What is HATMO grease

[Geoff in the Gully]

Greetings oh wise ones,
I'm reassembling the front suspension in one of my R4s and, given the struggle I had getting some parts apart, I thought I'd do the right thing and put the right greases in the right places.

The workshop manuals helpfully give a list of greases for different parts but I've not been able to find out what modern / current equivalents are.

Does anyone know what 'HATMO' grease is? This is the one specified for the pins in the steering arms and upper and lower arm bearings. It sounds like a special kind of grease since it's listed separately. Or can we just shove any kind of grease in that particular usage?

Geoff

 

[jonigel]

Hello
You should not have to grease anything on a R4 as everything is sealed for life,the only time we ever use grease is if a drive shaft gaiter splits and that takes molybendem grease,the black stuff,the wheel bearings take Castrol LM,but that usually comes with a wheel bearing kit. Sorry never heard of HATMO grease,but it might be a brand name.

 

[Geoff in the Gully]

Yes, I too understood there was very little greasing to be done on an R4 and what there was would be pretty straight forward. Then I was looking at the attached page in the MR 175 workshop manual and started to wonder what all the different 'greases' were.

The pins through the steering arms, upper and lower arms and lower shocker mount / antisway bar mount tend to seize over time so I was particularly interested in avoiding that if I could.

The manual says to put a smear of this HATMO grease on the pins. Since the pins don't move in the mounts I reckon it must be for anti-corrosion or anti-seizing. Hence my interest.

But I find nothing on the internet about it. I suspect it's probably a fairly ordinary grease in reality but I thought it worth a question.

 

[jjad]

On the right-hand side of p. 98 of the Revue Technique Renault 4L 1970 it says:

Enduire les extrémités des barres de torsion de graisse << Hatmo >> ou << Mobil Grease Spécial >>.​

i.e.

Coat the ends of the torsion bars with 'Hatmo' or 'Mobil Grease Special'.​

I guess this means that HATMO and Mobile Grease Special are similar enough for either to be used?

 

[reidalpine]

No worries mate!
you've guessed it,Hatmo is thick non-drip & non-slip grease. could contain molybden or not.Go for one that is specifically meant for universal-joints etc as it has hight surface-strenght and makes sure your joints will last a long time... -R.

 

[angel]

Molybdenum disulphide grease is the modern equivalent to HATMO.

 

[Geoff in the Gully]

Many thanks chaps, I knew there's be an answer out there.

I go now to seek a thick non-drip non-slip Molybdenum disulphide grease.
I did see products like that mentioned in various websites so shouldn't be a problem to find.

Cheers, Geoff

 

[Geoff in the Gully]

Might as well post what i found out about greases here for posterity in case anyone else has the same questions.

The names are what is in the Renault workshop manuals. It's not a complete list of all greases and oils mentioned (yet).

1. Elf-Multi: Multipurpose lithium / calcium grease. Grade (in various schemes) of NLGI 2, ISO-L-XBCEA 2, DIN 51502 K2K

2. HATMO: Thick non-slip non-drip molybdenum disulphide grease with high surface strength. 'Mobil Grease Special' an alternative reference.

3. Molykote BR.2: Black multi-purpose lithium soap grease NLGI 2 grade. Molykote is a brand name / product of Dow Corning. 200 degree C dropping point, used where there's high pressure, long life needed between changes and corrosion inhibited.

4. Elf S 747: Dunno about this one - couldn't find any info on the web. In the page from MR175 I posted earlier the GE 76, GI 69 & GI62 refer to the diameters of the drive shaft joints. GE = Glaenzer-Spicer (GKN) [the OEM of many of Renaults drive shafts] Exterior [wheel end]. GI = Interior [gearbox end]. Now this would be a high-speed high-temp gearbox type oil.

5. API GI 4, SAE 140: Gear oil, two different standards specification. API = American Petroleum Institute. GL 4 is gear oil with moderate EP (extreme pressure) effect. It's the most widely used grade of oil in the world (apparently). SAE = Society of Automotive Engineers. '140' means monograde oil, viscosity of 140 measured at 100 degrees C, suitable for use at high ambient temperatures, for gearboxes and high pressures, heat fast motion and compatible with seals (i.e. rubber bits). Most SAE 140 gear oils appear to be rated equivalent to API GI 5 rather than API GI 4, 5 having higher pressure and anti-corrosion handling than 4. I didn't see a monograde SAE140 oil in my searches but several 85W140 multi-grade ones - they'd be an OK equivalent I'd think.


Some spec sheets to add some detail attached.

Geoff

 

[angel]

I guess SAE 140 gear oil is for the early 4-ball inner driveshaft joint? It would be too thick for the gearbox.

The GE76, GI69 and GI62 driveshaft joints are packed with a special grease, always included in the boot repair kit. It's not a molybdenum disulphide grease, as used on many 6-ball Rzeppa joints of modern cars, and I am not sure if this can be used or not.

 

[Geoff in the Gully]

Yep, the manual page posted earlier specifies the SAE140 for the 4-ball joint at gearbox end, and the Elf S 747 for the other drive shaft joints. I guess the grease included in the boot repair kit is Elf S 747 or equivalent.