squeezing in as much as would flow, and having the front wheels jacked up, I'd turn the steering wheel full lock 2-3 times. This would draw the Penrite down into everything. Repeat this a dozen or so times and it filled up nicely. I left a 1/4" or so air space.
The big thing I noticed being improved upon was how the steering felt when going over sharp bumps, like an expansion ripple. Before I'd often get a metallic clank sound thru the steering wheel. Tonight hitting that sort of pavement, things were just a nice thud/thump. Impressive, I should have done it long ago. Best $28.50 spent so far.

If it any help I once overfilled the gearbox on my JD corn head with grease and removed the excess with a simple suction pump, it was viscous enough to be pulled out easily. Pat