What don't you like about aluminum based greases?
Bosch Gen4 Seal Service & Grease up
- Thread starter RustyMTB
- Start date
What don't you like about aluminum based greases?
Lithovatis
Member
Thnx for the reply Stihldog!!!
Will get a circlip plier to the sacrificial grinder and try to workout the tip to maybe get it flat???
Unfortunately, there is conflicting information for this out there, some manufacturers say it can and some say it can't. I have seen boat trailers where marine grease has been pumped into the hub bearings and the original lithium grease has run out as oil, causing bearing failure in 3 or 4 months. Therefore, I tend to err on the side of caution.
I don't profess to be an expert on greases, but I do know that mixing them, or using the wrong type of grease for the wrong application, can be devastating.
Anyone just grabbing what they have on the shelf is a big no, no. The most common thing we see is high pressure grease or fancy ceramic or Teflon based greases used in clutch bearings! They obviously slip, but they slip under such extreme pressure that it damages the bearing races by polishing them! Some greases make the bearing slip and grip, which shatters the bearing...
You can see where I am going with this, but what I am really saying is that if you want to use a different grease, do your research to ensure it's compatible with the part you want to grease and the other greases around it.
My primary concern was that there might have been a characteristic of aluminum thickeners that made them inherently unsuitable for specific applications. It's unlikely I'll ever rebuild a bike motor, but it's helpful to acquire knowledge, just in case. Thanks.
Hattori-Hanzo
Well-known member
I picked up some Motorex 2000 grease just to see what it's like.
Damn, this stuff is sticky! I've not used a grease like it, it has an almost silicone feel to it and is hard to wash off.
Anyone using it on these seals? I feel like it would do a good job
Damn, this stuff is sticky! I've not used a grease like it, it has an almost silicone feel to it and is hard to wash off.
Anyone using it on these seals? I feel like it would do a good job
Lithovatis
Member
Bearing man said is ideal!!!I picked up some Motorex 2000 grease just to see what it's like.
Damn, this stuff is sticky! I've not used a grease like it, it has an almost silicone feel to it and is hard to wash off.
Anyone using it on these seals? I feel like it would do a good job
To bad the store here in Greece sent me the wrong one yesterday
.
Hattori-Hanzo
Well-known member
Bearing man said is ideal!!!
To bad the store here in Greece sent me the wrong one yesterday
What did they send you? I noticed there is a bike specific one but the only difference I could see is it comes in a smaller pot, has a brush and costs more
I got it in a cartridge, I assume it's the same stuff unless anyone know different?
Exactly the same stuffWhat did they send you? I noticed there is a bike specific one but the only difference I could see is it comes in a smaller pot, has a brush and costs more
I got it in a cartridge, I assume it's the same stuff unless anyone know different?
No, we won't see one of these for a few months yet, but will post my thoughts when we see one.
Hattori-Hanzo
Well-known member
Lithovatis
Member
Bearing man said is ideal!!!
To bad the store here in Greece sent me the wrong one yesterday
They ship the FETT 176 all purpose grease.....
"We are sorry for the inconvenience but we have only the small container with the brush at the moment.... "
No thanx. They took it b....
Maybe the waterproof Belray I have is good for the seals but won't risk it.
Bearing Man said 2000 is good so I go for it.
I have 7 motors to look after and another 3 in 20 days........
Can't play with chances.
One motor is already to the service because of error
Error to DriveUnit Voltage transformer....
just wondering if Bosch might have changed the internals in any way on current Gen 4 motors.
I have had a replacement one fitted to my 2020 whyte e150 and have an eye on trying to make this one last a bit longer as I've had to pay nearly £800 to get it replaced.
I have had a replacement one fitted to my 2020 whyte e150 and have an eye on trying to make this one last a bit longer as I've had to pay nearly £800 to get it replaced.
With that new motor you’ll have a two year warranty. I’m into the first year of warranty on my replacement motor and IF it survives the next year to be out of warranty and still working I’ll take it out and send it off to be fully serviced. New bearings, better seals the lot.
A big IF mind you.
A big IF mind you.
- Thread starter
- #135
All I would add is my original motor is abused summer & winter in the UK, is approaching 5000 miles & came back from a service & upgrade at TEMC after 4k with not very much wrong with it at all. Either I'm very lucky or doing the clean & re grease regularly is a worthwhile exercise.
My motor/bike is treated in much the same way and ridden in the most atrocious conditions throughout the year. It gets washed off with a hosepipe then dried off with an old towel, I don’t fanny on. Also it’s transported on a bike carrier. My bike is a Whyte E150-RS 2020 and I still consider it to be new 
If you look at the snap in Stihldog’s post, on the tube of Bosch Grease it tells you what it is and quotes the grease specification.
If you look at page 2 of this thread I try to figure out what the specification codes mean. So you should be able to find greases in your country that suit from figuring out the codes and looking for similar spec greases.
Alternative Grease for servicing the CX seal.
But yes,obviously as Bearing Man says, if you can find some Motorex FETT 2000 or similar that looks much the same as the Bosch stuff. A tub of that should keep you going for many years.
cheers for that.
I ride mine in all conditions too and give it a hose off occasionally.
I didn't know about the seal thing until I read it this thread this morning, so shall be doing that regularly.
My crank developed some play and it got water in. This is the 3rd motor swap so keen to find a way of making it last longer!
circa 9000 miles on the bike.
I ride mine in all conditions too and give it a hose off occasionally.
I didn't know about the seal thing until I read it this thread this morning, so shall be doing that regularly.
My crank developed some play and it got water in. This is the 3rd motor swap so keen to find a way of making it last longer!
circa 9000 miles on the bike.
Yes, I am a prolific Bosch Gen4 abuser.
( I should be in jail).
In the past few years I’ve been using the Bosch bearing kit at least every year. Perhaps it has helped since I have less than 20K km on this motor.
A good skid plate, regular maintenance, sticky grease, soften broken cooling fins, proper cadence, no clunking and a bit of luck. My bike has been a submarine several times. (I won’t post pics of my wet underwear)
But it’s time for a rebuild. A complete strip-down of the Rail. I sensed, or heard, a slight noise from the motor. It’s time for some TLC.
Lithovatis
Member
Can I just ask, why don't you guys just use the Bosch grease?
- Thread starter
- #142
My experience is it does disperse relatively quickly, so I can see the desire to use something a bit more viscous but then again, it doesn't disappear. I suspect people think it's gone as soon as it stops being a bright green bead around the crank when it's probably still working. And in any event, I reckon 250ml would be a life times' supply.
Adyzakydany
Member
Great thread and great input from Rusty and Bearing man, so with the seal maintenance, should we also be packing grease behind the white plastic washer? Once the motor is out of warranty, would of course then look at a rebuild/upgrade.
tresorier21000
Member
Bonjour à tous
Je viens apporter ma modeste contribution sur la maintenance des axes de pédaliers Bosch GEN4.
Ca fait 4 ans que j'utilise le kit Bosch.
Quand je reçois mon vélo, c'est la première chose que je regarde. Et je peux dire que même sur un moteur neuf, il y a très peu de graisse. Alors soyez vigilant.
Concernant la graisse : comme je ne remplace pas les bagues en bon état à chaque visite (tous les 800km pour moi), j'ai recherché une graisse plus facile d'accès (difficile de trouver le tube de 20g bosch).
Et comme la graisse Bosch en tube de 20g coute 456€/kg, je trouve que c'est exagéré.
J'ai donc trouvé une graisse marine en tube de 400g ou en pot de 1 kg, 5kg, 25kg et même plus !.
Elle est verte comme la bosch, très collante, supporte la vapeur et ne se mélange pas à l'eau.
Elle convient parfaitement au moteur.
Son prix : de 10 à 15€/kg, selon le colisage. Je n'hésite pas à en mettre souvent.
Si vous voulez plus de détails, j'ai décris toutes ces infos dans cette page : VTT-12V - MAINTENANCE GEN4
Utilisez le traducteur google, comme je le fais pour lire ce super forum !
Je viens apporter ma modeste contribution sur la maintenance des axes de pédaliers Bosch GEN4.
Ca fait 4 ans que j'utilise le kit Bosch.
Quand je reçois mon vélo, c'est la première chose que je regarde. Et je peux dire que même sur un moteur neuf, il y a très peu de graisse. Alors soyez vigilant.
Concernant la graisse : comme je ne remplace pas les bagues en bon état à chaque visite (tous les 800km pour moi), j'ai recherché une graisse plus facile d'accès (difficile de trouver le tube de 20g bosch).
Et comme la graisse Bosch en tube de 20g coute 456€/kg, je trouve que c'est exagéré.
J'ai donc trouvé une graisse marine en tube de 400g ou en pot de 1 kg, 5kg, 25kg et même plus !.
Elle est verte comme la bosch, très collante, supporte la vapeur et ne se mélange pas à l'eau.
Elle convient parfaitement au moteur.
Son prix : de 10 à 15€/kg, selon le colisage. Je n'hésite pas à en mettre souvent.
Si vous voulez plus de détails, j'ai décris toutes ces infos dans cette page : VTT-12V - MAINTENANCE GEN4
Utilisez le traducteur google, comme je le fais pour lire ce super forum !
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I'm not sure if this is the best or worst thread on here 
Great info for sure, but really does make you think "hmmmmm really" in terms of the way these things are built, especially as Bosch are considered the BEST at reliability, not the worst.
Great info for sure, but really does make you think "hmmmmm really" in terms of the way these things are built, especially as Bosch are considered the BEST at reliability, not the worst.
tresorier21000
Member
Je ne sais pas si c'est par rapport à mon message.Je ne sais pas si c'est le meilleur ou le pire fil de discussion ici
C'est une excellente information, c'est sûr, mais cela vous fait vraiment penser « hmmmmm vraiment » en termes de la façon dont ces choses sont construites, d'autant plus que Bosch est considéré comme le MEILLEUR en matière de fiabilité, pas le pire.
Je n'ai jamais dit que Bosch était le pire.
Simplement que l'étanchéité était le point faible (comme tous les moteurs).
Et le seul moyen d'améliorer, c'est de toujours avoir de la graisse pour maintenir l'étanchéité.
Après de nombreuses recherches, j'ai trouvé une graisse bien moins chère que la graisse Bosch. Mais il y en a surement d'autres.
Personnellement, je ne vends rien : je suis un véttétiste depuis 25 ans et depuis 4 ans avec un moteur Bosch (Lapierre GLP2) et maintenant un moteur Bosch Race (GLP3). Je fais toute ma mécanique depuis longtemps.
C'était juste un partage d'expérience et d'informations.
- Thread starter
- #149
A thing that has stayed with me on this subject is @Bearing Man pointing out that the vast majority of the ebike market is commuter bikes that are used almost exclusively on tarmac in the dry. Therefore, the motors work exactly as designed I.e. there's no financial incentive for the manufacturers to spend dollar on building them to take what mountain bikers put them through.I'm not sure if this is the best or worst thread on here
Great info for sure, but really does make you think "hmmmmm really" in terms of the way these things are built, especially as Bosch are considered the BEST at reliability, not the worst.
It's a valid point, but doesn't help 'us' here as we're primarily MTBs i think.
I'm currently out of the Eeb game having sold my Rise when it needed a new motor, that was a painful £1200 loss in 13 months... I'm not sure i want to repeat the same mistakes so soon. But an eeb in my life is at times very useful, even if just as a tow-up truck at locations for racing DH. So i'm not sure i can remain out of the game forever.
But i really don't want to be stung again.
In it's defence, the motor wasn't the only reason i sold the Rise, part of it was the bloody rubbish linkage as well.
