John Deer Corn Head Grease

[billw]

So when corn head grease does get water in it and emulsifies, what do you guys do then? Try to flush out what you can, with more grease? Totally disassemble the lower unit and clean it out? Pray a lot? I’m just wondering, as trying to perfectly reseal old Mercury gear cases gets old, fast.

Long live American manufacturing!

• This reply was modified 2 years, 4 months ago by billw.

[crosbyman]

(1772) John Deere Corn Head Grease – YouTube

sems the stuff liquifies under load and returns to grease after.  does not mix with water  &  may just be the stuff you want in leaky  gear cases

 

if some have experienced it for 10-40 years with no issues …you decide.   or go regular GC oil …& seals

Joining AOMCI has priviledges 🙂

[labrador-guy]

Ron, I was skeptical like you about gear case grease.   Some old motors have no seals at all.   Some have leather seals.  Mercury’s have problems keeping lubricant in there cases especially older ones.   I decided to try the “O”  grade stuff.   At the end of the season I drain the water, whatever I can get out of the gear case,  poke the grease in the opposite fill hole and force new lube in until it looks new coming out.   Put the plugs back in and I am done.  So far so good!  I like the Picker Head grease that Tractor Supply has.  It comes in a squirt bottle and it is easy to use.  It is strange stuff.  It does not mix with water and it is hard to clean up with solvent.  One of our members uses a heat gun to melt the grease to get it out of the case.   I also have this stuff in a roto-tiller gear case.   That old tiller keeps going and the worm gears are totally shot so I know it lubricates very well!

hope this helps

dale

[Buccaneer]

Someone mentioned to me once that they used “Moly ???”.
It sounded like it was “black” and thick, and did not absorb
water like cornhead grease, as this person believed.

Prepare to be boarded!

[crosbyman]

in his book   CHEAP OUTBOARDS   author  Wawrzyniak suggest  one option:    just changing the oil mid season instead of venturing into a GC reaseal .

A solution  no always good for the fish but….

Cheap Outboards: The Beginner’s Guide to Making an Old Motor Run Forever eBook : Wawrzyniak III, Max: Amazon.ca: Kindle Store

Joining AOMCI has priviledges 🙂

[Tubs]

billw wrote:

So when corn head grease does get water in it and emulsifies, what do you guys do then? Try to flush out what you can, with more grease? Totally disassemble the lower unit and clean it out? Pray a lot? I’m just wondering, as trying to perfectly reseal old Mercury gear cases gets old, fast.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 4 months ago by billw.

You simply remove the vent and fill plug,
let the water drain out, and replace what is
missing. The grease and water don’t mix.
In this video are 2 examples. When the cover is
removed the water runs out while the remaining
grease is coating the metal surfaces. The first
example was right out of the lake so the water
wouldn’t have a chance to settle out. Notice the
difference in consistency of the grease in the
first example compared to the second. That is
the result of the first example coming right out
of low to mid 70 degree water and the other
being sitting for a few days giving it a chance
to warm up. I have tried the 00 grease 3 times.
The first 2 times the shaft/ bushing clearances
weren’t in good condition for it to stay there.
The 3rd time the shaft/ bushing clearances were
too good as after running the motor at least
once a day for 4 weeks I never did get any
water in the gear case. The 00 grease was
always fluid – Second video.
No mater what I’m using for a gear case
lubricant it gets removed when I’m done
using the motor for that season and it is
replaced with fresh.
Tubs.
https://youtu.be/dAu2-zYmgGc
https://youtu.be/ba7KzKjPGrg

A "Boathouse Repair" is one that done without having tools or the skills to do it properly.

[Mumbles]

JOHN HOLBIK wrote:

I have not tried  Corn head grease in my OMC lower units but my brother has been using it for the past 10 years in a fnr Mercury 9.8 and a fnr Johnson 6hp.

I’d like to see the condition of the bushing in the plate right below the water pump on the Johnson six horse.  This bushing needs oil to lubricate it and there is a small passage in the exhaust housing for the oil to reach this bushing.  The spinning gears act as an oil pump to get the oil up to this area so it’s probably been running rather dry for all these years.  Might want to inspect it next time the impeller is serviced.

[billw]

I guess my confusion comes from some saying corn head grease and water emulsify, while others seem to say they don’t ever mix. I know water will somewhat settle out of gear oil, but not 100%. I can’t imagine that it would settle out of the grease, unless it never mixed in the first place. What am I missing here?

My underlying concern is that I have taken apart a lot of Mercury FNR gear cases that were run on grease. There were parts that were coated with grease and were like new; while other parts in the same gear case were totally rusted and useless. I always change my gear oil after every run but what I worry about is trying to change grease but not be able to get settled water out of the extremities, like the aft prop shaft bearing.

I will have to go to my local, brand-spanking new Tractor Supply store and see if they have the picker head grease. I like the idea of it being in a tube!

Long live American manufacturing!

• This reply was modified 2 years, 4 months ago by billw.

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