Cable Lubrication?
#1
06-09-17, 08:56 AM
Cable Lubrication?
I am replacing the safety brake cable on my Lawnboy 22242. It took 10 yrs for the original to fail. I just wondered if proper lubrication would make the replacement last indefinitely. It would be easy to put some liquid into the cable sheathing before installing it.
#2
06-09-17, 09:11 AM
Owned a bike shop for several years and bike cables are similar. Standard practice is to wipe them with grease during assembly. After that wicking oil into the casing is better than nothing. The problem arises when rain can follow and over time displace the oil. But if the first one lasted 10 years any added effort and that cable will probably outlast the mower (hopefully).
Bud
Bud
#3
06-09-17, 10:21 AM
Group Moderator
It depends on why your cable failed. If it was due to corrosion then yes, greasing and oiling might help. If the cable fatigued and broke due to repeated bending then lubrication will not help a whole lot.
#4
06-09-17, 10:58 AM
Forum Topic Moderator
Bud mentioned what the problem usually is (water draining down the cable into the sheath). Keep it out of the weather and you'll probably never have to replace it again.
#5
06-09-17, 11:26 AM
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Most times lubrication is a good thing, not so much in the environment a lawn mower operates, it has a tendency to collect dust and dirt and make matters worse.
#6
06-09-17, 12:38 PM
Thanks. I'll reassemble it dry. I don't have a totally dry place to store it. I just hope the cable is available in another 19 yrs. Mine appears to have broken from abrasion and fatigue.
#7
06-09-17, 12:52 PM
Adding oil or grease will not make things worse, that advice comes from someone who would install a thousand cables a year, new and repair. Dry is not good.
Bud
Bud
#8
06-09-17, 03:23 PM
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If there was even the slightest advantage in this application, I would imagine each manufacturer would have their own special brand of lubricant and recommend using it specifically. They not only advise not lubricating, they practice it.
I can assure you that 10 years from a zone cable is quite impressive.
I can assure you that 10 years from a zone cable is quite impressive.
#9
06-09-17, 03:57 PM
@BFHF, I'm not trying to be argumentative but I would hate to leave this thread for long term reading with the implication that lubrication is not advised. If you have a citation I would like to read it. I have removed cables from bicycles that had rusted and broke where exposed, but the section of the cables that were inside the casing were as new. They do make a plastic coated cable that attempts to eliminate the need for lubrication but I only saw those on more expensive units.
Granted my experience is 99% with bicycles of many brands but the times I have replaced cables on my lawnmower they were virtually identical except for the terminations.
A citation would be interesting.
Bud
Granted my experience is 99% with bicycles of many brands but the times I have replaced cables on my lawnmower they were virtually identical except for the terminations.
A citation would be interesting.
Bud
#10
06-09-17, 08:46 PM
Forum Topic Moderator
The only problem with grease on the cable on a mower is that it collects dust and grit and then proceeds to act as a lapping compound, wearing the greased item rather than lubricating it. In an application like a bicycle, there is not dust flying all around from the bagger or the discharge chute. The grease doesn't collect grit and pretty much continues to serve it's purpose. If the grease could be limited to the area covered by the sheath, I'd say grease it, but since it invariably will be exposed on the bare sections beyond the sheath, I don't know that the benefit would outweigh the detriment. I've seen greased nylon bushings wear out faster (on mowers) than dry ones many times because of this very reason, so I leave them dry these days.
