I'm putting together my first engine. Ok, I should say I'm putting together my first engine again.

The first time I assembled the bottom end was about 5 years ago. I used moly lube and the red assembly lube to put everything together. Then the engine sat for 5 years with no more assembly.

Since then, I finally learned enough to know I didn't want the combo I was building so I am starting over. I have all the right parts now. Anyway, what I found is that the moly lube still looked good in the engine, but the red assembly lube was all dried up and pretty much gone.

So, since I am putting in a Comp Cam XE274H, I made sure to get all the appropriate Comp Cams engine break-in oil additive and pro cam lube from Comp. Also, I saw they had an "Engine Assembly Lube" so I bought that Comp product as well.

Now that I have their assembly lube, it looks nothing like what I have used in the past. Its a white lithium based lubricant. So, my dumb question of the day is what areas should I use this stuff on? It's fairly thick compared to the red stuff I used before. Do I use this stuff basically everywhere except the cam lobes? Or am I supposed to use this only in certain places? They mention using it in the ball-socket area of rocker arms but don't mention any place else. I assume that's because they expected me to know where to use it.

When I ordered it, I assumed it would be used everywhere except the cam lobes. Now that I see how thick it is I wanted to double check. I've been reading a ton of engine building books and am comfortable putting the engine together, I just got a little concerned about this lube once I had it in my hands.

Thanks.

 

I think you should lube the cam with the moly lube that most cam companies sell (same as you did 5 years ago). I don't recall seeing any lithium based engine lube but it seems that the lubrication of engines is changing rapidly. Wish I could help you and I'm sure there is someone here who can.

Saw your post dropping off the first page into the post graveyard. Here is a bump back up to the top of the page for you.

 

Back in the day (this was before we were all building NASCAR and Pro Stock engines), assembly lube was white lithium grease. That's what we always used (or sometimes just oil if we knew the engine was going to fire within the next day or so) and it worked every time. This was before we knew about fully pressurized the oiling system before fire-up. Also, if you're priming the pump and the system, it just ain't all that important. Use the cam lube on the cam and the white lithium on all bearings.

I have a tub of white lithium on my shelf. Couldn't live without it.

 

Thanks for the bump and info!!

That's what I figured, just wanted to hear from someone with more experience than me. I'll use the Cam lube on the lobes and the lithium based assembly lube on all the bearings. I will be priming the oil system prior to starting but this lube can't hurt since I don't know how long it will be before I start it.