GENERAL INFORMATION
®
®
\
l ' Rounded
edge.
iJ:
F
Sh
...
_.
'-'
-~
o;
........
f
"Not
-
--
~-
..
--
--.---.~
...
-
•
----
...
_-_
..
, -
...
----,-"'
-"--"'-
.
~
,
""'Ho,l5t
.=
-,
-
--
--
-'-
~
.
, .
9
Generally. a
ll li
quid lubricants are ca
ll
ed '·oil."
They
ma
y be mineral-
ba
sed
(i
ncluding petroleum
bases), natural based
(vegetable and animal bases).
sy
nth
etic-based
or
emulsions (milttures).
··
Grease"
is an oil
to
which a
th
ickening
ba
se
ha
s been added
so that the e
nd
product is semi-solid. Grease is of-
ten classified by
th
e type
of
th
ickencr addcd:
lithium soap is commonly uscd.
Engine O
il
Oil
for motorcycle and automotive en
gi
nes
is
class
ifi
ed
by
the American P
et
roleum Inst
it
ut
e
(API)
and the Society
of
Automotive Engineers
(SAE)
in
several catego
rie
s.
Oil containers
di
splay
these classifications on the top
of
the can or on the
bollie label (Figure
16
).
AP
I o
il
classification
is
i
nd
icated
by
letters:
oi
ls
for gasoline engines are identified by
an
··S:· The
engines covered
in
t
hi
s manual require
SE
or SF
c1assi
fi
cd
oi
l.
Viscosity
is
an
indication
of
the
oi
l's thicknes
s.
Th
e SAE uses numbers
to
indicate viscosi
ty;
th
in
oils
ha
ve
lo
w numbers while
thi
ck
o
il
s
ha
ve
hi
gh
numbers.
A ··W'· after the num
be
r indicates that the
viscosity test
in
g was done
at
low temperature
to
si
mulate cold-wea
th
er operation. Engine oils
fall
into the
SW-30
and
20W-SO
range.
M
ul
ti-grade oils (forexamp[e I
OW-40)
maintain
the same viscosity at low temperatures
and at high
temperatures. T
hi
s allows the oil to perfonn effi-
cie
ntl
y across a w
id
e range
of
engine operating
condition
s.
Th
e lower
th
e number, the
be
tt
er
Ihe
engine will Slllrt
in
cold climate
s.
Hi
gher numbers
arc
usually recommended for engines running
in
hot weather
co
nditions .
Grease
Greases are graded
by
th
e National Lubricating
Grease Institute (NLGI). Grcases are graded
by
number according to the
co
nsisten
cy
of the grease:
these range
fr
om No. 000
to
No
.6.
with
No.6
being
th
e m
os
t solid. A typical multipurpose
greasc is NLGI N
o.2.
For spec
ifi
c applications.
equipment manufacturers
ma
y require grease with
an
additive such as molybdenum di sulfide
(MOS2).
To Next Page
Loading...
Need help?
General
