Idler Arm Failure

I just got religion on grease. Turns out there are huge differences among different brands/types of greases. I had been using auto parts store generic general purpose grease, only rating on tube was NLGI #2 Lithium Stearate. No moly, and Stearate is only good up to 275 max, probably much lower working temp. Was kind of bad about the oil separating from the grease and dripping out the grease gun too. Sure sign the grease is sub standard. This grease other than the stiffness rating has no rating, no wear test data and no manufacturer endorsements or approvals. Grease is grease, right?

After researching, what looks to be the best readily available locally for me turned out to be Valvoline Synpower. It is also NLGI #2 rated, the same consistency as most chassis lubes. #1 is too thin and anything above 3 will be too stiff. It is a moly fortified extreme pressure lubricant and has a dropping point of 500 degrees. Most importantly it has a weld point test rating of 315kg, higher than even the mobile one red stuff. Timken ok rating of 60 and a wear index of 60. You can use this stuff on anything. It is also Lithium complex based, making it less susciptable to the oil drip of the lower grade Lithium Stearate based stuff. It is also rated GC LB, the highest ratings for grease on both chassis and wheel bearings. Also Mack MG-C and ASTM D-4950 rated. The moly platelets should be small enough to use on tapered wheel bearings too, not all of them are.

I would stay away from all the snake oil brands that do not publish wear tests or adhere to NLGI, ASTM data, or OEM specs.

Only drawback for me is I have to re-use my throw away plastic 3 ounce cartridges for my mini-grease gun because this stuff is not available that way. I bought the one pound tub. Not driving this car again until I push out the box store sludge from my new idler arm. The grease in it now is already dripping out of the part, which eventually only leaves the lithium stearate as the lube, no good.

This is not a plug for Valvoline, there are even better greases available based on specs but this stuff is available OTC and is definitely better than what MA Mopar put in at the factory.

Pretty sure I ruined two 78 camaro drag links and three Duster Idler arms by using sub standard grease for maintenance. Another lesson learned the hard way.