Bronze pedal bushing install - Question ...

[rexav8r]

I bought these here on Pelican. Personally, I think these instructions leave much to be desired.



Step 8 says: "...self lubricating... ...only light oil... ... DO NOT use Molylube or similar."

Does that mean Don't use any GREASE ??

I was planning on using grease 1) for lube purposes & 2) for rust inhibitor purposes.

Would any of you use grease ? What damage could it do ?

Here are some BEFORE & AFTER shots...
There is one Nylon "spacer" that goes on the Clutch pedal shaft, on the right side, that I was surprised was NOT included in the Bushing Kit. You will clearly see it in the "After" shots...

edit: also not included was the rubber bump stop for the Brake & Clutch pedals

[Determined]

Nice, I too did mine not too long ago. I believe that the bronze bushings I received where already inpregnated with some lubricant. Also, I believe bronze has natural lubricating characteristics. Not sure??

Alex

[rexav8r]

That's what it says on the sheet there, only I'd like to provide a barrier (grease) to prevent moisture from collecting on the un-protected metal surfaces, and oxidizing. To prevent corrosion.

Sort of like we do with the torsion bars.


Did you add any grease when you installed yours ?

Would the grease cause a problem ?

[Porsche_monkey]

Bronze bushings do not need lube. Grease will not hurt.

[Tim Hancock]

Those bronze bearings are more than likely made from the common porous sintered 841 bronze bearing stock (SAE 30 oil impregnated bronze). They do not "need" any additional lube to do their job of slowly rotating back and forth around the steel shafts. A little grease will not hurt their performance (wont really help either because when a load is applied to them, a slight bit of oil will always be present).

I design custom automated machinery for a living and use these type of bearings quite often.

[rexav8r]

COOL !

Thanks Tim !

...and everyone else...

[Determined]

I did not add any grease to mine, they felt really smooth as-is.

Alex

[BlueSideUp]

Did the kit include all the new hardware you used or did you get it elsewhere? The springs and other parts look new.

[rexav8r]

No, just the bushings and the new roll pin. The spings are OE.

I took the cluster to my mech to punch out the roll pin. I'd heard enough horror stories. So I dropped it off with him to punch the pin for me. When I went to pick it up, he had not only removed the pin, but he sand blasted the whole thing and chem washed it. He also had put new lock washers, nuts & cotter pins on for me to use. Well worth $87 (1 hour) in my book.

I just brought it home, masked off the parts I didn't want to get paint on then went to work. I use a black metal etching primer, then semi-flat black on top.

The pictures you see above are before the final assembly, which looks a bit sloppy because I put grease on any exposed metal to help avoid corrosion.

My mech said he usually uses anti-seize compound, but white-lithium grease would be fine.


Just installed the new roll pin a few minutes ago. WHAT A MUTHA !!

Took two people and a fairly high-torque vice !

Now I have to re-touch some places where the paint got scratched off and it's ready.

I'll try to take another photo before I install it.

[Porsche_monkey]

Don't you still have the pleasure of doing the clutch return spring ahead of you?

[rexav8r]

It's a 901 !!

No POS clutch return spring !!!!!

Actually it's not a POS spring, good in operation, POS in installation !! The early cars are different.

[Porsche_monkey]

Lucky you.

[randywebb]

oil will go into the 'pores' of the sintered bronze better than grease will - but the 'pores' should already be 'full'

I'd follow the directions, but I also wouldn't worry about grease. Greases have a clay or similar matrix (it holds the oil; and grease ~~= oil + clay). Maybe they want you to keep clay away from the bronze...??

The 'moly lube' comment refers to Mb that is mixed into many greases for higher pressure performance. Mb comes as a powder and is one thing that makes greases black.

I am mystified as to what difference any of this might make it such a low-tech application. Maybe they copied the instructions from some other sintered bronze bushings used in the space shuttle or something...

[rexav8r]

I can't vouch for the validity of this, but here's what my mech said (& Itrust him): White Lithium Grease is No Problem. Molylube contains graphite (or similar substance) which is an abrasive, and eventually will grind (to some extent).

Like I said, I don't know if that's correct, but it makes sense & goes along with what you said about making some grease black.

[Porsche_monkey]

Uhhh, with all due respect to everyone: As Randy said, it's just a pedal bushing.....you could put grease (dino or synthetic), oil, clay, play-do, or dog crap on it and it will last a long long time.

[randywebb]

But... But... It's a PORSCHE pedal bushing. It deserves the very best our aerospace industry can produce!

Now bring on the differential equations (in polar coordinates) for stick/slip/sticktion/boundary layer mediated ....

[Porsche_monkey]

Bushings are for cavemen. Why not ball bearings? (ceramic of course).

[}{arlequin]

i followed the advice of NOT putting anything in there as far as additional lubrication. year and a half later my clutch squeaked and my OILite bronze bushings were worn (egged) out. talked to my mechanic (the kind that does 'carte blanche' 356A and/or fuhrman-equipped cars restorations for collectors) and he said that you absolutely should put something in there. think he went w/ something *like* white lithium but it was more sticky.

besides 'not hurting' and rather helping in the long run, having that stuff there will protect the components even further from moisture/rusting. when you think ab the kind of environment the cluster experiences water/dust/sand/pebbles etc from your shoes, you want all the 'conservation' help you can get.

while the corollary may be that gooey stuff will attract more particles and retain them, do you think it will be any worse that what's on the pictures at the top of the thread?

all i know is that the pedals are smoother than ever, including after my prior rebuild and they don't squeak. will report in anothe year and half

[Porsche_monkey]

Well, as an engineer I would suggest that the grease (or alternative lubrication) will stop the squeaking, but the ovality issue will occur regardless. You need a better bushing to prevent wear, but that would be overkill in this application.

[rexav8r]

ok, 1st point, the pedals had never been rebuilt before. Those top photos are what 37 year old 911 pedals look like.

2nd, I think I got ya on the concept here.. just pedals and all... I just rubbed a big greasy turd on everything... should be smelly but last a long time !