Why not graphite lubricants for cars?

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tangent1.57@gmail.com - 20 Jan 2008 00:34 GMT

Title says it all - why not?

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larry moe 'n curly - 20 Jan 2008 03:58 GMT

tangent1...@gmail.com wrote:

> Title says it all - why not?

The only such product I've seen is this:

www.crcindustries.com/auto/content/prod_detail.aspx?PN=SL3141&S=N

Maybe www.BobIsTheOilGuy.com has the answer.

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HLS - 20 Jan 2008 15:01 GMT

> Title says it all - why not?

Lubricants for what?
There used to be a graphite bearing motor oil. Made by Arco, I think.
For door locks, graphite lubricants are commonly used. They dont attract
dust, etc.
Some bearing greases, I believe, also have graphite as a component, or at
least
used to do so.

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clifto - 20 Jan 2008 18:19 GMT

> <tangent1.57@gmail.com> wrote...
>> Title says it all - why not?
>
> There used to be a graphite bearing motor oil. Made by Arco, I think.

Yes. IIRC the graphite gummed up oil filters and caused engine failures.

Signature

If John McCain gets the 2008 Republican Presidential nomination,
my vote for President will be a write-in for Jiang Zemin.

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HLS - 21 Jan 2008 00:08 GMT

>> <tangent1.57@gmail.com> wrote...
>>> Title says it all - why not?
>>
>> There used to be a graphite bearing motor oil. Made by Arco, I think.
>
> Yes. IIRC the graphite gummed up oil filters and caused engine failures.

Apparently the micronized graphite really never gummed up any filters nor
caused
any failures, as far as I can research.

But you are right about McCain. His amnesty plan sucks on an elefantine
level.

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clifto - 21 Jan 2008 04:59 GMT

>>> <tangent1.57@gmail.com> wrote...
>>>> Title says it all - why not?
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> caused
> any failures, as far as I can research.

I remember a lot of very vivid debate wherever I was hanging out at the time,
either here or in an echo somewhere.

> But you are right about McCain. His amnesty plan sucks on an elefantine
> level.

I want to note that I've been using this .sig on and off for almost two
full years now.

Signature

If John McCain gets the 2008 Republican Presidential nomination,
my vote for President will be a write-in for Jiang Zemin.

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HLS - 21 Jan 2008 13:50 GMT

> I want to note that I've been using this .sig on and off for almost two
> full years now.

I respected him at one time. He seemed to be a person who was not prone to
political
correctness. Now, he has either exposed his true side, or he has changed
from the old
McCain. We dont need another warhawking, smooth talking, excuse for a
leader.

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clifto - 21 Jan 2008 23:17 GMT

>> I want to note that I've been using this .sig on and off for almost two
>> full years now.
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> McCain. We dont need another warhawking, smooth talking, excuse for a
> leader.

He's a good guy. I respect him as a person. I also respect Jeff Foxworthy
as a person, but I don't want him for President either. I have no idea
whether Jeff would make a good one; I'm certain John wouldn't.

Signature

If John McCain gets the 2008 Republican Presidential nomination,
my vote for President will be a write-in for Jiang Zemin.

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cuhulin@webtv.net - 21 Jan 2008 23:46 GMT

Graphite won't work for Ford Model T engines, it will short out the
magneto.The magnetos are built in with the engine/transmission assembly.
Didn't John McCain crash five U.S.Navy Jets?
cuhulin

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Don Stauffer in Minnesota - 20 Jan 2008 16:53 GMT

On Jan 19, 6:34 pm, tangent1...@gmail.com wrote:

> Title says it all - why not?

Why? Petroleum oils lubricate and cool the engine just fine.

Remember that the oil cools bearings as well as making them slippery.
So pure graphite would not work anyway- you'd have to disperse it in a
liquid.

Oil makes it slippery enough. Of all the losses that hurt the
efficiency of the IC engine, friction is actually pretty far down the
list once you are at a reasonable power level.

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Rodan - 21 Jan 2008 01:31 GMT

tangent1...@gmail.com wrote:

Why not use graphite lubricants for cars?
_________________________________________

Don Stauffer wrote:

Because petroleum oils lubricate and cool the engine just fine.
The oil cools bearings as well as making them slippery. Pure
graphite would not work anyway- you'd have to disperse it in
a liquid.
__________________________________________________

In an early space program of the 1960s, graphite powder was
tried as a lubricant for actuator assembly bearings. The idea
was to have a lubricant with no liquids which might migrate to
contaminate other devices. In outer space, lubricant quality
vanished and the bearings froze up.

The failure analysis concluded that the lubricating quality of
graphite exists only when molecules of water vapor drawn
from the atmosphere are attached to the graphite. When the
water evaporated in space, the graphite became almost as
abrasive as diamond dust.

I still use graphite lube for keyslots, but I hesitate to use any
graphite lubes for hard duty. Also, graphite dust is blacker and
harder to wash out of your skin than oil residue after doing
mechanical work. Also, graphite is electrically conductive, and
it could cause trouble if it gets spread around the ignition parts.

Rodan.

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