What grease for CV joints?

[Ho Hum 74]

Maybe a silly question but I'm re-attaching my CV joints to the transmission. What grease should I use? Anything special?

Thanks
Tristan

[IROC]

I use standard molybdenum disulfide (moly) grease made for CV joints. It's marked as such at your local auto parts emporium.

I would recommend cleaning out all of the old grease from the CV (messy job) and adding all new grease in lieu of simply adding some additional grease to the existing joint. Sometimes different greases are not compatible with each other and mixing two different greases can degrade the lubricating qualities. Not somthing you really want to happen.

Mike

[UTKarmann_Ghia]

Pat S used a Mobil 1 synthethic grease he bought at Napa (like $20 a tube). Not sure what research he did on this, but my guess is that he had a good reason. The only problem is that it's pink...so it may threaten some of your guys' manlyhood

[Schrup]

This is what I used, got it from the host.

[Superman]

Yep, disassemble and clean those CV joints, then use the best, high pressure "moly" grease you can find. And use lots of it. More than "the book" suggests.

Using inferior grease in this application is a mistake. The contact surfaces in a CV joint handle all the power your engine makes, and it will grind inferior grease into mush. BTDT. When you open a CV joint and the grease runs out like used motor oil, you know the wrong grease was used.

[KTL]

Valvoline SynPower is good stuff too.

What Mike said. Any grease product is going to say to not mix different grease types or brands.

Mobil 1 and Valvoline are certainly available at the local stores and far exceed the properties of the OEM EP grease that Porsche uses (GKN EP CV joint grease).

[Ho Hum 74]

Thanks all. Good info. I certainly intend cleaning it all out because it's been collecting dust while my transmission was in the shop.

[Jdub]

Go to Napa and get the Valvoline SynPower. Great synthetic moly grease as recommened by Warren. I've done the CVs twice now and it is the stuff.

Do a search on SynPower and pull up the old posts on lube number and amount to use in each CV.

John

[Randy Webb]

This is probably a good place to reprise how to do its for this procedure. My mech tells me that it does NOT matter if the balls are mixed up but that it is very important to keep the orientation of the various other pieces the same to prevent lock up -- he marks them with an electric scribe.
Dunno if I believe him tho.

BTW, a grease is just an oil with a binder to keep it stiff and close to the parts being lubed -- sounds like your binder gave out.

Now... how often should the grease be changed? For a low mileage per year car, I would replace the grease no later than its shelf life... some say about every 5 years.

Also, you want to check the balls and their races for signs of wear, burning, crazing, cracks, .... and if you live in the Pacific NW, mold.