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Type of Grease for Doug Bell Tailwheel Assembly

Leopold

Member
I seem to have no end of newbie questions, so thanks in advance.

Swapped out my Doug Bell Tailwheel assembly on an RV8 recently for a lot of metal wear that was on the previous one, and when I greased it up, I used red lithium grease (which is what I had on hand) for greasing the components, including that rectangular thingie with the spring in it, and the other moving parts in there.

Does anyone believe that a different grease would be more appropriate for the task, or does red grease seem fine?

It is working great, but since I'll be doing this every 25 hours or so, might as well use the right stuff.

Thanks once more...I continue to learn from the folks here, and to be grateful for the way everyone shares expertise so generously.

Seth
 
I have the standard Vans tail wheel stem with a Flyboys tailwheel. Flyboys recommended Aeroshell 6 but my A&P recommended Aeroshell 5 because the -6 is better for high altitudes. I?ve used both.
 
A good automotive grease (red if that is what you have) will work fine. There is nothing aviation specific about this application, just keep the tailwheel maintained in good condition and you will be good to go.
 
I used to use a moly bearing grease on my 4 Vans TW. Worked fine. Clean and reapply every 50 or so hours.

I have been using Krytox 205 on my 7 Bell fork. Redo it every annual after about 100+ hours. The Krytox is also great for the orings on the fuel caps. It is very slick and keeps the caps working freely annual to annual.

As Sam says, any good grease will work. Some just require a little more attention.
 
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