Henry Mendenhall wrote:
> But no one I've talked to seems to know what the
> problem with intermixing is. So how is this situation usually
> handled? Can I go ahead and start pumping in my lithium
> grease without worrying?
Problems with mixing different brands/types of grease are so rare, that
I wouldn't worry about it, at least for anything served by a zerk. The
problems that can occur are mostly those of large changes in
'viscosity', the mixture may become much thinner or much thicker than
either component alone.
The only place I would worry about it is front wheel bearings, where the
'body' of the grease is what holds it in the bearings. Here, it's good
practice to clean out all the old grease anyway, whenever you repack the
bearing. (Yes, I'm aware that very early TR2s had grease zerks for the
outer front wheel bearings. Even Triumph recognized that this was a bad
idea, the zerks were deleted around TS5200.)
> I'm more sure that mixing synthetic with non-synthetic brake
> fluid is a problem. Is there a good way to tell what's in the
> reservoir now?
Actually it's not a problem, but assuming you mean silicone vs
conventional fluid, look at the color of what's in the reservoir.
Silicone fluid is dyed purple, while conventional fluid has a very light
amber color. If you find anything else, especially a gray tinge, change
the fluid. Conventional fluid should be changed every few years when
used in a TR3 anyway, as it will absorb moisture from the air and
deteriorate.
> I also don't know if the previous owner installed a new head
> designed to run with unleaded gas. Assuming that there's
> no easy way to tell if this was done, is it safe to play it
> safe by using a lead substitute in the gas? In other words,
> can I damage an unleaded gas head by using lead substitute?
It won't hurt to use a lead substitute with an 'unleaded' head, except
maybe in your wallet.
IMO the right way to solve this one is to simply use the available gas
(premium please). Chances are very good that, even if the head has not
been 'converted', you will never have a problem with valve seat
recession. If you ever do, take the money you saved by not adding lead
substitute to every tank of gas, and have the conversion done.
Randall
59 TR3A daily driver
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