[Robert Williams]

I get my assembly lube from the CamFather, ISKY REV-LUBE...

[HWYSTR455]

Originally Posted by 72LuxuryLeMansLa.

I am no expert so be warned. I am going to build my first Pontiac soon and it will be a roller engine. I don't plan on using any assembly grease/paste/slime. I am going to use Mobil 1 5W30 and a Mobil 1 oil filter. I plan to prime it well while having a friend slowly turn the crank. Once primed well it will be immediately fired up on the stand and run in. After checking for leaks it will be installed and driven. I will cut the filter open at 500 miles to see if I destroyed it. It just seems to me that a build using roller cam/valve train and checked for proper clearances doesn't have a need for assembly products just an oil that provides a proper film strength.

Please tell me the mains and rod bearings aren't dry?

Common knowledge: Most engine wear occurs at startup. Why do you think that is?

Chit happens, that engine you just assembled could sit for 6 months, a year, or several years for that matter. One simple step, why not?

Even if it's just engine oil, use something. And if you use something, one step further, why not use engine assembly lube? A product specifically to be used during engine assembly. That's what it's designed for. You spend X for all the parts, all the machine work, assemble it yourself to make SURE nothing is overlooked, so why would you not use assembly lube? Five bucks. It CAN'T be about the money, right?

.

[HWYSTR455]

Karl - PM me your mailing address, I'll send you some assembly lube, my gift to you....

.

[72LuxuryLeMansLa.]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

Please tell me the mains and rod bearings aren't dry?

Common knowledge: Most engine wear occurs at startup. Why do you think that is?

Chit happens, that engine you just assembled could sit for 6 months, a year, or several years for that matter. One simple step, why not?

Even if it's just engine oil, use something. And if you use something, one step further, why not use engine assembly lube? A product specifically to be used during engine assembly. That's what it's designed for. You spend X for all the parts, all the machine work, assemble it yourself to make SURE nothing is overlooked, so why would you not use assembly lube? Five bucks. It CAN'T be about the money, right?

.

I will use the engine oil to lubricate everything during final assembly. Nothing and I mean nothing will be without a good coating of oil. The engine will be installed within days of being fired up on the stand after assembly. I think that modern oils can handle the job where old oil tech was not up to the task. If I had parts getting serious load such as a flat tappet cam I would use assembly lube on those parts.

[gtofreek]

Originally Posted by geeteeohguy

Nix on the Lubriplate inside any engine for me. Have seen several engines wiped out that were assembled with the stuff and then the owner got sidetracked and the engines sat....and the lubriplate (white lith grease) set up into cement. I wouldn't even use the stuff on window regulators...it locks those up, too.

X2! I tore down a Pontiac 400 that had 60,000 miles on it, and the rear main bearing groove was filled with dried up white grease. The entire groove! None of it washed out and mixed with the oil.

We use Synergyn assembly lube. Even on roller cam engines! Stays on the bearings much better than oil.

[Cliff R]

With roller cammed engines we use nothing but oil. No need for any "paste" or grease anyplace in the assembly other than a small amount on the front and rear seals so they don't get a "dry start" and burn up on you.

For flat cammed engines we use a small amount of moly grease on the lobes and bottoms of the lifters, and as Paul mentions, avoid getting any on the sides of them an it the oil holes, etc.

To date the ONLY issue I've ever had with bearings was getting hold of one of the ill-fated Eagle cast cranks that had a "rough" finish on the thrust surface. Ate up the thrust bearing on the dyno is less than 15 minutes.

I also like to pre-lube the engine if it's using hydraulic lifters, so we don't have any "tickers" in the punch at initial fire-up......Cliff

[70 bird]

STP here, I use crane break in lube on cam lobes and lifter faces. I bought a case of stp about 10 years ago so it still should have a decent amount of zinc in it.

[HWYSTR455]

A tech article from Mobil1's website:

http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/..._End.aspx?pg=2

...Apply motor oil (the same SAE 30 oil works) to the main bearings. Alternatively, you can use engine assembly lube (shown in the photo). It sticks with more tenacity than oil, providing more protection during the initial start up....

Anyway, point is, whatever probably works, but, assembly lube works better, and is more optimum. Top Fuel and NASCAR engine shops use assembly lube, so, why not spring for a $5 tube and use it too?

.

[bullheimer]

Originally Posted by gtofreek

X2! I tore down a Pontiac 400 that had 60,000 miles on it, and the rear main bearing groove was filled with dried up white grease. The entire groove! None of it washed out and mixed with the oil.

We use Synergyn assembly lube. Even on roller cam engines! Stays on the bearings much better than oil.

It's already been months since i assembled my short block with LubriCrap! So now i have to tear it back apart. Thank God i haven't used any gaskets yet and just only put on the windage tray. Have take it completely apart to wipe the crap out of there. FK!

[gtofreek]

Sorry man. I used to use Lubriplate back in the 80's, on the first few engines I ever built, but since I saw the engine with it dried up in it, I haven't used it since.

I prefer thicker, oily, assembly lube like Synergyn. I tried the Brad Penn assembly lube, but I didn't like it because it is too sticky and stringy. When it sits on something flat, exposed to open air, it gets thick and gooey, almost like rubber cement just before it cures all the way.

[NeighborsComplaint]

Back in the '70's STP was the cam break-in lube of choice. I used it may times and never had an issue but then again oils were better and lifters were US made.

The first time I used it, I poured it down the length of the cam and spread it out by pulling the cam back through the palm of my hand and then poured some on the "dry end" where I was holding it. It was so slick you couldn't grip the ends of the cam to install it. I threaded a long bolt into the cam sprocket so I could install. Made it a habit to coat the cam bearing journals first, install the cam and then dose it with STP from above afterward. Very slippery stuff.

The last two motors I built for myself I just used 30w motor oil and the cam maker's moly paste on the cam lobes and lifter faces followed by priming the motor with a 1/2" drill and oil pump priming tool.

[bullheimer]

shoulda just used Vaseline like i did in the 70's on a 392 i built. (thats how i know that guy that said KY wasnt kidding either. it works, just dont know if it will harden). i have noticed that the window levers i have lubed with that lithium in my truck, tends to stiffen up quite a bit after a while, i doubt i will use it again there either, which means.......i'm throwing all of it i have out into the trash can. at least my engine isn't all together. good time to try and find some pistons to get rid of those 8 brows.

[geeteeohguy]

Bullheimer, I had a rear differential fail on an antique car I bought 8 years ago. The cause of the failure was hardened LubriPlate white grease on the thrust washers. It had been sitting for years, immersed in gear oil, yet had still set up. Had to rebuild the entire rear end and replace sheared off pins, etc. (Model T Ford). I broke a window regulator on my '65 about 25 years back when I went to roll it down with hardened lubriplate. (I'm older now, and would have dis-assmbled it before forcing it nowadays!) The ONE thing lubriplate is good for is battery cable terminal anti-corrosion protection.....and that's about it. It sticks like glue, won't dissolve in oil, and hardens into a plaster like protective coating. Great for battery terminals!

[gtofreek]

Originally Posted by geeteeohguy

Bullheimer, I had a rear differential fail on an antique car I bought 8 years ago. The cause of the failure was hardened LubriPlate white grease on the thrust washers. It had been sitting for years, immersed in gear oil, yet had still set up. Had to rebuild the entire rear end and replace sheared off pins, etc. (Model T Ford). I broke a window regulator on my '65 about 25 years back when I went to roll it down with hardened lubriplate. (I'm older now, and would have dis-assmbled it before forcing it nowadays!) The ONE thing lubriplate is good for is battery cable terminal anti-corrosion protection.....and that's about it. It sticks like glue, won't dissolve in oil, and hardens into a plaster like protective coating. Great for battery terminals!

The only problem with grease on battery terminals is the grease will seep in between the cable end and the battery, and create a hard, insulating crust, that one day will prevent the engine from starting. Spray paint is actually a better alternative as it dries hard, yet keeps the air off of the terminals, so corrosion doesn't build up.

[bullheimer]

i pulled off two main bearing caps yesterday, one was the thrust bearing as well as two rod bearing caps and checked them out. i found a couple of rust specs, which, when wiped away, left a small divot in the journal surface. HOWEVER, as for the lubriplate, it looked pretty GOOD. that is, not the least bit hard. it was mostly a yellowish clear color, very little white, i saw a white glob inside an oil passage in the crank and scooped it out with a dental pic and it was not hard, was very soft, like new, and dissolved almost into my fingers. I decided that it was not going to be a problem and i would just run with it and try to get my engine started asap and not wait another two years. It was and has been upper 80's for most of the week and very nice and sunny all summer for once, so don't know if that had anything to do with it or not but.... it was soft and just letting you know. also, temp wise, as if that might have something to do with it, our winters never got below 10 above zero. we had a month of 18 degree highs last winter tho, coldest in years.

i wiped off the lubriplate that was there and replaced with Lucas assembly lube on the four half-bearing surfaces. I could see leaving this thing another couple of years could be the kiss of death, or maybe starting it in the middle of winter might contribute to it hardening? but i will try my damnedest to get my water pump, headers, intake, starter, clutch and pressure plate before next summer rolls around and get this thing started by then. man, aint that pathetic?

[2002Z4CSS]

I bought GM assembly lube from the local dealer.