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Don't use this to lube your VPI Classic bearing

I recently lubricated the bearing on my Classic using white lithium grease purchased from ACE Hardware. The brand is AGS; it came in a white 1.25 oz tube. After about a week, I heard a whooshing sound coming from (under) the platter at each spin. I removed the platter and the sight was not pretty - some of the grease turned into a gooey brown substance and pooled at the bottom of the shaft; there were some chunks of the grease inside the hollow. I didn't use that much of it and it looked worse than after a full year of use with the original job performed by VPI.

I cleaned it all out, and the whooshing sound went away. So if your Classic is due for maintenance, stay away from this particular product.

Does any Classic owner have a brand/product they can recommend for lubricating the bearing? Considering that you only need a little bit of it about once a year, $26 for the lube from VPI is a bit steep.
actusreus

Showing 2 responses by dougdeacon

dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
"Since you only need a little bit of it about once a year, $26 for the lube from VPI"... is trivial compared with the risk of ruining the bearing.

It appears that your cheap gene overruled your common sense gene. Did you make any effort to ascertain whether this white grease was functionally equivalent to the OEM lubricant?

Every mechanical system is designed to be run with a lubricant having specific properties. Read your car's owner's manual. There's one spec for motor oil, another for brake fluid, a third for axle grease. Would you use axle grease as brake fluid or lube the ball joints with motor oil? (Hint: if you don't know, pay the mechanic.)

Some TT manufacturers (Teres, for example) make it easy for owners to relube the bearing by providing complete instructions and a spec for the appropriate lubricant. Others (VPI for example) do not. If you don't have the necessary information, stick to the OEM product. If you don't know enough to even ask the right questions, pay someone who does.

/harrumph! ;-)
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Actusreus,

Sorry if my response seemed off target, but like VPI's manual your OP was also incomplete.

You didn't state that you'd consulted the manual, had any familiarity with VPI's instructions or had doubts about their completeness. To an objective reader, your OP described only a DIY effort made without taking any guidance.

When writing it's easy to overlook key information because we know it, forgetting that readers do not. I see it every day in my work (legal contracts) and make a decent living inserting provisions that very smart people "knew" they should include, but somehow failed to.

Glad you're getting some useful feedback!
Doug
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