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By Andrew b
#1675909
Hi all my permits due the this week on my condor 62c so I thought I'd give the old girl abit of lubrication in the manual most of the grease they state for hinges etc is aeroshell 4 which I can't seem to find on the net maybe I'm just looking.my question is what's everyone else using for the hinges ,wheel flap and rudder pedal bearings also the grease nipples on undercarriage legs hope someone can offer there opinions cheers Andrew
Last edited by Andrew b on Sun Feb 17, 2019 5:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
By cockney steve
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1676017
May I suggest that "shell" Aviation lubricant distributors should have a knowledge-base of supersessions. It is often the case that a product of this type is replaced with a "superior" version with a different name.
Rolls-Royce specified a really obscure make and type of front-suspension grease for Shadows and Spirits, It is now only readily available from industrial-engineering tools and material -stockists, under a different name.
Therein sits your other option.....try contacting a Condor forum/owner's group, a member will possibly know the approved substitute for Aeroshell 4 .....Of course, you could always try firing-off an e-mail to the appropriate Shell (are they still "Shell-Mex and BP ltd" ? No, a quick Google shows Royal Dutch Shell
) division (Aviation lubricants?)
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By Paul_Sengupta
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1676028
Are you sure it was grease? Aeroshell 4 is a hydraulic oil with good low temperature properties. It was suggested on a recent thread that when lubricating hinges, you should use something which isn't going to freeze.

It says it's composed of: mineral oil base stock and a complex additive package which results in a product with excellent low temperature flow and anti-wear properties
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By Andrew b
#1676102
Thanks for replies the main one is undercarriage legs which in the manual wrote in the 1960s says aero shell 8 graphite ive called dhell uk technical help line this morning and they said it's discontinued with no direct replacement .After speaking to previous Inspector of 15 years we've come to conclusion most greased for legs will do aero shell 5 wheel bearings aero shell fluid 3 hinges ☺
By Andrew b
#1676170
Thanks for replies the main one is undercarriage legs which in the manual wrote in the 1960s says aero shell 8 graphite ive called dhell uk technical help line this morning and they said it's discontinued with no direct replacement .After speaking to previous Inspector of 15 years we've come to conclusion most greased for legs will do aero shell 5 wheel bearings aero shell fluid 3 hinges ☺
By cockney steve
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1676360
I really don't think your Condor will be flying at heights where temperature and a rarified atmosphere are going to be a major influence on the performance of the grease. Powdered graphite is used by locksmiths and manufacturers. Molybdenum disulphide seems to be the common fortifier in the very thin (at normal temperatures,and seemingly at sub-freezing) used in car CV joints and ball-joints.....these are usually extreme-pressure applications. If your parts are readily replaceable, then more-or less any grease is better than none. I suspect they are actually quite scarce and the situation is getting worse, in which case I'd be looking at the offerings of other speciality lubricant manufacturers. Eliminating or reducing wear can be difficult,especially in the case of telescopic struts (think hydraulic rams and motorcycle front forks.)..unless telescopic gaiters cover the sliding joints.
#1676373
If you must use graphite grease then there is a product called “Clydspin” - in the surface fleet it was used on boiler sootblowers (when we had a surface fleet)
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By Ben Twings
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1676573
There was an Aeroshell grease 4, but it disappeared a long time ago.
I vaguely recall it may have been a lithium based grease, possibly like their grease 33.
If you can find the spec that the grease conformed to, even if it's an obsolete DTD number, then you should be able to get a modern substitute.

{Edit}
A little digging has uncovered that grease 4 was a low pressure lithium based grease to MOD specification DTD.577. All DTD specifications were made obsolete about 20 years ago. There should be plenty of good alternatives.
Good practice to remove all traces of old grease if using a different brand
By condor17
#1678701
We use LM grease [ high melt point ] by Castrol on any of the grease nipples ; u/c and others .
On flying control hinges and control rod joints / bearings ..spray on hi perf White Lithium grease , made by WD-40 .
And oil can oil [ 20-40 , 15-50 etc. ] on other bits .
All of those , just happen to be ..

Our sister ship and hangar mate , uses oil can oil on the flying control external hinges . Not sure what greases are used .

Hope this helps .

rgds condor .