When it comes to butter, many car owners will not find it unfamiliar. As an essential lubricant for vehicles, butter can reduce friction, wear and corrosion between mechanical components, ensure the quality and performance of parts, extend the service life of parts, and ensure driving safety.

Butter is called car lubricating grease because early car lubricating greases were mostly calcium based greases, which had a pale yellow appearance and looked a bit like pig's suede, so people called it butter. With the continuous development of vehicle technology, there are more and more types of lubricating grease, and the colors have evolved into blue, black, red, green, white, gray, and so on. However, the term "butter" has always been used.

What are the main types of automotive lubricants?

1. Calcium based lubricating grease

Calcium based grease is a lubricating grease variety that emerged in the 1930s. It is made from mineral lubricating oil with medium viscosity thickened with natural fatty acid calcium soap. It is relatively inexpensive and can be widely used in medium speed and medium load rolling/sliding bearings of small and medium-sized motors, water pumps, tractors, automobiles, metallurgy, textile machinery, etc.

The optimal working temperature for calcium based lubricating grease is -10 ℃~60 ℃, which has good water resistance but poor heat resistance. The calcium soap hydrates in it will hydrolyze at around 100 ℃, causing the lubricating grease to lose its consistency and lubrication effect. When calcium based grease is used on the wheel hub, it is prone to lubrication failure due to high temperature, leading to wheel end overheating and fire. Therefore, it has been basically phased out in heavy-duty transportation vehicles.

2. Universal lithium based grease

Lithium based grease is made from natural fatty acid lithium soap, thickened medium viscosity mineral lubricating oil or synthetic lubricating oil. General lithium based grease is one of the types of lithium based grease, and its price is generally moderate.

Universal lithium based grease has good water resistance, mechanical stability, rust resistance, and oxidation stability. It belongs to a multi-purpose, long-life, and wide temperature range of use, with a suitable temperature range of -20 ℃ to 120 ℃. It can meet the needs of most lubrication components on vehicles, such as saddles, universal joints, pressure bearings, etc. This type of grease is generally used for chassis lubrication.

3. Extreme pressure lithium based grease

Commonly known as "high-temperature butter", it has higher high-temperature resistance compared to general lithium based grease, with a maximum operating temperature of 160 ℃. It is suitable for lubrication of heavy loads, high temperatures, and extreme pressures in bearings, such as vehicle hubs, which are high-temperature and high-speed operating components, or other environments where the performance of general lithium based grease is slightly insufficient. Of course, the price is also relatively high.

In addition to the three common lubricating greases mentioned above, there are also several types of lubricating greases:

Molybdenum disulfide lithium based grease:

This type of grease appears in a gray or black gray paste shape, commonly suitable for temperature ranges of -20 ℃ to 120 ℃. It has good lubrication, mechanical safety, water resistance, and oxidation stability, and contains special extreme pressure additives. It can provide efficient lubrication protection for bearings and gears under heavy loads and impact loads. It is often used for lubrication of high temperature and heavy load mining machinery equipment.

Graphite grease:

It is made by using inorganic thickener to thicken ester synthetic oil, combined with ultra-fine graphite powder, antioxidant, anti-corrosion and other additives. It is suitable for a temperature range of -20 to 450 ℃, with a maximum intermittent temperature resistance of 500 ° C. However, due to the high friction coefficient of graphite grease, it is generally only suitable for lubrication, rust prevention, and anti-corrosion protection of low-speed, high temperature, and heavy-duty friction components, such as steel plate springs. After applying graphite lubricating grease to the contact surface of the leaf spring, the rough surface between the leaf springs can be filled, improving the pressure and impact resistance of the leaf spring, ensuring its uniform stress, and improving its service life.

How to choose the grade of automotive lubricating grease?

At present, most vehicles in our country use lithium based lubricants of 2 # and 3 #.

Among them, 2 # lubricating grease has a moderate viscosity and is easy to add. If the owner runs on standard loads for a long time and the transportation route is mostly plain, the vehicle's operating temperature will not be too high, and 2 # lithium based lubricating grease can be chosen;

If the car owner frequently runs in mountainous areas or other rough and uneven routes that require frequent braking, especially in southern mountainous areas, or frequently shuttles between the north and south, the vehicle's wheel end temperature is often high. It is recommended to choose 3 # lithium based grease for the Daro trailer axle.