Lube

m38a1chuck · Post by **m38a1chuck** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:41 pm

I have a M38A1. I'm unsure what lube goes in the front drive hubs.

Post by **wesk** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 3:08 pm

If you go by your manual it is #2 chassis lube. The nomenclature system has changed some over the years so you'll have to liston to about 200 folks give you 200 speeches on what worked for them. The real problem is the manuals are all dated 1960 and older and times and habits have changed. The military manuals were used by the largest jeep fleet operator in history. The US Army which had a very firm vehicle management and inspection/service program. Therefore the steering knuckles were service on a very regular basis. To properly care for the knuckles they must be disassembled, clean and hand packed then serviced periodically through the service plug. As they sling their grease loose iit cannot find it's way back inside the bearings. Therefore the disassembly has to take place fairly often. Like every 2000 miles. The later cuvvy manuals switch to a heavy gear oil but most old scored knuckle sphere's won't retain the thinner oil when it's hot. So the majority of folks mix the gear oil with the chassis lube for a mixture that will apply itself a bit to the bearings. So study up and make your own choice.

m38a1chuck · Post by **m38a1chuck** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 8:26 pm

Thanks Wesk,

When I purchase my jeep off of some farm the hubs were dry. Looking at the hubs I thought there's no way they'd hold heavy oil like the transmission or diff. (at least not in their current shape). I put grease in them but was questioning it for the very reason you mention, that the grease would get pushed away from the bearings.

Post by **wesk** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 9:26 pm

If you rebuild the knuckles, then the way to start out is to hand pack the bearings and the axle joint with chassis lube. Polish the spheres so they will seal well with the knuckle seals. Then use a 600 or 800 weight early Ford differential oil.

DocUwe · Post by **DocUwe** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 9:04 am

wesk wrote: ...Then use a 600 or 800 weight early Ford differential oil.

Can you tell me another term or name of this oil, please.
In the Hotchkiss manuals the French army do recommend the "melange" of oil (SAE 30) plus chassis lube, too.
Regards Uwe

skyjeep50 · Post by **skyjeep50** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 4:12 pm

I recently completely cleaned out the front axles on my CJ2A and M38, put in new seals, brakes - the works. The king pin bearings were somewhat rusty on the M38 and in both Jeeps the knuckles were greased with standard grease. That stuff does not sling around much! It tends to coat the inside of the housing and not move to where it is needed. So I'm going to use a mix of 50:50 gear lube and grease. Hopefully, that will help keep everything lubed. As Wesk says, the other way to make sure everything is lubed is to take everything apart regularily and manually regrease the bearings. Similarly, I tried out the mix on my M38A1's steering gear. The seals are worn out so gear lube leaks out readily. But the "pudding" mix did the trick - no more leaking and the box is lubed until I rebuild it and put in new seals.

captw · Post by **captw** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 3:44 pm

I use STP in the knuckles on my M38, I just added it to whatever was there, filled 'til it ran out, then reinstalled the plugs...I recheck the level several times a year, have yet to add anymore STP...a friend that uses a Model "T" on a regular basis uses STP in the rear axle...W

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