Preferred Engine Assembly Lube?

bryan89 · 03-22-11, 12:13 PM

allright,
about to put my freshly machined 22re together.
what do you guys recommend and why for assembly lube?
STP? CRC engine assembly lube (which is lithium based)? regular engine oil?
I want a pure molybdenum lube but i cant find one locally.
i have heard horror stories about a lot of things.

i just found this from redline and like it alot so far.
http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=77&pcid=17
garunteed to dissolve into oil (unlike some lithium based products)
3x the film strength of moly

toy4xfun · 03-22-11, 01:44 PM

this is what i used.

mainly because it is all i could find in the area, but the engine has been together going on three years, i wish i could tell you how many miles but the odometer is off so i did not note the miles when i did the work.

but i can say it has seen some hard miles, pulling that trailer full of red oak, about 10 trips worth this winter from Silver spring MD to Charles Town WV.

fjfodee · 03-22-11, 01:47 PM

I used Clevite Cam Guard. The guy's at Clevite said it would be fine for the rods and mains. Don't know what it's made of, but it's a red jelly. I don't think it's a lithium.

bryan89 · 03-23-11, 05:11 AM

Thanks guys. I'll see what I can find. I think there is some red jelly like stuff at my local parts store. I looked for the lucas one but they didnt carry it.

corax · 03-23-11, 09:33 AM

I used to mix my own from equal parts STP Oil Treatment and Marvel Mystery Oil <- I was told that by an old timer who used to build some crazy engines. Just don't forget to pull the spark plugs and spin it till the oil light goes out before your first start up.

WristPin · 03-23-11, 10:05 AM

what ever you use just remember that IF you plan on using regular oil, u must assemble it drop it in and fire it up quick. in fact thats the reason i have never used it. i always take my time when building. so far so good.
i use standard black moly gooo

Rix86 · 03-23-11, 10:32 AM

I use the CRC moly fortified stuff.

toy4xfun · 03-23-11, 12:21 PM

that is what i used the first time, i think is it more of a silver gray?

oh and even if you use the assembly lube, you should remove the plugs, and crank it with a fully charged battery till the oil pressure comes up.

bryan89 · 03-24-11, 06:35 AM

yeah, i was going to use CRC until i read this on an unrelated forum

"I bought "CRC Assembly Lube" at a local auto parts store. I had the short block all together and I saw something that I wanted to check on a rod. When I pulled the rod cap off, that is when I noticed the scratches on the bearing. I proceded to pull the next, then the next till I had the whole thing apart and every bearing looked the same. It looks like the moly that did the nasty thing to the bearings. This stuff wasn't milled right or something. "

"By the way, I tested to see if a new bearing without any oil at all could be scratched by the crank and it did not. Of course it depends how smooth your crank is also.
I used assembly lube on all my engines until I had this happen to me. I talked to the guy at the performance machine shop that does all my work and he said he has heard of the same thing happening before. All I can say is "Watch Out" because it happen to me. That $5.00 tube cost me over $100."
engine assembly lube [Archive] - Team Camaro Tech

i dont know how true it is, but just in case I am going to steer clear. I ordered some of the redline assembly lube, cause I know they make good products and I hadn't heard anything bad about them.....yet.

corax · 03-25-11, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bryan89

yeah, i was going to use CRC until i read this on an unrelated forum

Yep, Moly is a crystalline solid - not something I want to mix with oil in an application that uses plain bearings with tight tolerances. In differentials, transfer cases, etc. that use hardened roller bearings it works great since particles can't get trapped or embedded in the soft bearing material and it reduces the sliding friction between gears.

toy4xfun · 03-25-11, 12:14 PM

that lucas stuff i used was more like a clear blue snot, the crc stuff if that is what i used on my first rebuild, was grey and more like grease.

RockDoc · 03-25-11, 01:42 PM

I used Lubriplate assembly lube when I did mine.

KLF · 03-25-11, 02:58 PM

I've seen Vasoline used with no ill effects.

toy4xfun · 03-25-11, 03:39 PM

i think you could use regular engine oil as long as you crank it over with no plugs and get the oil pressure up.

RockDoc · 03-25-11, 04:41 PM

Can you prime the oiling system with a drill on the Rs and V6s like you can on the Fs?

2ndGenToyotaFan · 03-25-11, 05:03 PM

The oil pumps are driven right off of the crank shaft, so the engine has to turn to pump the oil...