Basic Grease Question from a Total Newb

[cadfaeltex]

Just bought a 1994 Jag XJS (88K miles) recently and intend on maintaining it myself. Got the shop manual and it shows all the zerk points for lubricating. I don't have a grease gun or any grease. I do have a little porter cable pancake air compressor. The 1994 shop manual recommends lithium grease FWIW.

What do I need for a grease gun? What do I need for grease (lithium still the best bet after all this time)?

Bonus question: Also have started doing my wife's '07 Acura MDX, haven't looked at the manual for it yet to see where/how many grease points it has but I'll throw it out there in case it shapes anybody's recommendation.

TIA,
Tony

 

[EricF]

the mdx shouldn't have any zerk fittings unless a ball joint or tie rod was replaced with an aftermarket unit that has the zerk fittings.

the jag.. well just go down to an autoparts store and buy a grease gun for $15 and a tube of grease is $5.

 

[FL_Rob]

I like the NAPA guns ,pistol grip style ,Harbor Freight has'em too.The lever style is ok if you dont need a free hand to locate the zerks.

 

[cadfaeltex]

Thanks for the input. Any grease brands to avoid. After reading on here through several pages, there seems to be detractors for every brand. The ones I saw at the local store (O'reilly) were Lucas and Valvoline and both seemed to have pretty negative reviews on here.

Just looked at the NAPA sight, nearest NAPA is about 30 miles away but that's not too bad. Like the look of some of their guns and seemed to have more selection than local.

 

[WagonBoss]

Lincoln 1134 pistol grip grease gun and Amsoil Series 2000 Racing Grease. Or, check out the gg's in the sticky at the top of the forum.

 

[bigmike]

I second the Lincoln 1134.

 

[WMSmotorhead]

If it's just 1 car you need to grease, you may want to get a litle 3oz grease gun... the size is extra convenient.

 

[deeter16317]

Stay away from Lucas...Mobil 1 would be a good grease that's locally available. Then there are others you can mail order like Amsoil and Schaeffer.

 

[Ken2]

Aren't the Lucas greases OK, just nothing special and not worth a price premium?

 

[deeter16317]

My experience is that it doesn't last as well as other greases (comparison to Pennzoil 707L, same application but opposite side). As was shown on this site, most Lucas products are good advertising/marketing...what they add don't necessarily make it better. In my (almost) side by side comparison in Dana 60 front wheel bearings (both were on the "loose" side, so this wasn't bearing preload differences), the Lucas side ran almost 40*F hotter, it washed off the bearings (water spray) in both the spindle and the wheel bearings, and it did not stay where it did any good. The 707L ran cooler, did not wash out, and looked like new when disassembled...the Lucas side had toasted (i.e. golden brown color) bearings (which are still in use with Schaeffers #274).

It also washed out of balljoints (pumped rust-colored grease and free water out every time), and seemed to fling out of ujoints (a lot of pumps to refill)...since using Schaeffers, I get no water from the balljoints and it takes just two or three pumps to fill ujoints. I also seem to have less driveline vibration since changing to Schaeffers.

And for the record, this was a street driven truck, not submerged in water, never offroad. Why I was getting free water from the balljoints is beyond me...almost like Lucas is hydrophyllic?

I have a tube of Lucas left...just can't bring myself to throw it out. Maybe for some non-critical application it has a use, but I won't touch it for chassis grease or bearings.