I am curious if there is a grease everyone likes for all-around use on their heavy equipment. I have a Case 570 skip loader, Kubota KX057-5 excavator, and a Bandit 18xp chipper. Seems like a lithium-based grease with moly - NLGI #2 is maybe the best? Any thoughts on this or specific recommendations? Lucas Red n Tacky? Case or Kubota OEM? Chevron?
Some greases with 5% moly last longer on bushings and pins, but not sure about high speed bearing applications. They probably require NLGI#1 Or 2 from what I've heard. Maybe someone else will chime in with some concrete on paper info. Simon C
The Bandit chipper manual says to "use an EP-2 Lithium type grease only for all bearings" so might be ok overlapping with the other two machines?
I have a grease gun for u-joints, and my moly grease for pins and bushings. EP-2 will work but I find the 5% moly lasts longer on bucket pins. Simon C
I actually prefer Schaeffer if I can find it, for everything that’s not high speed. Their chain spray is the best in the market but hard for me to find.
I use 5% moly grease for everything except high speed bearings.
A grease thread. Okay, I’m in.
As it's been said before here, the best grease is the one that is used often.
Need a grease gun and grease recommendation. I have been working on and off all winter working on my Cat 426 backhoe. Soon I will be able to use her to start clearing my land to build a house and barn. I am at the point where I need to start greasing everything via the zerk fittings. Pistol grip type guns aggravate my carpal tunnel. The... HeavyEquipmentForums Best grease? Ok so I'm wondering what is the best grease for real heavy duty use for arms and bucket? I'm using a 3% moly grease from tractor supply right now and just curious if there's better? When the arms get a little sloppy with some play in them...are the pins the only thing worn..or the sleeve on... HeavyEquipmentForums Best Grease for Heavy Equipment (Graders, Loaders, Dozers) Hey, I seen there was an older post about this but the last post was from 2014. I wanted to see what everyone views as a great grease brand for their heavy equipment and why. Thank you HeavyEquipmentForums Best Grease for Swing bearing I have a 304e2 with about 2300hrs. Bought used from cat at 2000hrs. I’m coming up on my 3rd swing gear and bearing grease (every 100hrs) and debating on what grease to use. I would typically not use moly grease on ball bearings, but this is a very slow moving bearing. Manual says to use 5% moly... HeavyEquipmentForums Republic Oil 5% Moly #1 Heavy Duty High Temp Grease I've been meaning to try this grease for a while and finally got around to ordering it. It looks like good thick grease that should stay in the pins well. Being #1 grade I should be okay using it here in FL. I messaged them before and was told they put protective caps on the aluminum pop top... HeavyEquipmentForums Is there a best grease or is it all the same I was greasing my 345bl today and I've always bought the grease from Empire. This isn't a big deal except it requires me going to the store. Is there an online source/brand that is a good go to? HeavyEquipmentForums Moly Grease. Lucas vs Valvoline I've been buying Lucas Construction and Mining Grease for my 310L backhoe. It's a moly grease, and was recommended for pins and bushings. I went to buy another case of it to have on hand just in case the supply goes belly up, and Lucas warned me that the shelf life of the product is only two... HeavyEquipmentForums Grease Selection It is a common question for someone to ask what the correct grease is for a particular application. Of course there's no such thing as "one size fits all" when it comes to grease. Hands up, how many people can say that they can look at a manufacturer's data sheet and compare one product to... HeavyEquipmentForums What grease are you guys using for bucket pins, pivots, etc? Figure I might see what you guys like? I was considering making a switch to something with more tackifiers to keep in place longer. But I am not sure the excavator slew will appreciate that. Usually tackifiers are not great for bearings. I would prefer to use only one grease. HeavyEquipmentForums Best pin grease Hi , what u guys useing to grease your excavator -dozer pins/bushings . I used to use just whatever I found , and my pins did not last , now I use a Schaefer 238 . It’s seams to work way better . I also use 274 for smaller pins etc , and the new green 219 for bearings . The 238 meets cat pin... HeavyEquipmentForums Need a grease gun and grease recommendation. I have been working on and off all winter working on my Cat 426 backhoe. Soon I will be able to use her to start clearing my land to build a house and barn. I am at the point where I need to start greasing everything via the zerk fittings. Pistol grip type guns aggravate my carpal tunnel. The... HeavyEquipmentForums Grease for grease gun - CAT 259D Newer CAT259D track loader owner here. What type of grease are most of you using for daily/routine maintenance via grease gun? HeavyEquipmentForums HeavyEquipmentForums Is there a grease that won't separate? I'm getting really tired of the mess in the grease gun storage. Seems like every grease separates into thick goo and runny oil...which leaks out of the grease gun. I need to buy some more cartridges of grease, so can anyone recommend a brand of grease that does not break down? HeavyEquipmentForums HeavyEquipmentForums Moly grease differences? This received no responses in the Lubrication forum so I will try it here: My local CAT store has Cat Ultra 5 Moly Part #183-3424 and Cat Extreme Application Grease #452-6001. They both have 5% moly and a Calcium Sulfonate Thickener. So are they the same thing with a different label? Confusing... HeavyEquipmentForums Winter grease. Just wondering at what temperature does everyone switch to winter grease. Do you switch because it's easier to pump. Or does it lubricate better? HeavyEquipmentForums HeavyEquipmentForums best grease? Just wondering what brand/type of grease everyone finds to work the best for pins and bushing to prevent wear on there heavy equipment. HeavyEquipmentForums
I realize there are a lot of grease threads and I read many before posting. Thank you for compiling these though - I have indeed now read them all. Nice to have all of these gathered in a 2025 post. 1) I am still wondering if people ever use the factory recommendations and OEM products (I read a lot of CAT but not much else) 2) Maybe to be more specific in my case, wondering how you guys might approach my setup. To have the right stuff but possibly one grease? Or two? Trying to hone this list down, and honestly not sure how all of these greases relate to each other. Will apply with electric gun. Here are the factory recommendations: Kubota KX057-5 Excavator Shell Alvania EP2 or Mobilux EP2 CASE 570N XT Skip loader Most everything: Tutela Multi-Purpose EP 251H, GR-9 Bucket pivots: MOLY LUBE 251 EP-M Bandit 18xp Chipper "Use an EP-2 Lithium type grease only for all bearings."
Using one grease will be a compromise. I’d use a lithium complex w/moly for your pins and a lithium complex without moly for your u-joints and ball bearings. I used to get paid to wear a Chevron hat. Delo ESI EP2 would be a great choice for all -around use and ESI HD Moly 5% for pins and bushings. Mystic JT6 is another great choice. And, whatever the moly version is.
Just as long as you don’t grease like LMM? Too soon? Just get something that smells good and the color works for you because if you’re like me and it’s grease time, I can wear all the PPP I want, there are not many times I don’t get grease on me, in me, all over me, especially if I have to change a tube. Happiness, is when you go to the wall and find all your grease guns charged. What sucks is when it’s 110 degrees out and the grease has melted out of the tip and you lost your prime.
Humans don't belong anywhere it's 110° . . .
That is really helpful. I grew up on a farm in a “Chevron household” myself but wasn’t sure which to get. Curious, last week before posting I had ordered a 10pack of Lucas red n tacky but wonder if it should have actually been Lucas X-tra heavy duty (to match the EP Delo) for the all-around grease on these equipment for now? Will get some 5% moly for the bucket etc.
I don’t have much good to say about Lucas grease, other than it’s easily available. Separability is a thing and you’ll see the grease cartridges start leaking oil as it sits on the shelf.
We have a seacan where all our lubricants are stored. Only different grease on the shelf, is winter and summer. They used to buy whatever was cheapest, but since not all operators are dedicated greaser. They buy Lucas products. Seem to last longer. We do have a different assortment of equipment, and it wouldn't be practical to use different grease for each. Only bad grease is no grease. Unfortunately, the so called adults that run things on both sides of the border, are making it difficult to buy American products, so we might end up using whale blubber
Thx for the suggestions. Btw It looks like they have renamed these greases from Delo to Starplex.
October 23 is when the new branding came out. Something about combining the Texaco and Delo branding.
Ah. Picked up some Starplex Ep2. The 5% moly has actually been pretty hard to find. Mfg out of stock issue they think. If I start with 3% moly and then go to 5% when it's back in stock does that create any issues?
No. That’s fine. The grease market is still trying to recover from the 2021 Chemtool disaster.
My neighbor gave me a nice chunk of beluga the other day. It’s aight. Healthy for you except there is growing concern about elevated mercury levels. But, it’s not like something you eat every day. What sort of whales do you like to harpoon in Canada?
I have moved away from the 5% moly in favor of 3% moly/lithium complex with a synthetic base stock. The 5% moly calcium-based I was using was not favorable to the limited movement pins in my scrapers. I think it was working ok in the excavator, other than under 50° you couldn't hardly pump the stuff. On the O.P. smaller machines I'd be willing to say the 3% will be just fine, I think as long as he greased every 6-8 hours any lithium complex would be more than adequate, those smaller pins and bushings are going to wear out no matter what grease he uses.
Not a fan of whale, but it doesn't smell as bad as seal. A lot of guys are getting into sharks. Not literally, but with rising ocean temps on the east coast, the buggers are coming within shooting range. I'm not a hunter, but some guys take it super serious. 2 of the guys at work have almost 400 rifles between the 2 of them, and that's all they talk about. Most people drink a deer's blood while it's still warm, my wife loves deer blood pudding. One of these guys likes to eat the heart raw as soon as he drops it
How do you find it works under water, or have you tried it? A lot of times on dredging jobs, it's hard to keep bucket pins greased.
I don't do much in deep water, if I do, it isn't for very long. If I was, I'd probably use the calcium grease since it's supposed to have the best water resistance.
Considering how much trouble bad drum bearings are on a chipper, I would feed it the EXACT grease it wants and find the compromise with the rest of the gear. There is only 3 types of grease they dont like. To much, to little and the wrong sort.
They told us it's so old grease is removed from possible sale. They've done it several times, same with some of the other oils. It's real fun getting a customer "we got this last keg not long ago" and it's a name no one had heard of. To me that means maybe a year or two tops, not 1995. I usually ask the lubes rainman Bill P. He's forgotten more than I'll ever learn. Reminds me of when Bill called the Chevron info line and they said they needed to check with an "engineer". The other line starts ringing and it's the info line person looking for Bill to get help.
Some say the same when it's -50*. The rest of us are dealing with it questioning if the paycheck is really worth it
I helped in the shop at a street sweeping job after the season was done and found tubes of grease easily 20 years old. Boss said he got a couple boxes when he took over 3 or 4 years prior and it seemed to last a long time. "mechanic" was supposed to be greasing about 12 sweepers at least weekly. Went through bearings to the point they were buying a pallet load every season. Just figured it was the dirt and not from someone not doing their job. Can't imagine how many thousands of $$ wasted due to a couple hundred $$ of grease not used.
Grease is cheap. Bearings aren’t. 3% moly for pumpability. 5% moly calcium for water resistance. Lithium complex? Works just fine if you stay on top of it. Too much, too little, wrong type; that’s what kills machines. Not "bad conditions." Seen too many parts trashed over a $5 tube of grease.
When I worked at the sawmill in Tennessee, you had good bearings for critical item and China bearings for non-critical. If you greased the china bearings, they would die in 6 months. As long as you put that little grease cap on the bearings at install, some are still going.
Some of my farmer friends have figured out how to pop the seal out of sealed bearings. They claim some of the Chinese bearings have too much grease in them? I'm not sure how that's possible, but they've figured out the "right" amount of grease, and have decent luck with them. They said it's way more prevalent to find too much than too little.
I have popped apart the race on a few China bearings and it’s always a clear grease. It’s just for sawmill production there are China chains and bearings for conveyors and such but the edger and bullsaw get a good bearing like Skaff or Moog and the chains are always Morse. We tried USA Diamond chains on the bull saw and they didn’t last 3 weeks. Sawdust and water is hard on stuff. UHMW is great for slides and wear strips. Great deals are A coming. Just noticed the drive chains on this Scat Trak are Diamond as I had to cut a link to get the drive motor out. Can’t find an 80 Morse full link.
Another trick is to drill a very small hole through the plastic shield of a sealed bearing and add a little grease to it through a syringe. A lot of the belt idlers and belt tensioners on automotive and truck motors are just pressed in sealed bearings that after a decade or so start to make that ever so familiar squeaky noise because they dry out. Instead of buying a whole new idler or pulley or even trying to replace the bearing, just squirt in a cc or two of good grease. To reseal the hole, just use a soldering iron to "smear" the hole closed. Or just use a piece of tape or even leave it open if it's fairly protected. Either way you'd be surprised how good it works....if you catch the bearing early enough.
Mystik JT6 would meet the NLGI 2 specs that bandit requires and actually has better water compatibility than some marine greases, that's my go to for one stop shop greases in my fleet, switched from shell Gadus s3 and Lucas red n tacky. $54 a case online. Used to work at a tree service company with 21xps and 18xps, trust me the right grease makes a difference
Mystik JT6 is good stuff. I wish it was more widely available in my area, but it’s easy to order.
I read this, and struggle with it. Mystic has always and forever been the Tractor Supply house brand. If their hydraulic oil is ****, how can their grease be so good?
I could understand your hesitation. Mystik is the most widely distributed, top shelf grease on the market. There are other grease products that have higher market share, but are lower tier products. It’s way more expensive to test a grease vs a motor oil. That’s why it’s difficult to find good spec sheets that are more than advertising. The current president of ILMA - independent lubricants manufacturers association - is a nice lady. Whom, I heard through the grapevine is close to the lady that does the lubricant purchasing for TSC, whom has close ties to the lubricant industry. Maybe that explains why TSC has had a long term relationship with the Mystik brand. Kind of like Walmart moving more Mobile 1 than any other distributor, despite being a discount chain. But, IDK? I’m just a dirty old, alcoholic, rabbit breeder with a side hustle in the petrochemical biz.
I run the grey 3-5% moly grease on my construction equipment (backhoe, excavator, skid steers, dozer, etc) and run the red/tacky grease on all my farm equipment, truck chassis, and other lower stress applications. That said, if I have a grease gun handy and something needs grease, it gets whatever is in it. I truly believe frequency is more important than quality when it comes to grease. I do try to stick to the name brands however, our local farm store usually has either Phillips 66, Chevron, or Mystick.
Each brand will claim theirs is the best. Best is subjective and hard to prove. Chevron pushes that the Starplex HD2, aka Delo ESI 2, aka Delo Grease EP 2 is a great "universal" grease. Mostly straying from that for pins/bushings to a 3 or 5% moly. Ultra Duty is the most common one used that I see and Starplex Syn 1.5 (Ultiplex Syn).. that one more so because it handles -60* well. One customer swears by Black Pearl (Delo Extreme) I'm just mentioning Chevron as I'm the most familiar with it. P66 Omniguard is another one customer uses though.
I had a case of P66 Multiplex I ended up tossing. Even in summer it was stringy like cheese, so made a big mess greasing stuff. Did a grease job on a colder windy day and ended up with strings of grease on my truck which was parked 30+ ft away. Oh, and turned white and basically rinsed off from rain. But somehow a real PITA to wipe while greasing. No idea!
Anybody in the Forest products industry remember TAKILUBE TRC ? 25 years later, you can still visit almost any former log landing in the Tongass and find smashed, empty grease cartridges. Not sure why I thought of that, besides I’m still trying to wash it off my hands.
You're thinking of "traveler", mystik has been and still is a Venezuelan petroleum brand
Say what? The Mystik Lubricants grease I purchase is owned by CITGO in Houston Tx and made in Oklahoma City. Change my mind.
PDVSA. Interesting. So, who owns Amber Energy? Never mind. I’ll buy my grease from Ice Hole. He’s a cool fella. He’ll deliver it in his Seneca built package truck. That’s a winning team.
https://www.citgolubes.com/do/category/GREASE Appears for sure that Mystic is Citgo. I don't care to go down any more rabbit holes trying to figure out if Citgo is Venezuelan.....
It is pretty nice truck though I'd love a dressed up long nose W900 vs the corporate special plain jane T880. Loud piped 3406 or Big Cam... or a 318 Detroit. Argh arghhh argh!