Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Vintage cars usually have no end of oil nipples spread around the chassis and suspension (e.g. the shackles) which traditionally required lubricating with an oil gun like the Lotus trunnions. My Bentley has at least 12 and oiling them is a very messy and laborious business. I've tried many different oil/grease guns including a Wanner and all of them have sooner or later leaked, and filling them with oil adds to the mess. The saying is that you should oil your chassis on the roadside or someone else's driveway.
So for similar reasons to those mentioned in this discussion, many people now use a liquidy grease. Two common ones are Castrol Spheerol (which I've used, though they have in the past made more than one version) and Penrite's Semi-Fluid grease.

JonB wrote:Grease it is, then.

Not very scientific, but enough to persuade me to stick with 140 oil, one of my pals has a Triumph Vitesse & always greases his trunnions, on average about twice a year. His mileage is somewhere around 3000 miles per annum, as that's his insurance limitation. Over the last ten years, he has fitted at least two new pairs of trunnions. I've always used oil, twice a year, once just before I put her away for winter, then again early June while preparing for MOT, & am still running the trunnions I fitted during restoration between 1987 & 1992. Mileage must be approaching 50,000 now.

Each to their own though

Regards, Tim

I've done 90,000 with EP90 since 1990 and only oil once a year as it's always on the road, even yesterday at -3 ?C. Not this weekend though as the engine is getting too stiff for the battery and the immoblise keeps resetting!.

Wilkins used grease on the basis that any ingress of water floats on top but with oil sinks to the bottom and rusts the steel. He used a pretty fluid grease which I believe was a Duckhams Lithium type.

Gentlemen an others,

For many years I have used a disposable syringe for oiling the trunnions.
I have used an angled oil screw with the sealing ball/spring removed .
With this pointing to the front it is a joy flushing the trunnions without oil splashing everywhere.
I have ofcourse bought a proper pump for this but I reverted to the syringe for better control and less mess.

Best regards c.garde