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Grease for assembling new pistons on to old rods/needle bearings..

B

bulletbob

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Replacing both pistons on a Johnson 30 hp.. Rods/bearings/ crank were all quiet, and nothing looks worn or burnt in any way. I will be reusing the rods and bearings on the new pistons.. Is there a good substitute for the OMC needle bearing grease?.. I have all kinds of grease here , I have seen some guys say vaseline is good,, not sure myself, so just making sure and asking what others use to assemble needle bearings into a piston. I don't mind buying the correct grease, but there's no where to get it around here I'm aware of, and would hate to wait another 2 weeks if I order it online..... bob
 
ok, thanks all. I have some good readily available options now. When this abortive "rebuild" attempt is done, I'll post about how it turned out... First time ever getting "crank deep" inside 2 stroke.. I will say that there is a LOT less to fear than I ever thought, and being inside a gazillion 4 stroke car/truck engines [I am a retired auto technician], I am surprised how simple the design is... Lot less crap to remove than most modern car engines. I might even buy the next non running "$50 special" OB that I see at a garage sale, without fearing it has a bad piston or something.. The main problem is scrounging up parts so far, not major, just time consuming as everything is done online these days. Ordering/shipping takes time... bob
 
bulletbob said:
........I might even buy the next non running "$50 special" OB that I see at a garage sale, without fearing it has a bad piston or something.. .........
Click to expand...
Oh boy, now you're going down a rabbit hole! You can sometimes find a real gem and you can also find a pile of scrap. There are plenty of situations where the internals are fine, it's just the owner can't (or won't) repair simple fuel or ignition problems so they just give up and sell the engine. The bad ones are when "a friend" tells the owner how to fix a bogging or overheating problem then ruin the engine. Or even worse, the shade tree that has no clue what he's doing and cobbles carbs, wiring, etc. Those basket cases are ones to avoid if you can.
 
Over the decades, I have gotten some really good deals on smaller OB's.. paid peanuts for a few that were low hour, and in great shape.. On the flip side, I have gotten screwed bad several times as well, mostly on mid HP engines 30-70 HP with compression low on say a middle cyl of 3.. Engine still ran ok, but had cyl issues.. Bought outboards that started and ran great upon inspection, but once underway on boat after installation, overheated instantly... For every honest seller, there are 3 that are desperate to rid themselves of a headache, and care nothing about the poor slob getting stuck with a worthless piece of junk... Human nature and all.. these days, I am more likely to take a chance on a$50=$100 used motor that hasn't been run in years, than one that was on a boat, but was pulled for a ""repower"".. There are a lot of unmentioned reasons for repowers.... bob
 
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