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Getting
Lubrication to an Oilite Bushing
The best bushings to use are oilite, not
brass nor bronze, but an oilite impregnated powder
metal bushing. Why oilite? 15% of the weight of
the bushing is the oil that has been impregnated by
using hot oil and a vacuum system under pressure.
The air is sucked out of the powder metal bushing
pores creating a void that is then filled with
oil. The best lubricant is oil, not grease. Grease
will not penetrate. It is just a surface coating
and will not last as long as good oil soaking.
Over
time oil leaves the bushing. The best way to get
oil back into the bushing is to remove the sprocket
from the drum (if the sprocket is permanently
attached to the drum, then press out the bushing).
Clean off the sprocket and bushing with a rag and an
air hose and wipe them CLEAN. Never use gas
or brake cleaner to clean the sprocket and
bushing.
Oil
comes out by centrifugal force, heat and leaching
out if you improperly store the sprocket. Put the
drum and sprocket in a plastic bag to store. Never
store them in a cardboard box because the cardboard
will act like a sponge sucking out the oil.
Get
a small size (1 lb.) coffee can and put in all your
sprockets with bushings and roller bearings. Pour
in enough oil to completely cover the sprockets.
Now what oil
should you use?? Contrary to what
you would believe the cheaper the oil, the better.
Use straight 30 weight petroleum based oil with no
additives. You don’t want a synthetic anti-friction
oil because for a clutch to work you need
friction. You don’t want to get anything on the
disk or drum that will prevent friction to occur.
Cheap oil when it makes contact to the drum or disk
will burn off at 460 degrees and when a clutch is
slipping it gets mighty hot. Next put the plastic
lid back on the coffee can. Using an old crock pot,
place an inch of water in the bottom, turn it up to
high and place the coffee can with the parts into
the crock pot. Ideally the oil should be at 180
degrees to 200 degrees. You don’t want to boil the
oil, you just want it hot enough to melt one cube of
paraffin wax (3” x 2” x ½” thick). The water will
come to a boil and heat up the oil real nice. When
the wax melts, stir it around in the coffee can with
a stick so it mixes very nicely with the oil. Leave
the bushings in there for 45 minutes. As the oil
gets hot the air will come out of the oilite
bushings and the void will be replaced with oil. You
are going to save this solution and store it so be
sure to keep it covered when done to keep any
contaminates out of the oil.
After you take the coffee can out of the crock pot,
shake the sprockets a little to get the excess
solution off them, then hang the sprockets over the
can and let them drip back into the solution.
After they have cooled down place them in a plastic
bag and you are ready to mount them back in the
clutch drum when needed. The wax is an excellent
lubrication for the sprockets.
You
can do the same thing to prep your chain but don’t
clean the chain with anything but air and a rag.
Gas and brake cleaner will just dry the chain out
too much and get into places the lube cannot. Wax
is a very good lubricant for chain as well as the
bushing.
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