Marine Grease for steering stem bearings?

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Degreaser

Degreaser

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Feb 11, 2010
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Atlantic Canada
I have a 2005 Kawasaki Vulcan 800 31,000 miles, and wanting to drop the steering stem to clean plus grease the top & bottom steering stem needle bearings, no record of this ever being down since factory new. Thinking of using a spray can of Gunk auto engine degreaser on the stem bearings for cleaning, or can I use brake cleaner.

I bought a 8 oz tube of lithium based NLGI 2 marine grease called Mercury 2-4-C at a shop that sells boat motors. The tube says this grease is good for boat linkages and for boat trailer wheel bearings and contains PTFE for added friction reduction and reduced wear, won't break down in the presence of water, and prevents rust and corrosion. If this grease is good for my steering bearings then I might also use it on most everything else on my bike.

is this grease ok to use on my motorcycle steering needle bearings?
 
I think this marine grease is silver because the web site called it Quick Silver, the grease is Lithium based NLGI 2
 
Quicksilver is just a brand name used by Mercury Marine. I doubt there's any silver in that grease.
https://www.quicksilver-products.com/about-page/

Anyway, if that were my bike (second/third/fourthhand with unknown maintenance history), I'd have spare bearings and bottom seal handy just in case the ones on the bike are a mess. Or just replace em while you're in there anyway and you'll be good for 60K+ miles...

Brake cleaner works great for removing grease. On the metal of frames and steering stems, no problem, but be careful around plastics.

I can't think of a reason why that grease wouldn't be suitable for steering stem bearings.
 
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When you think about wheel bearings, on a car or truck, or trailer, they do alot of spinning and in all types weather and temps for years. Your neck bearings only move a few rotations in 100 miles of riding. So if marine grease can hold up to highway speeds, then being dunked into cold water. There's no way you should have problems using it in your application, even riding in rain shouldn't effect the bearings. I agree you should remove whatever grease is in there before using any new grease.,,
 
I did a search on the Marine grease 8 oz tube I bought (it says cannot be used on needle bearings),
I removed the stem locknuts and dropped the stem, both top and bottom needle bearings look pretty good and rubber seals look good also, both top and bottom races are smooth with no marks or dents, the old grease on the bearings look factory stock, clear in colour, I have a very old tub of Motomaster wheel bearing grease but not sure I'll use it because I think it's thin and soluble, and the Marine grease says believe cannot be used on needle bearings, so I'm on the hunt for new grease, what about the Bel-Ray Waterproof Grease? I can get that from FortNine web site, they're out of Montreal, that's where i got my new stem locknut wrench from, came yesterday.

https://www.amazon.ca/MERCURY-2-4-C-Marine-Lubericant-Teflon/dp/B001HWPZ6Y

A high quality multi-purpose lubricant made to withstand extreme friction while providing added water resistance. Cannot be used on needle bearings or other internal engine parts. 8oz tube Part # :92-802859Q
 
how do i get the old grease out of top and bottom bearings? not sure i should use brake cleaner because of the rubber seals
 
so what do you make of that web page saying that Mercury Marine Grease 2-4-C with PTFE (I think that means with Teflon) that it cannot be used on needle bearings? marketing misinformation?
 
I think that I found what grease I want for my Kawasaki stem bearings, it's Lucas X-TRA Heavy Duty Grease , a GC-LB Polyurea based grease
 
i googled the question and google gives this answer:
Mercury 2‑4‑C is a high‑quality, multi‑purpose grease designed to withstand extreme friction in marine and non‑marine applications. Do not use on internal engine parts such as needle bearings.

Not to use on needle bearings? So I guess I can't use this lithium based marine grease on my stem head bearings.

So now I'm back to square 1. What kind of grease are you bikers using to grease your steering stem bearings?
 
Originally Posted by Degreaser
i googled the question and google gives this answer:
Mercury 2‑4‑C is a high‑quality, multi‑purpose grease designed to withstand extreme friction in marine and non‑marine applications. Do not use on internal engine parts such as needle bearings.

Not to use on needle bearings? So I guess I can't use this lithium based marine grease on my stem head bearings.

So now I'm back to square 1. What kind of grease are you bikers using to grease your steering stem bearings?


It says "internal engine parts", kind of a nebulous statement, so who knows for sure.

Why not just use some good wheel bearing grease?
 
Quote
internal engine parts such as needle bearings.


the key word it "internal engine parts'.
Needle bearings were/are used in/on wrist pins and rod mains in
many 2 cycle engines for outboards.
Think 'high load/high speed'.
For steering bearings, either kind, it should be fine.

My 2¢
 
I'm thinking of getting this for my steering bearings, they have it at Canadian Tire

Shell Rotella HD Grease, 14 oz tube, red lithium complex, premium multi purpose grease with excellent high temperature, anti-oxidation, anti-wear and anti-wear corrosion properties. Suitable for bearings operating at high temperature and under load such as disk brake equipped wheel bearings.
 
Holy first world problems Batman!

They're just steering stem bearings. And technically, not needle bearings but tapered roller bearings. Any one of the 4 (and counting) greases you mentioned will work fine for this application. Although people here seem to take a dim view of Lucas products....
 
ok here is what I just did, I went to Canadian Tire auto parts store and bought a tube of motomaster Formula 1 multi-purpose grease, I opened up the tube cap and it looks ok and its red, the tube says it's synthetic so If that's ok then I'll stay with that and stop my grease research which was driving me nuts lol, but I did learn some things since I began this a few days ago knowing nothing about grease
 
ok I'm ready to clean the top and bottom stem roller bearings and repack with grease, I have some Kerosene to dissolve the old bearing grease, but I don't want to get Kerosene on both top and bottom rubber seals, not sure if Kerosene will hurt them or not so want to be careful. I can't remove the bottom seal on the lower stem so will try not to get kerosene on it somehow, but I want to remove the rubber seal on the top stem bearing, does that seal come off the bearing or is it permanently attached to the bearing holder? If that seal can be popped off then I can soak that top bearing completely in a dish of kerosene to remove all the old grit inside then dip it in Isopropyl alcohol to dry off the Kerosene before repacking.
 
I have the grease , going to use what I bought yesterday, not sure about the kerosene on the seals though, I am leaning towards kerosene and rubber as being not a problem
 
i returned that tube of marine grease to the store today, then cleaned the top stem bearing with kerosene, couldn't get the rubber seal off but the kerosene didn't seem to bother the rubber, dipped the bearing in alcohol to wash off all the remaining kerosene then let it dry a few minutes them packed the bearing with that tube of red synthetic grease I bought at Canadian Tire, so I got the top bearing cleaned and packed, so then tomorrow I'll do the same to the bottom stem bearing, the grease is kind of sticky
 
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