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Hot take: stop using grease injectors on old Otis worm gears | Elevator Mechanics - Vivisector

Hot take: stop using grease injectors on old Otis worm gears

I kept having rail grabs on a 1965 Otis machine in a Chicago high rise. The old timers said use the injector for the worm gear but it just made a mess and the car kept hunting. After 4 service calls in 2 weeks I tried a different approach. I drained the oil and put in a non-EP 140 gear oil from the local supply house. No more grabbing and the ride is smooth now. Has anyone else found that modern EP gear oils mess with older worm gear drives?

3 comments

3 Comments

patricia325mo ago

Bought into the whole EP gear oil thing for years on my older machines but your post got me thinking. I had a 1970 Otis in a building downtown that was always jerky and hard on the brakes. After reading this I switched to a straight 140 non-EP and it's like a different elevator. The old timers really did know what they were talking about with this stuff.

lucast815mo ago

Patricia, I'm glad you saw the same thing I did. That 1970 Otis is a perfect example of a machine that was built when 140 weight was the standard, not the exception. I've got a 1968 Westinghouse in a factory building I look after, and it was the same story jerky starts, grabby brakes, and drive motors that sounded like they were working too hard. Switched to straight 140 non-EP about two years ago and it smoothed right out, even the rope wear went down noticeably. People don't realize those old EP additives can mess with the bronze bushings and the friction material in the brake linings. It's one of those things where the old timers had it figured out through years of trial and error, and the modern stuff just isn't always better for vintage gear.

wren2305mo ago

Oh man, this whole thread is bringing back memories of the first time I helped a buddy swap oil in an old freight elevator from the 50s (his building, not mine, I just brought the tools and the coffee). We were two years into using some modern synthetic blend and wondering why the damn thing sounded like it was full of angry bees. Switched to straight 140 and it was like someone finally told the motor what a vacation sounded like. It's funny how we all seem to learn the same lesson the hard way, just at different times. I wonder how many perfectly good old machines got scrapped because nobody thought to just change the oil back to what they were born to drink.