Tried a thinner guide rail oil on a stuck MRL governor and it locked up worse than ever

Everyone says to use lightweight oil to break free seized parts, but I put Mobil 1 on an Otis Gen2 governor rope sheave last Thursday and it gummed up the brake pads so bad the car wouldn't move for 45 minutes. Had to pull the whole assembly and scrub it down with brake cleaner. Has anyone else had that happen with synthetics on safety components?

2 comments

2 Comments

angela_dixon4d ago

Wait, aren't you supposed to use high temp brake grease on governor parts, not motor oil? Mobil 1's got additives that'll turn into sticky goo when they hit hot brake dust, that's why it locked up on you.

-1

ivan824d ago

Gotta ask though - did you actually try flushing the governor bore with brake cleaner before you put the new parts in? Because if that old grease baked onto the bore walls, even proper high temp stuff won't seat right and you'll still get that binding issue. I've seen guys skip that step and blame the lube every time.