Hi,
I'm rebuilding the CV joints on my Rover Vitesse and need to regrease them. The haynes manual says to use Molycote (Molykote) 24612/C or equivalent but as I don't have any I got what I thought was the correct stuff at Halfords. It is called Castrol Moly Grease and is black and looks just like the stuff in my CV joint but after searching the internet I can't find anything to confirm the suitability. In fact Castrol.co.uk and Castrol.com don't even list it as a product!!

Does anyone know anything about "Moly Grease" and are you able to confirm its suitability for CV joints?

Although I'm doing my Rover just now I was planning to do my Sierra driveshafts for the Locost later hence my reason for posting the question here...

Cheers,
Craig.


[Edited on 24/4/2004 by craig1410]

CV joint grease has even more moly in it --
and your Rover stresses the CV joints to the limmit most decent motor factors stock tubes of CV joint grease.

Apparently the inner joints on the Rover Vitesse use a special sort of grease, not the usual grey stuff, outers are normal CV joint grease. I did put CV joint grease in one of my inner bearings, however, and it didn't seem to suffer from it.

Yes in the Haynes manual it specifies different grease for the inner and outer joints. It is the outer joints which I'm rebuilding at present.

I have a selection of greases in the garage including good old Copper grease, LM grease and this Moly Grease by Castrol. I fully expected to be able to find a datasheet on Castrol's website telling me exactly what the compound is and therefore whether it is vaguely equivalent to the MolyKote stuff above.

To put this in perspective, I'm only planning to run the car for about 6 months maximum as I am changing it before the end of the year. I'm due an MOT in a couple of weeks and just want to stop it clunking... I don't think the MOT tester would detect a duff CV joint anyway but it won't last 6 months as is and it's bugging me! It was actually caused by the rubber boot coming off which I only noticed when changing my brake pads but by that time the damage was done. I have an old joint which I took off the same side about 2 years ago which is perfectly okay as I only changed it to replace the ABS reluctor ring. I've since fixed the reluctor ring which had split. There is still grease in the original joint but I'd like to top it up a bit to replace that which was lost during the change. I'll then need to remove the reluctor ring from the duff joint and fit it to the other side because it has also broken... I hate MOT's - It's the only time I ever need to get my ABS working again as I just pull the fuse between times and do my own braking.

So what do you think I should do: Leave the joint with the grease it has already, top it up with Castrol Moly Grease or wait to get some CV grease next week?

Cheers,
Craig.



[Edited on 24/4/2004 by craig1410]

If you pop into your local motor factors they should have some of the sachets of the right grease that come with the joint repair kits. CAS in Hinckley had a box full and I bought 10 big sachets for a couple of quid.

I've checked in my garage now, and Castrol Moly grease is CV joint grease. I've used it in many cv joints with no problems - it is the one I put in the inner CV joint on my Rover Vitesse.

I would say use it (whilst accepting no responsibility!!).

Andy,
Well that's a relief as my car is now sitting outside fully assembled and packed with Castrol Moly Grease!! I've only just switched n my PC to check for responses to my query...

I also changed my springs all round today and have gone back to full height springs as the lowered springs are no good when running 5-Up with a boot full of luggage. Not enough ground clearance. I had fitted G-Max 40mm lowered springs along with my Koni shock absorbers and it was great for high speed cornering but in a family car it can be a pain. Do you know anyone looking for a set of Rover 800 G-Max springs? I also have a set of 5, 17" TSW Imola wheels with 215/45 17" tyres on them which are legal but with only about 2.5mm of tread. They need some tidying but nothing major.

Anyway, thanks for the advice and support. Hopefully my CV joint will last for a few months...
Cheers,
Craig.