MG-Cars.net

Welcome to our resource for MG Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG MGA - Red Grease

Its time to do the 1,000 mile grease lube.

The car had been always serviced by University Motors and I wanted to use whatever grease they've used in the past. When I called up there.

They simply told me it was "red grease". That's it.

Can anybody give me a clue as to what brand or specifications that might be.

Thanks,

tysen
Tysen

Tysen,
Red grease is usually high temperature, high pressure grease. As University Motors was not more specific, it may be that you will have to ask them for the manufacturer and part number of the grease. I don't know whether you need 'Red Grease', but you should use a complex Lithium based EP grease. The EP stands for extra pressure.
mike parker

Hi Tysen. If you want to give your car the very best, then use synthetic grease. This stuff is vastly superior to regular, lithium and moly greases. It is more expensive, but is worth the extra! Cheers. Glenn
Glenn

Tysen,

Couple of things--I had been using Castrol "Pyroplex Blue--Super High Performance" for years with great results.

I attended some University Motors seminars and although hesitant to quote John Twist with my fading memory, the question of "Red Grease" came up. John's response was something to the effect that it was what the wholesaler sold him that month! Nothing special about the color, despite the high quality of the grease itself. It's only in emulation of John and of my time spent University Motors that I too have sought after special "Red Grease".

I recently found it!! As Glenn from Canada promotes--try Redline HP synthetic grease. Cost about 10 bucks a tube, very high melting point, etc, etc and best of all, its red.

Cheers,

Paul
Paul Hanley

Worry about things that matter. The kind of grease you use is immaterial. The kind that comes in a tube that fits your gun.
Tom

I guess the real jist of this question is:

Is there a problem with putting say Redline HP sythetic grease in along with whatever other grease is already in there?
Tysen

Tom: Sorry, but I have to disagree with your statement, "the kind of grease you use is immaterial." Like Motor Oils, different types of greases use various formulations, additives and chemicals. Some greases lubricate much better than others, and some greases only lubricate well under certain conditions or circumstances. For example some greases do not stand up to heat, extreme pressure, extreme load, or moisture, while others do. Using incorrect or cheap grease can cause or accelerate wear in the moving parts it is used to lubricate! Again, synthetic grease appears to have the best lubricating and anti wear properties for most if not all automotive applications. Cheers! Glenn
Glenn

Hi Tysen. Using synthetic grease should not be a problem. Injecting thr synthetic grease should push a fair bit of the old grease out of the parts anyway. Assuming that the old grease was of decent quality, combining the two should not be an issue. Cheers! Glenn
Glenn

If you really want red grease another source is Mystik High Temp JT-6 grease, you can find it on the web. Personaly I like blue and use Kendal. All that really matters is that you use a high quality EP grease that is recomended for the application you will use it for.
Joh H

As an MG buddy said when he thought he heard some squeaking from the front of my PB. He grabbed his grease gun and started to pump away. "Hay", says I, "is that the proper grease for there"? "Any grease is better than no grease", says he.
Baz

I think Glenn is right. I use a synthetic grease from Canadian Tire (a large chain auto part/ sporting goods etc. outfit in Canada) and it is red. Grease is oil with agents to make it thick and additives for extreme pressure etc. The basic lubricant of grease is still oil, so just as you wouldn't put just any old oil in your engine, you should always use the best quality grease, unless you like rebuilding front suspensions :>) I have read that synthetic grease is the best for autmotive applications.

Ralph
Ralph

Actually you have to be careful mixing greases. Like water and oil, or grain and grape, you can cause trouble. Some greases are made of animal fat, while others are petroleum based. I cannot recall, since I've been out of the Navy since 82, which is where I learned it, but I believe that mixing petroleum based with animal fat based will destroy the consistency of the animal fat, and thin out the grease to a goo like consistency.
mike parker

But of course Mike, then again, some goo is better than no goo. ;>)
Baz


The main weakness of Y type derived suspensions is the marginal effectiveness of the seals.

No doubt some greases are better than others, but the biggest enemy by far is water and dirt.

The bearing areas are very generous and the unit loading is light compared to modern sealed ball joint suspension components.

Million dollar NASA rocket grease will not do much of a better job than 'any type' brand, the most important thing is to grease often to ensure that any dirt or water is forced out, and you dont need expensive grease to do that.

I rebuilt the suspension of my TF with all new components except the king pins ( yep - back in the days when you could get these parts over the counter at your local Morris dealer). Kept it greased with what ever was in the workshop grease gun regularly, and each weekend if I had been through crappy weather or on dirt roads during the week. When I crashed the car some 70,000 miles later and dismantled it, the spacer tubes had taken a slight polish, and there was no slack anywhere.

Cheers
Ian F







Ian Fraser

Hi Ian. My understanding is that some types of grease "disperse" or "repel" water better than others. Actually, I believe that some greases are actually "water soluable", so would actually become diluted (or even wash out of the injected joint) with exposure to water! Not a good situation with our MGA suspensions, ujoints, and hand brake cables! Again, it appears that synthetic grease is excellent at (among other things) dispersing water, so would be an excellent (although pricey) choice for our cars. Having said that, probably any high quality grease, even non synthetic, would be much better than no grease whatsoever! Cheers! GLenn
Glenn

Hi Glenn

I certainly do not disagree with what you say, and grease technology and the needs of modern machinery has moved some way from from the old army guide-

If it moves quickly - oil it
if it moves slowly - grease it
if it dosn't move - paint it
(navy version; if it dosn't move - polish it)
if it moves erratically - salute it

My previous point was that it is far more important to grease often using 'anything' to ensure that water and crap are displaced, than to grease sparingly using a costly product.

However using costly stuff often and sufficiently will certainly ensure a good service life, and the extra expense is probably only marginal.

Cheers
Ian F

Ian Fraser

This thread was discussed between 29/08/2005 and 31/08/2005

MG MGA index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGA BBS is active now.