Round 3, FOAK: 1982 Kawie KZ550 C3 LTD Restoration Options

Thank the Farce I'm not one of those losers.

 

Snapping sounds on undoing a fastener not Loctited are generally not good.
It points to contact face issues such as corrosion, galling, scarring or
localised weld points fracturing as the contact faces rotate as the
clamping force is removed. This interference twixt fastener and fastened,
coupled with the distortion of the threads pressure face and the metals
propensity to want to return to its original shape gives in part the
clamping pressure. This is good for internal assemblys, not so good for
external case covers where all we desire is the fasteners to provide
sufficient, uniform clamping pressure to allow a gasket or O ring to do its
job until we want to remove the cover.

An assembly paste, be it a grease type or Loctite type coats the thread
contact faces to minimise metal-metal contact and fill the voids to
minimise or indeed eliminate the possibility of outside agents entering the
voids[1], causing corrosion and swelling, leading to chewed heads when it
comes to undoing them.

That 'snapping' sound is worthy of research. I haven't worded it
particularly well, but I hope I have managed to pique some curiosity in to
the method of operation of threaded fasteners.

The links provided by Mark, after Mark Olsens post provide some good reading
for the curious geek.


[1]Images of 'Mission Impossible' type micro-agents seeking out a means of
ingress to fastener voids and filling them with magic corrosion stuff.

 

I've got a tin of moly grease as well. I use it on... can't remember
what, actually, but some things.

The copper grese is the preferred one, though. I use that on brake
components (like the K11's caliper pins, when I replaced the pads last
weekend). Not sure if moly grease is good for high temperatures. Any
ideas?

 

I'm a free diver?

 

Things still corrode in the desert. Just not so fast.

Ah! Are you saying that the OP lives in the desert, too?

Are you saying that it's bad practice to use copper grease on the
threads, then? Fine. The four of us who recommended the OP do so (five,
if you include your use of WD40) will be very pleased to know.

<Shrug>

You fucked up again. Posted a load of bollocks, and are now screaming
that it's someone else's fault for (a) arguing you into it and (b)
x-posting it.

 

Drive shaft splines, spider joint splines. That kind of thing. Its not bad
in wheel bearings either.

Moly is very very good at high temperatures and pressures, ie, contact
points in final drives in grease applications. As an additive for bevel
boxes, it scores very well too. Molyslip actually does what it claims to do
in gearboxes, final drives etc. Still wouldn't add it to an engines oil
supply. Much much better than the chlorinated paraffin crap.

Honda do a moly grease for their splines, as do BMW. This is a much thicker
grease than the 500g tubs from Halfords with a very high moly content. A
small tube will last years. ( thinks ) My tub of copper grease must be 20
years old at least. Its actually a metal tin, not plastic, so that ages it.
Enough left for a few more years though. My moly tub is all but empty. I
used to use moly grease on the drive chain of my MZ. Grease fling is not an
issue with that chain cover.

 

Yes, I use it for that as well.

It does? A snake oil that works? Wow. Well, t had to happen one
day

I've got a 500g plastic tub of moly grease, but it ddn't occur to me
that the BMW/Honda stuff would actually be better. As I said, I've use
dit frequently on wheel bearings. Oh yes, and I always slather new
steering head bearings in the stuff. And swinging arm bushes. I just
never bothered to check its head resistance.

 

BMW splined shafts.

We use moly on steam turbine cylinder studs and the inner ones are
running hotter than any motorbike parts so I'd say that it's ok.

 

Anywhere where friction is required for drive, or a particulate filter is
used, then molyslip isn't a good idea. It'll bollocks up a bikes wet
clutch, risks clogging paper filters, can come out of suspension in
centrifuge type cleaners, ie CG <msohp> oil cleaners and is not recommended
for use in brake band auto boxes or limited slip diffs.

Its mechanism of action is that the sulphide bit is attracted to the hot
metal and the molybdenum acts kinda like graphite. The wikipedia article
makes good geeky reading. When you consider the loadings on the teeth in a
diff or bevel box, it makes sense. Moly grease works wonders in
ShyteOldBritBike grease filled gearboxes too, as does Moly 'fortified' oil
in oil filled boxen. Made a heck of a difference to the 'box on my Guzzi.

The carrier soap is thicker and the moly content is a lot higher. If you
regularly regrease the splines anyway, use what you've got. The thickness
of the carrier soap renders it unsuitable for wheel bearing use, but would
make it suitable for use in suspension cushion rod bearings etc where the
rotational speed is low, but the forces high.

Didn't BMW use a grease filled head tube with baffling as a steering damper
on the early K series, or did I imagine it?

 

Sounds good enough for me . What's wrong with using graphite
grease on aluminium components, then?

 

Blimey. I've never heard of that, but I really don't know.

I know they had trouble with the head races on the 650 singles,
because the bike was dry sump with the oil in the frame, and the frame
tube and headstock got hot, naturally, and all the grease ran out of
the head races....

 

No idea but I can't think of an application where I'd want to use
graphite over moly or copper.

I'm lucky because I've got moly paste, copper paste, moly spray and
copper spray to choose from plus other stuff that I can't mention on
here because it's 'special' and I shouldn't really have it.

 

Moly paste. Moly grease is grease with molybdenum in it, but not in
sufficient concentration for output shafts and the like. I'm sure we went
through this a few years ago - BMW sell some special unpronounceable stuff
for the purpose.

 

Andy's 'special' grease...

That doesn't sound good.

 

It's special because of where it's designed to be used, not because of
what I choose to use it for.

 

No. Just let it go.

No. Just let it go.

 

No, you're a deep throater.

 

Oh dear. And you want me to "let it go"? Tell you what, you trying
making a post without a playground obscenity in it.....

 

Yeah. You need to let go of my dick.

I'm not going to make any kind of deal with you, ya Limey ****.

If I post an answer to an OP's question and you don't like my answer?
Then kiss my ass, because I don't give a dead Jamie's ass.

 

And the lube of choice for BMWs is Honda Moly-Lube.