Oil? What to use on a heli and where?

[Robster4807]

I can't seem to find what oil heli guys are using on their main rotor shaft, swash plate, tail shaft and slider.

I am using high quality gun oil which I think is polymer/plastic safe. Just want to make sure if I am using the acceptable stuff. I haven't injected any of the stuff into the bearings yet though. Should I oil the ball connections too?

Thanks

[Russell Harding]

Triflow is popular. Just make sure it is heat tolerant and plastic safe.

Anything metal on metal gets oil. Metal to rubber (feathering shaft / dampeners) gets grease. Anything with plastic is generally ok dry.

Bearings are a point of discussion. I don't really every lube mine, but some people lube theirs.

Hope this helps.

[CrashAddict]

Lubing bearings is a pain. I just replace them. I tried that Triflow, it is ok stuff but I switched to Penn Reel Oil. Totally different (no Teflon) but it works very well on the tail and main shaft. Container it comes in doesn't leak, it is cheaper, and it is blue which is kind of cool.

[Tail boom]

Originally Posted by Code3Medic

Triflow is popular. Just make sure it is heat tolerant and plastic safe.

Anything metal on metal gets oil. Metal to rubber (feathering shaft / dampeners) gets grease. Anything with plastic is generally ok dry.

Bearings are a point of discussion. I don't really every lube mine, but some people lube theirs.

Hope this helps.

+1

Metal shafts on metal bushings gets TriFlow.

One-way bearing on metal shafts gets Mobile One Synthetic Grease (red).

Metal on rubber gets grease. Just make sure the grease is rubber safe. I have used o-ring grease from the RC Car department for years with great success on head dampeners: http://www.teamassociated.com/parts/details/1105/

Best,
Frank

[helifanatics]

For the main shaft & tail shaft. There is new lubricant called DRY FLUID. Heli Direct offers it.
For gears ...there is Dry Lube. I use it and its very nice. Before Dry Fluid I was using
scorpion motor bearing lube and it was getting gunky & sticky when it dries on my main and tail shafts. Also other lubricants with no luck.

DryFluid Extreme Heli - Gleiten statt Schmieren (1 min 49 sec)

Tutorial Dry Fluid Extreme Rc Cars - Teil 1 (4 min 7 sec)

...... No I don't work or buy their stocks. Just like to let others know about stuff that works!

Hope this helps and as always, best of luck!

[Ron_R]

Triflow can be used on metal to metal and metal to plastic.

Triflow is synthetic oil in a lithium binder to make it not as runny. The only type of "grease" to avoid anywhere near plastic is anything with mineral oil. Synthetic oil all the time and can be used anywhere.

[Ah Clem]

Lubing bearings is very easy with a needle oiler or an oiler with a tube on it.

It takes about a minute to lubricate them and they last for years.

[cgibson20]

Originally Posted by Robster4807

I can't seem to find what oil heli guys are using on their main rotor shaft, swash plate, tail shaft and slider.

Just use a little CA on the main rotor shaft, now 100% of my models are static models. Hey....no crashing means no parts needed, which translates to saving money in this hobby!

[Victor Kovalev]

I read somewhere that most bearings are packed with grease upon manufacturing and oiling them forces the grease out.

Had anyone taken apart a new bearing for whatever reason and discovered manufacturing lube?

[geomecc]

some bearings come dry and some pre lubed. i use the grease packer from heliproz with mobil 1 synthetic grease. i use triflo or tranny fluid on one way and sprag bearings. ball links i leave dry.silicone grease for dampers and the nitro smoke from my exhaust gets everything else.

[Ah Clem]

"I read somewhere that most bearings are packed with grease upon manufacturing and oiling them forces the grease out."

This is an old wive's tail that continues to propagate on the forums. You cannot tell what, if anything, is in a shielded bearing, unless you can actually see grease leaking out between the inner race and the shield. You cannot hurt one by lubricating it, but you can destroy one by running it dry.


"Had anyone taken apart a new bearing for whatever reason and discovered manufacturing lube?"

Sometimes they are dry. Sometimes there is a small amount of something resembling silicon grease. I was told by a bearing house this was to prevent rust during shipping and while on the shelf.

I had some bearings that were shielded on one side only (I purchased these for the old O.S. Wankel Rotary engine). These had a light trace of grease, but were not packed (they had to be lubricated before use-per the bearing supplier).

[Chicko]

Just started using dry lube on my tail shaft. Seems pretty good, has a nice film on the shaft after flight and not much dust. Will be trying on main shaft also.

It is an mtb bike chain lube (had some for the bike) it called Muc off dry lube.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/a...Q&gclsrc=aw.ds

[faisalmalik]

Hi
I would like to know if silicone oil is good for general metal to metal and metal to rubber lubrication. More so I am confused about the different types of grease that are mentioned by many members. Can we use lithium grease where required during assembly?

[faisalmalik]

Just ordered tri flow dry fluid extreme for heli on recommendation of one of the senior flier. I plan to use it on shafts and swash. For the gear and pinion I ve also procured the dry gear lube from tri flow

[faisalmalik]

Hi. The goblin manual mentions to use synthetic grease. Where as I had recently acquired lithium grease. Is there any remarkable difference between the two