Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

I just bought a new 2009 Ariens 20" 2-stage snow blower, model 920007.  It is the smallest 2-stage snow blower I could find and it is now discontinued.  Its gear case comes with Ariens L2 oil.  I've read there is a new Ariens L3 synthetic gear case oil that is superior.  It says to use Ariens grease, part number 00036800.  This is Sten Mix Hi-Temp grease.  Does anyone know if this grease is synthetic?  Is this the best grease to use?  It is a black grease that looks like lithium moly grease.  It does not look or feel like waxy red high temp grease.

I ordered Ariens grease, part number 00036800 (Stens Mix High Temp Grease) from an Ariens Master Service Dealer.  It will take 3 weeks to arrive.  I bought it because it is recommended by Ariens and I know different types of grease should not be mixed.  You are supposed to clean all previous traces of grease with solvent before installing a different type grease.  It cost $13.80 for 3 x 3 ounce tubes.  I would prefer it came in a regular size 14 ounce grease tube but it doesn't.  The dealer made fun of me for buying it and tried to convince me not to buy it, saying I am wasting money.  The dealer told me to go to any auto parts store and buy any Lithium grease.  I think it is supposed to be for high temp and/or high pressure.

Later I went to Pep Boys and opened up every type of their grease in regular size 14 ounce tubes and looked at it.  The grease that looks like what comes on the Ariens snow blower is Lithium Moly.  It is high pressure.  It also said it was high temp, 500 F.  I've read Stens Mix High Temp Grease is not made by Stens, they just repackage it with their name on it.  It appears to me it is Lithium Moly grease, which can be bought at any auto parts store for about $4 for a 14 ounce tube.

If I wasn't trying to match grease, I would think Lithium Marine grease would be the best choice.  I was surprised it said it is rated for 500 F, which is what high temp grease is rated at.  The Marine grease I looked at was blue and thick but very similar looking to regular yellow colored lithium grease.  Lithium Moly is different from these other types of Lithium grease.  It is black and not as sticky, an unusual consistency like it has graphite in it.

I looked at Mobile 1 synthetic grease and Castrol synthetic grease.  I'm not sold on synthetic grease!  Both of them were unlike the other gooey greases.  They are much drier like paste.  In both of them the grease was separating from the walls of the tube.  In other words, the grease seems to stick to itself but not to other things around it.  I did not see this in any of the other types of non-synthetic grease.  From reading online, I've read complaints of Mobile 1 synthetic grease hardening up and bleeding.  I wondered how can this be true since Mobile 1 has a reputation for making a high quality synthetic oil.  But after looking in the new tubes of synthetic grease and seeing that it was separating from the walls of the tube, I believe the online complaints about synthetic grease and am going to avoid it.  I'm using Mobile 1 0w-30 synthetic oil in my car.  I'll probably use that in the Ariens snow blower too.  But I am not going to use synthetic grease in any application.

The Ariens non-synthetic grease costs $1.53 an ounce versus about 28 cents an ounce for other types of non-synthetic lithium grease.  I highly doubt Ariens grease is worth 5.5 times as much.  I think it is just Lithium Moly grease repackaged.

Any product with a manufacturers brand name on it will be an instant gouge.   Go to a Toro dealership and buy a 3/8" nylock nut.   It will be over $5.00.  Same nut at a hardware store will be less than fifteen cents. 

Snowmann wrote:

Snowmann,

That's great information to know.  Thanks!  If the factory fill is Mobile Ronex MP, why doesn't Ariens just say that.  Instead, Ariens says to use Ariens grease, part number 00036800, which I believe is Sten Mix Hi-Temp grease.  I will try to locate a tube of Mobile Ronex MP and compare it to the factory fill to see if i'ts the same thing.  I've read Mobile Ronex MP is green.  The factory fill is black with a slight green tint to it and looks like and has the consistency of Lithium Moly.

I bought an 8 ounce bottle of L3 and will replace the L2 with L3.

The Ariens Grease (Part 00036800, which is Sten Mix Hi-Temp Grease) arrived after I special ordered it.  Even though the Ariens' Owner/Operator Manual says this is the grease to use, it does not match the factory fill.  You would expect it to match the factory fill, but it does not.  The factory fill is black/green and looks like it is lithium moly grease.  This grease Ariens said to use looks like any other red lithium hi-temp grease.  I doubt there is anything special about it.  It says it performs well under a temperature range from 0 to 500 F.  I think Mobile 1 synthetic grease is said to perform well at a much lower temperature.

Snowmann was correct, this grease that Ariens says to use is not the factory fill.  This is disappointing.  Unfortunately he hadn't replied until after I had placed my order for this grease that Ariens said to use.  I'm thinking it would be best to follow Snowmann's recommendations on grease, that there is nothing special about the grease Ariens says to use, that other types of grease might be better including marine grease.

I find these discussion about lubricants to be humourous.  

We talk about lubricants for snow throwers like we need the same lubricating parameters as the landing gear on the space shuttle.   Why people become so fixated on over-analyzing lubricants for a snow thrower is beyond me.   It's not at all hard.  On  most quality machines, you don't need to replace the gearbox lube if it's not leaking out.  So, that pretty much rules out 95% of the machines out there needing gear box lube.  If it does leak, there are plenty of suitable lubes out there and I'm sure there's one that will meet the requirements of every gearbox for a reasonable cost.  Axles, auger shafts and all other external/exposed lube requirements are easily met with any decent off the shelf Skidoo or marine grease.  

So why the necessity to use over priced OEM branded products?  Because they say so?   Which in turn causes the consumer to shell out multiples of money for a product not anywhere near the value of the price. 

Not this guy, nor anyone else who rolls up their sleeves once in a while and actually works on these things. 

I would not want a high temp grease on a snowblower, more a low temp grease, one that won't harden, one that is highly resistant to washing off from water.  I use Amsoil's synthetic grease, and they make one for water resistance used on boat trailer hubs.  I have always told my car dealer to never grease the door hinges.  They always use the Lithium Spray Grease, and all they do is cause the cars door jambs to be coated in this hard dirt encrusted crud that I have to clean out.  I use synthetic grease because it doesn't harden, and I shield the metal around the hinge pins that require the grease with paper towels befor I spray using the thin wand on the spray can that the dealer shop tech never uses.

Anyone come across this grease?

Green Grease

I saw it at Autozone, $7.99 for 3 3 oz tubes or $7.99 for 1 14oz tube.

Multi-purpose Synthetic Polymer Grease...Industry Proven for Over 25 Years

Waterproof Green Grease™ is a professional-grade high performance synthetic polymer grease developed for mining, manufacturing, marine and off-road. Re

Recommended for cars, trucks, boats, trailers, ATV's, motorcycles, mowers, farm equipment and implements - any application up to 500° F.

edge130 wrote:
Doesn't list snow blowers so, I guess you can't use it....

Sounds like it might be a good quality marine grease.  I'd use it without hesitation. 

If you're looking for a grease for the auger shafts, I think the only purpose of said grease is to (a) provide a bit of lubrication (b) stay in place (i.e. its sticky) (c) keep surfaces from rusting. I'm with Borat... we're not talking about lubricating the differential on an F1 car here. We're talking about machines with huge tolerances, low stress, and few running hours.

This is from Ariens in response to my question on this subject: Hi , Thank you for contacting the Ariens Company. Any lithium grease that resists water is good to use. Sorry the oil can is a little mis-leading, This is a carry over from older units. In these areas, you can use the same grease. On the hex shaft, use a very small film so it does not build up and get onto the drive plate or drive disc. The oil can symbol he is referring to is on the lube chart in my owners manual , along with the grease gun symbol. I have a 2011 Deluxe 30. The grease I told him I intended to use is Valvoline 615, General purpose lithium grease for GM, Chrysler,European and Japanese cars resists water wash out,NGLI 2, extreme pressure, -10 to 380 degrees. That is a lot lower temp than the Stens stuff which is more relevant that the higher top end for the Stens grease. It is not going into high pressure, high speed bearings so high temp limit means much less than how cold it can work. It is a regular 14.1 oz grease sleeve carried by all the big auto chains for around $4.59.