Corn Head Grease Not Advised

Premise: ANY lube is better than NO lube.

I've never been a fan of corn head grease for steering boxes of vintage Fords, prefering proper resealing and/or rebuilding and refilling with 90/140 or (preferably) CNH pourable high EP oil.

That said, I tried the cornhead shortcut about 5 years ago when I bought a very low hour 52 8N exhibiting steering box left turn lock up upon pre-purchase inspection.

After getting the 52 home, I pumped the dry steering gear box full of 90/140 using a marine lower unit pump and it immediately freed-up. Unfortunately, the OEM leather seals were long since dried out and worn out and would not hold the 90/140 in the gearbox.

Since the tractor was intended for light "quad" (carry all) duty and scheduled for proper restoration in the futhre, I decided to wait until the 90/140 stopped dripping from the sector shaft seals before commencing a corn head "experiment."

Once the 90/140 nearly stopped dripping from the sector shaft seals, I removed the (52 only) steering column air bleed screw and pumped the steering gear box full of JD corn head grease until it was forced out of the air bleed screw hole.

At the time, I thought that the corn head grease was far too thick for a steering gear box but, perhaps, the remainder of the 90/140 might flow into the voids to properly lubricate areas where the corn head grease was displaced.

Fast forward about three years.

About 3 or 4 weeks ago the 52 steering box started showing signs of inadequate lubrication when I used the tractor during cold weather. (I have used the tractor much more this winter than in the past several winters, and this winter has been colder than the past 2 or 3.)

After making a mental note, but before returning to the shop, the steering box exhibited the classic "no left turn" symptom of inadequate lubrication. I was able to force the tractor back into the barn by continually circling to the right and ultimately using the turning brakes to slide the front wheels into the stall.

I removed the 5' cutter from the 51, the carry all from the 52, and swapped the carry all to the 51 in order to be able to continue to do "quad" work.

Today, I was finally able to take a closer look at the 52.

Initially, I lifted the front end of the 52 and attempted to free up the steering by repetitive back and forth movement of the front spindles using both the steering wheels and the front wheels. No go.

It is January and my CNH pourable high EP oil is cold and not easily pumped using a marine lower unit pump so I decided to force more corn head grease into the gearbox using my grease gun that still had about 1/2 tube of corn head grease from the initial filling about 3 years ago.

Again, I removed the air bleed plug, and started pumping corn head grease into the gear box, turning the steering wheel to the right and back to the left lock-up after every 10 strokes or so. The front tires were elevated above ground.

After several attempts to free the gear box, I was resigned to remove and overhaul the (1100 Hr) gear box when the floating oil from the corn head grease and/or remaining 90/140 began to flow from the air bleed hole. Upon seeing this, I replaced the air bleed screw, removed the zerk bolt adapter, replaced the proper bolt and put away my tools and supplies.

Before lowering the front end, I once again cycled the steering right to left and all was free.

Bottom line: Corn head grease is much too thick for steering gear boxes and will not reflow into voids created by motion displacement when ambient temperature is low.

Yes, ANY lube is better than NO lube and you will likely get away with corn head grease in your steering gear box if you use your tractor only (mostly) in warm ambient when it will reflow or if your gear box is badly worn (not 1100 hrs) and not prone to lock-up.

Recommendation: Do not use corn head grease in steering boxes of vintage Ford tractors. Rather, use CNH pourable, high EP oil. This oil is MUCH thicker than 90W (though much less thick than corn head grease). It can be pumped into the gear boxes of vintage Ford tractors using a marine lower unit pump. Caveat: Pick a 90+ degree day. Do not try to do this in the winter.

Dean

I put STP oil treatment in be fore the coulom goes on then over fill to be sure top brg of box is bathed in oil,I do not rush it I let it soak good so it can get in the ball brgs brgs
then put the coulom on then finsh and top off.So far so good Jubee holding up ok
George so Tx

You may be right, I do really respect your opinions, but I live in a cold climate (Wis) and corn head grease works well for me. I think part of the problem might be the condition of the box or existing grease before you add it. You cant make a silk purse out of a sows ear! Old habits are hard to change and I see you recommend CNH about as much as Old recommends Oreillys1 Im willing to bet that there are more satisfied people using corn head grease because it doesnt run out of the seals than the alternatives. Id be willing to bet that if you start out with a clean box in good repair corn head grease would work as well or better than lighter lubricants.

"Id be willing to bet that if you start out with a clean box in good repair corn head grease would work as well or better than lighter lubricants."

Agreed, in most conditions.

Not true in cold ambient.

Dean

I have to disagree with your logic. Steering box left turn lockup is NOT caused by lack of lubrication. It's caused by a failed or failing bearing that is failing from lack of lubrication. Adding lubrication after those problems appear is simply a short term bandaid. The damage has been done. A new dose of lube won't rebuild or repair a pitted, rust damaged bearing. It might let it rotate a couple more years before it falls apart completely, but once damaged it will always be damaged. I agree completely that a non-flowable grease should not be used in a steering box. It needs to be flowable at all temperatures, and 90-140 EP gear lube is preferable to most others. I've disassembled several steering boxes that had rust damage inside because thick grease had been pumped in and it formed pockets that got no lube and held moisture in. Replace that top bearing with a new one, add a flowable lube until full, and you'll never have a problem again in your lifetime. You can keep adding lube to that rust damaged upper bearing, but it's just a matter of time before it fails.

Agreed.

That said, the bottom line remains the same: Corn head grease is NOT an acceptable lubrication for steering gear boxes, vintage Ford or otherwise.

Corn head grease is intended for gear boxes that operate in conditions that generate sufficient heat to allow the grease to flow into all cavaties. Steering gear boxes are not such devices.

Dean

I don't think ANY grease or oil is gonna flow UPHILL into the upper worm bearing, cold outside, or not, without the steering gear being massively overfull (as it COULD be with cornhead grease}.

I agree with JS, your upper bearing was "toast"/rusted/worn out before you ever put the cornhead grease in there!

Since the local JD dealership closed years ago, except for online, I haven't had a quick source for cornhead grease.
The CNH pourable grease is good stuff, but expensive.
My tractors get prettied once, then just workers.
In this situation, I've had good luck with gear-oil, grease mixed.
I don't bother premixing, just pump in some grease, squeeze in some oil, alternating every few pumps til it is full.
steering boxes, pedestals, off brand front steering setups.
basic maintenance, sometimes I'll pump grease in, sometimes oil,
trying to keep it slurry.
I do get some seepage on old boxes, but slowly.
taking covers off that have them for a look shows grease 'mud'
that is on all moving parts.

agree with Deans position that old grease and cold temps turn grease into some very tough stuff. Recently going thru the front
spindles on a AC NF. wheels were VERY hard to turn/roll, very hard to get the hubs off, and the grease was so hard it took chiseling to get the old grease off.
hours to clean up, after soaking the bearings in solvent overnight, they were ok

Agreed.

That's why I filled to the air bleed screw and poured a bit of 90 weight down the steering tube after removing the steering wheel.

The bottom line remains valid.

Dean

Corn head grease is also available at Massey Ferguson/AGCO dealers, and, perhaps others.

Dean

(quoted from post at 09:02:14 01/02/14) Since the local JD dealership closed years ago, except for online, I haven't had a quick source for cornhead grease.
The CNH pourable grease is good stuff, but expensive.

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NLGI 000 "pourable" EP grease is available from many different manufacturers and is commonly used in machinery gearboxes that are no longer capable of holding 90 or 140 grade oil without leakage. It is also used as a track roller lubricant and can be found at most heavy equipment supply houses or dealers. Usually only available in 5g pails or larger pails and you can expect to pay something close to $90 for a 5g pail. If you visist a heavy equipment or truck dealer you might be able to talk them into pumping a gallon or so from their repair shop supply into a container for you...

TOH

(quoted from post at 14:02:14 01/02/14)....I've had good luck with gear-oil, grease mixed.
I don't bother premixing, just pump in some grease, squeeze in some oil, alternating every few pumps til it is full.....

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Just to elaborate on this statement. Making a homebrew concoction of grease and 90 weight oil can be done successfully (I have done it myself even). However it can also be a disaster. The key is making sure the grease base that you use is compatible with oil.

Polyurea based grease should not be mixed with oil as they are incompatible (JD cornhead grease is Polyurea based).

I usually use a cheap #2 or sometimes even a better #2 rated for wheel bearings for my homebrew grease and oil concoctions. Has worked well for me anyways. The better #2 suitable for wheel bearings do often have EP additives.

ford seemed to think it was adequate.

IN oct 62 ( i believe) they released a service bulletin advising use of 0 grease inthe boxes. I have a pdf of the service bulletin somewhere and can post it if requested.

With JD dealers here in fl not selling by the tube, and case only.. I usually opt for 00 EP grease from a stens dealer or snapper dealer. I've experienced no problems using that ( so far ).

we used to use a mixture of 50/50 STP and sae 50 motor oil well mixed in manual steering gearboxes. It works in all types of weather.

I believe that you will find that what Ford/CNH subsequently recommended was not corn head grease but rather a flowable high EP oil much more similar to CNH high EP oil than corn head grease.

Dean

I'll get a scan of the document and post it monday when I'm at work and have access to my scanner. I'm all but certain it specificaly states 'grade 0 grease'

Cornhead grease is a polyurea based NLGI EP 0# grease.

It looks like that is what they were specifying?

As I said.. with JD dealers in my area not selling it by the tube.. I have had to buy 32oz squeeze jugs of the 00EP grease from snapper and stens dealers. I find it only costs 7$ for 32oz squeeze tube.. so it's actually cheaper than buying corn head grease for me anyway.

I'll post that bulletin up when I get to work, assuming the board lets you post a pdf file. if it won't i'll see if I can save it as a JPG and then post it up. It mentions 01 series machines.. however the fundamental mechanics of the ball nut assembly and sector gear setup is essentially unchanged from 8n thru the 3 cyl machines with dual sectors on manual boxes anyway.

Dean,
What is a marine lower unit pump? Sounds boat related, and useful.

Garry