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Don't use this to lube your VPI Classic bearing

I recently lubricated the bearing on my Classic using white lithium grease purchased from ACE Hardware. The brand is AGS; it came in a white 1.25 oz tube. After about a week, I heard a whooshing sound coming from (under) the platter at each spin. I removed the platter and the sight was not pretty - some of the grease turned into a gooey brown substance and pooled at the bottom of the shaft; there were some chunks of the grease inside the hollow. I didn't use that much of it and it looked worse than after a full year of use with the original job performed by VPI.

I cleaned it all out, and the whooshing sound went away. So if your Classic is due for maintenance, stay away from this particular product.

Does any Classic owner have a brand/product they can recommend for lubricating the bearing? Considering that you only need a little bit of it about once a year, $26 for the lube from VPI is a bit steep.
actusreus

Showing 5 responses by brf

brf
1,715 posts
 
The term lithium grease can be slightly misleading as the lithium content is actually the thickener used to thicken the oil content to make it grease as opposed to an oil.

Go to any high end bike shop that sells road racing bikes and ask for lithium grease used for packing the bike bearing. These high performance lithium bike greases use synthetic oil as the base as oppose to mineral oil.

The oil and lithium will separate over time when left in a tube. You should “knead” the contents before using. It sound like the lithium grease was not fully mixed before application, therefore, the oil content simply wept down the bearing shaft and succumbed to gravity.
brf
1,715 posts
 
Bpoletti, use lithium grease for inverted bearings and synthetic oil for well type bearing. VPI recommends Mobile 1 for their well bearing tables.
brf
1,715 posts
 
ATF works in well type besarings but not inverted bearings.
brf
1,715 posts
 
No it is not the same stuff. The commercial available "magic lube' is for application on rubber, silicon and like seals and o-ring to lubricate the seal to prevent binding when torqued and tightened.
brf
1,715 posts
 
Super lube is synthetic oil impregnated with teflon as a thickener to form a grease. Magic Lube is a Teflon based product with no mention of the suspension agent. Since Magic Lube forms a seal, I would guess that it contains some form of silicone.
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