• New Cars
    • First Impressions
    • Road Tests
  • Classics
    • Classic Profiles
    • Classic Driving Impressions
    • Classics Information
    • Events and Days Out
  • Motoring For Fun
  • News & Views
  • Bookshelf
  • Technical
    • Grumpy Old Mechanic
    • Kim’s Tips
  • Features
    • Visits
    • Track Days
  • Contributors
    • About our contributors
    • Kim Henson
    • Chris Adamson
    • Kieron Fennelly
    • Ant Henson
    • Rachel Henson
    • David Miles
    • Gerald Morgan
    • Dave Moss
    • Dave Randle
    • Robin Roberts
    • Tom Scanlan
    • Glen Smale
    • Jeremy Walton
    • Keith Ward
    • John Price Williams
  • More…
    • About Wheels Alive
    • Tips for using this website
    • Useful Links

Wheels Alive

Old cars, new cars, borrowed cars & blue cars. If it steers it's here!

Old cars, new cars, borrowed cars & blue cars. If it steers it's here!

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Grumpy Old Mechanic says… “Grease It!”

Author/Source: Kim Henson

23rd November 2016

gom-grease-it

He’s having a go again – this time about people who don’t grease their old cars…

Go on then, Grumpy Old Mechanic, what’s wrong now?

You would never believe the number of classic cars that I have seen lately that have obviously not seen a grease gun for many a long year.

Why is this important? Because in the good old days, manufacturers fitted grease nipples so that periodically fresh grease could be introduced to moving surfaces to minimise wear.

Direct metal to metal contact (for example between a king or swivel pin and the bushes in which the pin rotates) encourages friction which results in rapid wear, UNLESS lubricant in the form or grease (or, in some cases, a ‘heavy’ oil is specified) is introduced to separate the metal components and to help make the car’s controls (in this case the steering) feel lighter.

Lack of lubrication also means that it is easier for moisture and/or grit to enter and create havoc between the two moving surfaces. By contrast, frequent/regular attention with a greasegun helps to drive out contaminants and keep things moving sweetly…

Mileage/time intervals vary. In the 1920s many car handbooks advised owners to re-lubricate their car’s greasepoints every 250 miles or so.

Later recommendations quoted 500 or 1,000 miles as an optimum interval.

For most classics, I suggest replenishing the greasepoints AT LEAST every 1,000 miles or annually, whichever comes first. This will minimise wear caused by excessive friction, AND make the car feel better and easier to drive. Before applying the greasegun, remember to wipe clean each greasepoint and the greasegun’s nozzle, to prevent the introduction of dirt to the moving surfaces.

Yes, re-greasing a car takes time (maybe half an hour every 1,000 miles), but this diligence will be repaid many times over by the avoidance of the need to renew components that will be constantly protected by a film of fresh, clean, slippery grease!

If you are new to classics, and not sure where the greasepoints are on your car, join the relevant club(s) and talk to fellow owners, and/or check in the literature (handbook/workshop manual) relating to your vehicle; often a diagram is included, indicating where the various greasepoints are located.

It is worth adding that often the ‘sealed for life’ (i.e. non-greaseable) components fitted to most cars after about 1965 tend to fail far earlier than the older types, PROVIDED THAT in the latter cases frequent/regular attention with the greasegun is given.

Finally, write down the date and mileage when you carry out such lubrication attentions; in the future it will help you work out when re-lubrication is next due.

 

 

Save Post as PDF

Categories: Classics Information, Kim Henson, Kim's Tips, Technical

Tip: For improved search accuracy, enclose search terms for multiple words in quotation marks. For example:
"Land Rover".

Advertise with us

Recent Posts

Largest Custom and American Show yet at Beaulieu

Explore exciting senses at the British Motor Museum this summer…

The Motor Ombudsman is awarded the 2025 TyreSafe Online and Social Media trophy for its ‘Make Time for Tyres’ campaigm

Standards Galore… at the Standard Motor Club’s 2025 International Rally at Daventry

Travelling in Europe by car is unfamiliar for more than half of British motorists, according to a Motor Ombudsman poll

Toyota Corolla Excel 2.0 Hatchback – Road Test

Toyota C-HR 1.8 Design – Brief Impressions

OMODA 9 Launch (and First Impressions) at The House of OMODA

Contributors

contributors

Our well-respected contributors live and breathe motor cars; aren’t we lucky?

Contributors to the site include talented, highly-respected people (so they tell me) on the hallowed membership list of the Guild of Motoring Writers, and from the similarly well thought-of Western Group of Motoring Writers. In addition there are valued contributions from other knowledgeable and capable motoring writers who have something useful to say about all aspects of driving and running vehicles in the 21st Century. All of our team are passionate about motor cars!


Read about our contributors  ››

Tags

Seven seater SUV crossover all-electric Coupé City car Electric 4x4 road test Estate car British Motor Museum plug-in hybrid saloon Suzuki First Impressions luxury SUV National Motor Museum The Motor Ombudsman Hybrid PHEV MPV SUV Kia hatchback Tyres large SUV EV Beaulieu five door hatchback estate Compact SUV

All Tags ››

Like us on Facebook

Like us on Facebook

Wheels Alive Social

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Please share our website

Contact us

We welcome your questions, comments and feedback. Please click here to contact us.

Advertising Opportunities

Please contact us if you would like to discuss advertising opportunities on Wheels Alive.

Copyright © 2025 Kim Henson, Wheels Alive