Lefty Loosey, Righty Tighty

Gonkulor

It occurs to me a basic mechanical thread might be of help for new members to review for some basic information.

This thread could be a point of basic knowledge for troubleshooting skills and maybe a way to get to the next step of understanding of mechanical knowledge. I could be wrong and this thread will spiral into a joke. I'm hoping not.

As the thread title states. Loosey vs. Tighty is an old saying based off of the direction a nut, bolt, pipe, etc is turned based off of a clock position starting at the 12 o'clock position.

What other definitions should be defined can be up to us in this community.

A basic definition of electrical and pressure as needed for cart maintenance would be a good start.

I would please ask we police this thread and not make a joke of it if as it could really be a good resource. If this thread turns into an 80 post nag or ridicule thread it won't help new members.

Anyhow. I won't comment any further on replies, unless I object, because it would only water down the posts. This is just a thought I had for a long time. *salute.

BGW

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Gonkulor

Lubrication is always a concern.

For your wheel bearings, a local auto parts store sells wheel bearing grease. There are a multitude of manufacturers what all sell the same stuff. Don't get confused by different colors, it's only dye. It's all the same, unless you spend some really big dollars and want an all synthetic base lubricant. If it is synthetic you will see that on the label. Synthetic is overpriced and not needed for a 12 mph golf cart.

Differential fluid recommended by the manufacturer can be either a 30wt or a 80-90wt. The number labeled on the package refers to the substances viscosity.

Viscosity is a measurement of a fluids resistance to flow. Thus a higher number means it is thicker.

A thicker fluid will reduce noise but also make objects stick together and cause more resistance because of its nature to cling to objects. Follow your MFG recommendations.

For your rod ends and general purpose joints with a zerk fitting on them molybdenum disulfide grease is the best we have these days. The only trouble with adding a known grease into a fitting is knowing what type of grease was used last. It is not recommended to mix greases because they don't work well with each other and because one type of grease might not mix the original and cause the lubricant to break down. The best procedure when adding a new grease to an unknown object is to grease the heck out of it till the old grease stops flowing out of all the orifices of the object you are greasing.


Lubrication services should be done on your cart yearly. Whether you check a fluid level or just add some grease. Proper car of your cart will go a long ways towards extending the life of your carts life.

pachanga90

Just to add.Synthetics are a definite advantage in some cases.I would highly recommend them in Cart-Engines,especially if you have one that is Splash-Lube(Yamaha).The additional protection has been proven from many years with Go-Karts and Junior-Dragsters(I raced Karts in the early 80s',when Synthetics were new,and we saw immediate differences in performance and longevity).Golf-Carts were not designed to run like most of us run them,Long rides at higher RPM.The Synthetics make up for this.For Greases,There are Moly-Based,Lithium-Based,etc...If you do alot of Off-Roading,especially alot of water-crossing,creeks,etc...Use a Marine Grease,its' much better suited for this,It works,I run it.If you change over to Synthetics in your Rear-Axle,you can use the same Viscosity,or drop down by one grade,due to the added protection that you gain from the properties of synthetics,and the improved flow.I don't agree with Synthetics in normal use applications such as Cars,Lawn-Mowers,etc..I think that they are just over-selling them to make more profits.Synthetics are for High-Performance,High-Stress applications,Mom driving a Mini-Van to the store,and getting oil-changes every 3000 miles is a waste of money.They have their place,and a Cart is an excellent application.As Gonkulor pointed out,Mixing Greases and other Lubes doesn't work.greases must be purged completely.Oils must be drained completely(even jack the cart up so the drain is the lowest point and let it drip for awhile.)Great Post Idea.Hope my info helps.

scottyb

Battery cable nut torque specs from Trojan battery are 50-70 inch pounds. This is not a lot of pressure, equivalent to 4-6 foot pounds. A foot pound is one pound of pressure applied to the end of a one foot long wrench. You can easily apply this much pressure with one hand.
Over tightening battery post nuts will pull the steel studs up out of their lead bases weakening the connection, leading to a poor connection/ high resistance, heat, and melted posts. Hope this helps

JohnnieB

RE: Battery stud terminal torque.

I use a screwdriver handle 1/4" drive, with a 1/4" to 3/8" drive adapter and 9/16" socket, so I don't absentmindedly over-tighten them.

Keep in mind, the studs were designed for wing-nuts.

simple man

I agree with you 100%, John! I've even seen wingnuts grossly over tightened, especially on automotive air filters. " Snug " is the key word! Lead is so soft it can be deformed very easily with a wingnut. And to make matters worse, I've seen people use pliers on them!!!

Gonkulor

Here is a link. This is the official gov't advisory on how to work on aircraft. These pages are what aircraft manufacturers base there maintenance manuals off of. I would suggest you save all pdf files to a single folder so you don't have to download each chapter every time. I had this book in a paper copy and it is as big as a phone book.

Granted some of the info is out dated for our workings. This is still a great way to introduce yourself or someone else into mechanical things.

And BTW it's from the Gov't so don't go cut/copy/paste into your own books without saying where it is from. The info is free but ya just never know.

And yes this is very rudimentary info. Still the basics are better than nothing.

Some other book links others could give would be good. McGraw Hill is a mainstay in educational study.

ab46501

When I first got my cart it seemed like I was always fighting corrosion on the battery terminals and the under seat in general. What I did was go to the local hardware store and get all stainless steel nuts and washers for the batteries, hold downs and FNR. The stainless fasteners and then applying some of the red protective battery terminal spray worked wonders. I have not had a problem since.

scottyb

Generally do not use wing nuts for battery cable connections.

79camaro

I thought of this thread tonight as I loosened the nuts on my tie rod. The drivers side has a reverse thread, so no lefty loosey... Just thought I'd throw this into the mix!