Grease for a power saw

[m_fumich]

I picked up a pile of stuff for $5. Part of the pile was a B&D circular saw. It needs a plug which is easy enough but since I have no idea how it was stored or how long it sat, I opened it up. I cleaned the case and scooped out all the old grease. What I need to know is what grease do I need to put back around the gears (A) and what should I use for the bushings at each end of the motor (B)?

[scottg]

I use soft white lithium or soft black moly grease on gears like this.
  Motor bushings want light machine oil. 10wt is what I use. Keep it well away from the brushes.
  yours scott
 

[m_fumich]

So it's good that I removed that thick paste that used to be grease?

[rusty]

The grease should be sticky and jelly like, if you can stand a pencil up in it, it's old and cooked ;P

What scott said on lithium, it is what they supply for most of the newer tools, the very old stuff used somewhat different grease,  they were trying to keep it from getting flung off the gears in a tool that gets dropped, vibrated, shaken, cooked etc....

make sure you clean the metal with something to get every last little bit of old grease off it tho, mixing two different kinds of grease can cause the grease to chemically react, turning into cement, or oil with sludge n it ;P

PS: Stay away from anything that says 'biodegradable', you don't want the grease in your saw biodegrading.....(it is for boat trailors, so it won't pollute the ocean)

PPS: Do *not* use brake cleaner, it will instantly dissolve the motor winding insulation.

[m_fumich]

The grease was the consistency of drywall mud. Maybe a bit thicker. I will likely use brake cleaner on the case halves and the reduction gears then rinse them with hot water. Cleaning the bushings and corresponding parts with q-tips is simple enough.

Another problem is the contact plate for one of the brushes. The wire broke off. If I can't find a replacement, I will have to "uncrimp" the plate so I can reattach the wire.

[m_fumich]

Is this the right stuff?

[rusty]

Not really, straight auto wheel bearing grease was formulated for drum brake wheels where the bearing doesn't get hot, little motors get hot...synthetic disk brake bearing grease would be closer (designed for bearings that get really hot), but neither is a lithium grease. Engine rebuilders assembly grease is closer...(the white stuff, not the black/blue stuff which is moly based)

All greases are based on a metal (lithium, molybdenum, calcium etc, the idea is to not mix metals, bad things happen. And pick the one best suited for the operating conditions. Lithium is good for things where you need sticky, non seperating, moderate heat resistance, and are not going to ever replace it....