Did Internal Lube On BX Front Struts

ScottFromNZ · Post by **ScottFromNZ** » 18 Nov 2004, 03:10

I have just done this today. I did it as per the directions I think. I took it up and down 3 times. After this I cleaned up the LHM I had spilt and then did Citrobics up and down a few times.
It seems marginally better but the front struts still stick a little on the way up. I will drive it for a week or so and see how the ride is and I may repeat the process at a later date.
Are the effects of this internal lubing usually immediate or does it sometimes take time to work?
I have thought about injecting LHM into the strut through the rubber tubes when it is in the fully raised position. Has anyone tried this?

alan s · Post by **alan s** » 18 Nov 2004, 03:46

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by ScottFromNZ

I have just done this today. I did it as per the directions I think. I took it up and down 3 times. After this I cleaned up the LHM I had spilt and then did Citrobics up and down a few times.
It seems marginally better but the front struts still stick a little on the way up. I will drive it for a week or so and see how the ride is and I may repeat the process at a later date.
Are the effects of this internal lubing usually immediate or does it sometimes take time to work?
I have thought about injecting LHM into the strut through the rubber tubes when it is in the fully raised position. Has anyone tried this?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Several & it isn't effective.
It was an old idea that didn't work very well if at all & even caused a couple of owners to have their cars failed at MOT tests as it was construed as leaky struts.
The way to fully do the job is to pull down the gaitor with the suspension set on highest and paint the top of the strut, the silver bit, with either silicone grease, teflon or even a good quality GP grease after first washing the shaft off with WD40 to get rid of any residue that may be on it.
The common mistaken belief is that LHM is a lubricant; it's not. It's an hydraulic fluid and because it has a mineral base, the thought is that it must lubricate but remember, petrol, diesel and even lots of degreasers are also mineral based and are definitely not lubricants. It does have very slight lubricating properties but insufficient to be used for any sole lubricating purpose.
Silicone grease I have found to be the most effective.
Alan S

rossd · Post by **rossd** » 18 Nov 2004, 13:31

I would disagree. Diesel can be used as a lubricant, just look at diesel fuel injection pumps, they have extreme tolerances and run all day at half engine speed. And what is their lubricant? Diesel!

tomsheppard · Post by **tomsheppard** » 18 Nov 2004, 13:57

Injecting into the struts at full height through the air expulsion pipes? No, that won't work.
If internal lubing has not given a huge improvement then 1: your struts were ok in the first place or 2. The slide bearings are worn. Check the strut rod for scratches.

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 18 Nov 2004, 20:29

Primarily I agree with Alan on the lubricating qualities of diesel and LHM. Diesel is an adequate lubricant for diesel injection pumps but its life expectancy as a lubricant is only a few minutes when it is in the pump rather than 10,000 miles in your sump. The trouble with LHM as a lubricant is that the stuff runs away and evaporates. It does the job its designed for but isn't a great deal of use for anything else. Its a bit like burning good lubricating oil to heat your house - yes it will burn but is wasteful and the proper stuff is better overall.
In fact keeping a lubricant in place is a very complicated subject and is why there are so many purpose designed lubricants available. the problem with liquids like oil is that they run off or evaporate so we have greases which are oil blended with a 'soap' (usually metal base like lithium) which holds it in place and may contribute to the overall properties. Ifyu want to lubricate the top piston of your strut LHM will run off, a painting with grease may stay there.
jeremy

Kowalski · Post by **Kowalski** » 18 Nov 2004, 21:56

All mineral oils including LHM and diesel do have lubricating properties they are basically components of crude oil.
Oils that have to act as a lubricant tend to have additives that enhance their lubricating properties. Car engine oils are a prime example, they have very complicated additive packages e.g. extreme pressure additives, viscosity modifiers, stabilisers, detergents etc etc to make them much better at lubricating but they didn't always have these additives. The additive packages are what have improved car engine oil over the years to the point that a car engine can to 250k miles without any problem, where as twenty years previous 100k miles would kill most engines.
Hydraulic oils generally are the amongst most basic of oils they tend to have little in the way of additives but they still have to lubricate the hydraulic pump, and any other components in the hydraulic system e.g. rams, motors, valves etc.
LHM is a rather expensive hydraulic oil, as hydraulic oils go, so one would assume it has a very complicated additive package, after all oil is cheap, additives are VERY expensive. LHM is rather thin as well, so it isn't the best of oils for lubricating vertical hydraulic struts.
The problem that you run into trying to lubricate hydraulic struts is the quality of the seals on the struts. These seals have the ability to get a hydraulic strut absolutely dry, they can remove any amount of LHM that you attempt to coat the strut with thats why lubrication on the struts doesn't last very long. I think that anything you coat your struts with will be removed equally quickly, I tried grease on mine, I'm thinking of trying a heavy wire rope grease on them next to see what effect that has, I suspect that it may be very good for trapping dust and dirt on the struts.....

alan s · Post by **alan s** » 19 Nov 2004, 01:38

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by rossd

I would disagree. Diesel can be used as a lubricant, just look at diesel fuel injection pumps, they have extreme tolerances and run all day at half engine speed. And what is their lubricant? Diesel!
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Fair enough, so I expect you'll be emptying the sump and filling it on Diesel next time?
As I said, "slight lubricating properties" and I still say slight! It's a case of horses for courses. It may have 'lubricating properties' built into it but so does two stroke mix but that's a far cry from being a lubricant.
Alan S

ScottFromNZ · Post by **ScottFromNZ** » 21 Nov 2004, 03:38

I found that initially the internal lube seem to make my front struts worse, although I don't know why this would be. So yesterday I put the suspension on the highest setting and pulled up the strut rubber gaitors and cleaned the shiny rams. I then liberally lubed the shiny rams with Castrol red rubber grease, as this was the grease that I happened to have. I then lowered and raised a couple of times. What a difference! It goes up and down smoothly now with no groaning. It will be interesting to see how long it lasts.
Thanks for the advice everyone.

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 21 Nov 2004, 04:13

Scott - I've been there and done that and it works to some extent - I found that dribbling a couple of drops of 3 in 1 through the sphere mount holes was just about as good as anything else although it does leave a wet strut which can upset an MOT inspector.
I kept mine running reasonably well for about 15000 miles with a new offside strut and a worn nearside one. however when the NS one started to leak I decided to replace it with a new one from GSF and WOW what a difference - ride better than ever and much better than before.
New struts may be quite expensive but they are worth every penny! You can then find out that your height corrector is sticking!
Jeremy