# Assembly Lube



## Crybaby (May 11, 2021)

I am reassembling my '65 389, and would like to use one assembly lube if possible. In the past, on engines I care far less about, I have just used Lubriplate White Lithium. Depending on what you read these days, there are specialty lubes for everything from cams, lifters, rings, conn-rod and main bearings, etc. I'd rather not buy all of the many lubes suggested by anyone (and everyone) that has a new lube to sell. I really care about this rebuild, but am I going to do damage by just using the Lubriplate throughout (OK, maybe I'll just dip the lifters in a heavier weight engine oil)?


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## RMTZ67 (Mar 12, 2011)

Crybaby said:


> I am reassembling my '65 389, and would like to use one assembly lube if possible. In the past, on engines I care far less about, I have just used Lubriplate White Lithium. Depending on what you read these days, there are specialty lubes for everything from cams, lifters, rings, conn-rod and main bearings, etc. I'd rather not buy all of the many lubes suggested by anyone (and everyone) that has a new lube to sell. I really care about this rebuild, but am I going to do damage by just using the Lubriplate throughout (OK, maybe I'll just dip the lifters in a heavier weight engine oil)?


I used lucas...but I used what came with the cam on the cam. Others will chime in as well.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

I use this, personally.


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## 67ventwindow (Mar 3, 2020)

Here is a good article. Assembly Oils, Greases and Lubes
I use a Moly like Army does. I recommend the article for what to lube and with what. And the fact that he stresses clean everything. Don't assume any one cleaned anything for you.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

Even though I've worked on cars, motorcycles, and firearms for more than 35 years, I never paid much attention to lube or the fine details. A few years back, I swapped pads and rotors on my Solstice, and it had violent shuddering after a few weeks. I bought all new parts and it still did it. So, I took it all apart and studied the parts.

The caliper pins were bone dry, so I used that stay lube on them, and they worked like a dream. By that point, I had probably done 500 brakes jobs in my life, but never minded the mating surfaces. Now I'm a grease snob! I use Lucas on the firearms! Valvoline synthetic on the tractor... 

Although I take pride in my grease, in my experience, most people don't grease anything... So even generic Walmart grease is probably great, if you use it as labeled and apply it as needed.

When I bought my 67 GTO, I was the second owner. It was garage kept its entire life, had 70k original miles, and the owner drove it regularly. It had two rusted solid u joints and two seized axle bearings. It's amazing that people think things will grease and oil themselves.


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## GTO44 (Apr 11, 2016)

I use Lucuas assembly lube or ultra slick. I usually only use molygraphite for flat tappet cams (lobes) and/or for bearings in situations where the engine will be sitting for a long time after assembly.


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## Machinest-guy (Jul 19, 2019)

I agree with 67ventwindow. That article is a great primer for picking an assembly oil / grease / preservative. My understanding is different parts of an engine see different sorts of loads so need different types of break in lubricants. I don't believe there is one product for every place parts touch. 

I'd suggest the length of time an engine will be stored before use is a primary factor to consider. Some very good oils will run off in a couple of weeks time (Valvoline Racing). I experimented with various assembly oils about two dozen years ago for a decade when I was building stroker Fords for a race team. Some of those engines were used within a day or two. Some were stored for end of season open comp events. They had quite different break in oil needs. ( storage of more than a couple of weeks worked out best with Brad Penn products). And how the engine was installed and prep'ed for starting makes a large difference in getting success. 

If you have to crank and crank one to get it to fire off then most pre-lube grease is gone (lithium on cranks and moly on cams). In that case you might want to consider taking it somewhat apart to relube the cam and crank. NOTE: moly assembly grease is not the same as moly wheel bearing grease. The "grit factor" of the moly particle size is different. Moly for assembly lube is finer for sliding surfaces. Moly for wheel bearing grease is compounded for rolling surfaces. NEVER use either for valve guides. I find boiling the timing chain in regular engine oil for an hour or so helps them. A crock pot works great. Using a pressure pot or spinning the oil pump to pre lube an engine helps a great deal to prevent failures but is sorta swinging towards a different target. And it washes the grease out of the crank and cam bearings. 

Once the engine fires up you need to consider how to get some types of the lube grease out of there...... most of it will plug an oil filter within a few minutes - far quicker than the cam will break in - forcing the engine oil filter system into bypass mode. I try to change the filter within the first 15 - 20 minutes, then again after a couple of hours time. I cut every one of them open to inspect for whatever I can find. I leave the remaining break in oil (liberally enhanced with ZZDP) in service for 500 miles or more. Nothing in those formulations (Red Line or Moble I) will hurt an engine in the short run. Mostly they are limited on anti rust, anti foaming, and soap additives for holding particles in suspension between extended oil change intervals, which is something most vintage car owners don't buy into doing. I like 2 stroke outboard motor boat oil for rings and pistons. It burns off clean and won't gum up or foul even the lightest tension and thinnest ring packs while being extraordinarily sticky. 

But there is really only one way to figure this out because solutions and answers are only pertinent to an elusive, conditional, situation. Build some engines and run them awhile. Then take them apart and see how well your prelube chemistry and procedures prevented damage and wear. In this area of engine building, how you do what you do, are complementary factors which build success.

And may I offer up a story about an engine that didn't need any break in lube or gentle driving ? I'd been hired to build a vintage mini cooper for a national event a couple of years ago. I'd done a lot of engine modification and testing to arrive at a final configuration including oil analysis of trials (We settled on using Red Line). Along that path I'd micro polished the gear train, cam and crank. The cam was then re-parkerized and polished again. I used ceramic tappets which are so hard you cannot polish or even lap them unless you use diamond paste. All those parts "broke in" instantly upon start up. The ring pack and pistons were fit and lapped. The valve job and valve train was really, really, carefully matched, lapped, and fit. In short; all the parts which normally wear a little to break in were already past that point of fit before it was run. The car was finished and trailer towed to tech at Laguna Seca without running it more than a few minutes for leak checking, then went straight to the dyno for one 10 -15 second pull for verification of carb mixture, then to the starting grid. We won the class and beat many other cars in advanced classes as well. In post race tear down no visible wear or changes had occurred. In oil analysis testing no trace particles or negative aspects deviating from a virgin oil sample were found either. The filters were totally clean.

I believe with extraordinary efforts to machine accurately, fit perfectly, and control surface finishes of parts used in final assembly, then *maintain absolute cleanliness in assembly*, that special lubricants are not needed to create an engine which will perform quite well. All the major car manufacturers do this on a daily basis. It isn't new for them. We just have to catch up. 

Best of luck to you, Ladd


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## Crybaby (May 11, 2021)

Any bad experience with Lubriplate (No. 105)? I have used this in the past, and it smolders a bit after initial start, but has never given me any trouble + the write-ups all say it is formulated to dissolve (evenly and smoothly) into the engine oil. Again, I would use heavy oil for the lifters (just dip and insert), and maybe some special cam break-in "juice", but other than that - I'm fairly fond of Lubriplate.


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