Cable Lube

Oh, I used to have this stuff when I had motorcycles, but it should come in handy for lawnmower cables, bikes, etc. Have never seen it locally -- mebbe in cycle shops, but haven't been in one in years. And guys that I know who cycle etc don't seem to know about this type of product.

The system with that injector clamp works REALLY well, you can get lubricant at the other end of a long cable in *seconds*, which makes an unbelievable difference in action.

I ride , and I lube my cables with plain old gear oil . Takes a little longer , lasts a LOT longer. That stuff that comes with the injector thingy eventually ends up making a stiff nasty mess of your cables . And the only way to loosen them up is to shoot more of the same crap into them .

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How does that work?

Do you slide the cable out of the housing or did you make an adapter to squirt the oil in, or something?

I've just been holding the end of the cable vertically. I use the Tri-Flow (leetle red tube) to dribble oil on to the cable and thus in to the housing. It works a treat!

--Winston

The key to this "pressurized" cable lube system is that adapter. It accepts the li'l red spray tube, you see on WD-40 et al, which are presumably standardized. If so, you could take a variety of lubricants, like mebbe the various LPS's, and squirt them in as well.

In principle, it dudn't matter how you do it, but this system is VERY fast, perty easy.

Are these red spray tubes standardized??

I disconnect the cable , dribble some oil in , then slide the cable in-n-out to "pump" the oil in . I average lubing them about once a year , and always lube them well before installing . My preference is synth gear lube , it seems to crawl into the cable a bit faster and seems "slicker" . On some cables I can build a tape cone to act as a reservoir for the lube . A little less mess and it goes a bit faster .

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I save nozzles and spray tubes after I empty a can of anything. The tubes appear to be standardized because I've been able to grab any random one out of my stash to replace one that has launched itself under the workbench.

I shall keep my eye on this thread to see if someone can recommend the Best Cable Lube adapter.

--Winston

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That is pretty much what I do. Thanks!

--Winston

I'm looking for products like these:

Iny idea of good products, good value, stuff to avoid, sources? I'll need that little "injector clamp", not just the spray can.

(...)

How does that work?

Do you slide the cable out of the housing or did you make an adapter to squirt the oil in, or something?

I've just been holding the end of the cable vertically. I use the Tri-Flow (leetle red tube) to dribble oil on to the cable and thus in to the housing. It works a treat!

--Winston

The clamps seal around the outer tube and the cable, so you can shoot the lube in without disassembly. I liked the grease, because it would still lube the cable in freezing weather, after rain. Oil can let water in, and it thickens in really cold weather. the white lithium grease stays about the same regardless of temperature.

Steve R.

I use Tri-Flo and the clamp. Karl

In addition to the release-the-higher-end and drip-in-some-lube I cut a piece of plastic bag, tie it around the cable to make a small funnel, tie it up so that it's held upright, then I fill the little funnel with some oil.

Dave

I just picked up a couple of the cable lube clamps from HF. Works as good as the one I picked up years ago from the local Honda shop.

One thing I usually do is check what the housing is lined with. Then I use a rechargeable spray canister to spray a cleaner down the line. Usually stoddard solvent or if the liner is an oddball I use diluted simple green. Just getting the old oil/dirt/grit out makes a difference.

For lube I use a graphite powder and alcohol blend.

I looked at Harbor Freight on line and couldn't find them. What term do you use to find this? I tried cable and clamp, but got lots of unrelated stuff. It could have been hidden in the 5th page of useless results but I didn't get that far.

RWL