Knuckle grease

[Cpt. Kirk]

Okay I swapped the Birfs and it was still clicking so I bought some Longfields.
I pulled apart the whole thing again today and I noticed something that concerned me, when I pulled it apart the first time I changed the inner axle seal and I repacked the knuckle with Texaco Starplex Moly 2 grease " a lithium extreme pressure grease containing molybdenum disulfide" this is the exact grease that is recommended except for it is NLGI1 instead of NLGI2 the parts guy said this would not matter but I think now it might, when I pulled it apart the second time the grease looked like it had liquified a bit somewhere between the original consistancy and a liquid. Is this normal or is the grease deteriorating
because I know the seal isn't leaking. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
thanks

 

[Riley]

maybe post a few pics.

Also what does the outside of the birf look like? aka - where the wiper is.

 

[Cpt. Kirk]

wiper grease

Thanks for the reply Riley, I can't post any pics my camera was just stole a couple of weeks ago, but I did look at the wiper on the back of the nuckle and noticed there was more grease than I've ever seen before on it I might replace the wiper as well now but it still might not explain the grease deteriorating as there was no telltale sign of water getting in. What do you think.
thanks

 

[Riley]

Cpt - I was just asking about the knuckle area and wiper to get an idea what that area looked like. This is because that's easy to get a data point on because it's visible to everyone all the time. I'm not suggesting to replace the wiper.
Perhaps just make sure it's installed correctly (it can go on backwards). Search for "wiper" in the 80s forum and you should find a discussion on the wiper install.

Regarding the grease. It's really hard to know how bad this is without more info. When I rebuilt my knuckles (just after the PO had the knuckles filled with grease by the dealer), the grease sort of looked like mashed potatoes whipped up really well. Pretty gooey but not liquid.

I'm gonna go search on your grease type and see what I can find. I recall a thread on that.

Oh and don't listen to me, I'm just a newbie with a lot posts (most were questions )

edit - did some searching, here's one thread on grease and it talks about the 00 type being too thin and the FSM calls for 02 type. I'm no expert but sounds like type 01 would be too thin as well (perhaps for this temp range). I think I'd do some more searching to learn the grading system but sounds like the higher the number the thicker the grease.

I think I'd ignore the parts guy that sold you the grease and go find your new flanges for the longfields and repack with the correct grease. You don't want to be running new birfs with the wrong grease. Just too much $$ at stake. Frustrating isn't it.

 

[Cpt. Kirk]

helpul info

Thanks Riley, I'll look into the grease rating. Where in B.C. are you from I'm on the Island close to the Vic Ferries.
Cheers