Viscous oils?

hman

hman

Active User
H-M Lifetime Diamond Member
I don't go to auto parts stores too often, but do recall seeing the occasional "demo box" on the counter, where you crank on a set of gears and the oil "climbs" up the gear train. I'm wondering if such a lubricant might be a good idea for the running faces of the gears in a lathe headstock. I seem to recall that pure STP is pretty thick, as is "Motor Honey" and some others. I forget what the product was in the "demo box," but I'm sure somebody behind the counter could find it for me.

Does anybody have any experience/advice regarding such thick, sticky lubricants on gears?

PS - I would continue to use regular oil on the gear shafts, etc.

Thanks!
 
That stuff in the plastic gear box at the auto store is Lucas oil stabilizer. It is extremely thick.
IMO if the OEM's wanted a thick oil, they would have recommended it.:dunno:
 
That's Lucas oil stabilizer. The sort of clinginess you get with that product is the last thing you want inside an engine with a pressurized oil system. Having seen and played with their demo box, I see windage losses increasing dramatically, and possible increased oil consumption.

I can't see why it would necessary be bad for spur gears in the headstock, but spur gears really don't need a lot of lubricant, so I say stick with the right stuff. I would aslo expect more foaming in the gearbox with the Lucas. That could be bad... Most lathes nowadays use some ISO hydraulic fluid which is a good choice for spur gears.

Lucas products are a bit dissapointing to me. Great hype but generally poor performance. Along those lines is Royal Purple - decent lubricants, but nothing special. They must be good brands, right? They're on the sides of Nextel cup cars, and Carroll Shelby says "I wouldn't use it if it didn't work"....

John
 
Lucas oil stabilizer and STP oil treatment are really too gooey to be of much use. I, like the others agree that the manufacturer has studied what is the best for their stuff, so I stick with what they say. I am one of those who bought an all out race bike and ran it on 32:1 because that is what the manual said. Everybody else runs 50 or even a 100 to 1, but I just could not bring myself to change what some engineer figured was best. I guess I am just weird that way. Properly maintained our machines should last our entire lifetimes and then some, so I just stick with the requirements and call it good.

Bob
 
I will add another vote to the recommended oils by the manufacturer. Colchester Chipmaster lathes and their variators are an excellent example of what happens when people don't. The variator received bad press because it was considered unreliable.... usually resulting from people not following the manufacturer's specs on which oil to use and how much to fill.

The engineers would have tested the various oils and their viscosities and the wear on the pressure surfaces. Their recommendations would be based on evidence.

Paul.
 
hman said:
I don't go to auto parts stores too often, but do recall seeing the occasional "demo box" on the counter, where you crank on a set of gears and the oil "climbs" up the gear train. I'm wondering if such a lubricant might be a good idea for the running faces of the gears in a lathe headstock. I seem to recall that pure STP is pretty thick, as is "Motor Honey" and some others. I forget what the product was in the "demo box," but I'm sure somebody behind the counter could find it for me.

Does anybody have any experience/advice regarding such thick, sticky lubricants on gears?

PS - I would continue to use regular oil on the gear shafts, etc.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Hey Hman-

What machine are you running? It is a closed crankcase?

I use a tiny bit of that Lucas on my -outside-geartrain mixed with 75-90W on my SB Heavy 10. I have not been using it long. I wouldn't use it if it wasn't so loud before. I will see in a month or two, when i have the gears off again, if they look alright.

I had it around because I do use it in my car. I use half the dose listed on the bottle. Anti-sling is not grease, so should still allow particulate matter to move away from moving parts, just like straight oil. It is really referred to as an "anti sling" compound, to keep lube on the parts that would sling it off.

Sort of like a car, I think if you change your oil often it doesn't matter what you use. As regards your lathe, you could try it and plan to check it or change it in a few months. Change it back if you don't like it.


Bernie
 
There are hundreds of posts about Lucas over at bobistheoilguy.com and the general consensus is it is a waste of money and maybe a detriment to some applications. There are some pretty impressive members of BTOG including professional engineers that go to extremes to test oil. There is a post that I now can not find where someone built a model gearbox in clear plastic to test Lucas similar to the one on display but much more complex and with metal parts. They performed a great test with controls, various rpms, loads, and oil weights and took samples to the lab. The photos showed Lucas foaming like crazy. Lucas is just a thick "base oil" with no real additives that will increase viscosity and dilute your oil’s additive pack.
 
tripletap3 said:
There are hundreds of posts about Lucas over at bobistheoilguy.com and the general consensus is it is a waste of money and maybe a detriment to some applications. There are some pretty impressive members of BTOG including professional engineers that go to extremes to test oil. There is a post that I now can not find where someone built a model gearbox in clear plastic to test Lucas similar to the one on display but much more complex and with metal parts. They performed a great test with controls, various rpms, loads, and oil weights and took samples to the lab. The photos showed Lucas foaming like crazy. Lucas is just a thick "base oil" with no real additives that will increase viscosity and dilute your oil’s additive pack.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info TripleTap. I am guessing that the foaming only happens in a crankcase type situation?

I guess I'll see what happens to my outside gears. Probably won't make a difference either way.

I am going to check out bobistheoilguy.com!!

Bernie
 
I use the Lucas on the open gears on the end gear train. Like Bernie, I use a mix of gear lube as well. I wouldn't be dumping that stuff in a engine of any kind. For a open gear train using spur gears its fine. The sticky lube stays on the gears, and that's what I want, and keeps the gear noise down.

In automotive use, I would not be adding that product to a crank case for any reason. If the motor was that loose its time for a overhaul. Im sure the oil flow would slow, HP loss from windage. Though I have seen use of these products with the supercharged alky motors in my drag racing days. Those motors get a very high rate of oil dilution with fuel when started up cold, and thins the oil drasticklly.

Open gears, ok. In a gearbox,or crankcase,I wouldn't.
 
Somewhat OT, but the Lucas transmission treatment did fix my transmission. I guess it was slipping a little bit, I never felt it, and the computer sensed it and increased the transmission pressure, sort of a defense, and it would bang real bad into gear.
After the Lucas, I never had anymore trouble. FWIW.
Thanks,
Tony
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top