Engine Assembly Lube Shootout: Which is the Best 

I just rebuilt the entire top end and lower front end on my old 2001 Honda Rubicon atv. I used a liberal amount of Maxima assembly lube on most of the parts and the assembly grease on things like the inner gears with excellent results. The assembly grease was especially helpful for holding small parts in place, like valve keepers, needle, and regular engine roller bearings. The grease dissolves into petroleum quickly and completely once the engine starts to circulate oil. Im very happy with their products so far.

I mix the red Permatex assembly lube with CLP, or oil and lube firearms with it. This mixture has produced the quietest results thus far. Permatex seems to help the lube stay put better than grease.

I used the Lucas on an Audi cam bridge and anyone that has removed and replaced one knows how crazy bad they seize on the cams and how easily the soft aluminum gets marred. I placed a normal amount on the bridge and cams and was so shocked when I didn't even realize it was already seated perfectly. It was like it mounted itself on...Great stuff I highly recommend it. Also is compatible with all motor oils.

I always use peanut butter when assembling my engine. Feels good between my fingers, super sticky, cool color, and you can lick the spoon. It passes all of the super-scientific tests in this video with flying colors. At temperature, it smells like Momma's baking cookies. Just be sure not to use the chunky style or you might float a valve (or dental crown). And if you take all that paper stuff out of your oil filter, your oil pressure will be thru the roof. No bout adoubt it...Skippy is way better than even ZuperPurpleSlimeyDrive-InCheezyNachoGoo. Did I mention that it passed all of the super-scientific tests in this video with flying colors? I should have. (P.S.A. I have not been paid for this endorsement, but I am a super-scientific sticky stuff tester and was involved in the Space program. (Well, not THE Space program...it was a pop bottle rocket we made with baking soda and the garden hose) Whatever, if you want my advise, you an send me your peanut butter and I'll test it no charge. (Sorry, no chunky style)

Not familiar with that product, will try it. When I was younger STP was what most used, Dad sometimes worked on cars for a used car dealer he always brought Dad STP calling it bearings in a can. Dad had a mason jar with the STP and oil mixed left over and sat it on the window sill the next day there was a clear separation from the oil, STP heavier on the bottom, years later I realized that was my first chemistry lesson

In the 90's we did many valve jobs in the Mercedes-Benz dealership and the guys used old school STP for assembly lube. I will say that being a flat-rate shop, the engines didn't sit around and were fired up within 1-2 days when the lube was applied. No issues but we weren't breaking in flat tappet camshafts.

For the record, I just started a LS that had sat for 5 months with Lucas Assembly lube. It ran for a total of 8 minutes with ZERO oil pressure. The bearings are fantastic.

So glad I found this! Have new lifters, rods, rollers to install, so I bought some Lucas. Not planning on firing up anytime soon. Just noticed that driven now has a grease for cam/ lifter/ valve train, and that's what I'll be using. Thank you for saving me a surely catastrophic failure.

I use lubi plate on all my semi Diesel engine rebuilts on cam rockers piston pins and rods and mains etc on piston rings I just use Diesel engine oil never had any problems taky only slows engine oil from the oil pump on initial engine start I do agree that tacky is good for flat tap engines

Great video I’m assembling a sbf in my apartment today. Needed this video, just ordered 4 packets of the driven.

Engine assembly lube vs engine oil, why use lube other than engine oil. Been using 20w50 engine oil for 50 years as assemble lube and never a problem.

Driven has definitely proven to be great products. The GP-1 line is their version of Brad Penn/ Kendall GT-1 and is from the same refinery. Honestly for the money, best bang for the buck I've found is Clevite Bearing Guard. Very tacky, doesn't drip and mixes very well with engine oil. Enjoyed the video.

I've known a lot of old school builders, building lots of engines, they all used lubriplate, never knew any of them to ever have a problem, though I'm sure mist if the newer stuff is great as well.

Clevitte 77 is my favorite lube after 25 years for bearings it can be used for cam break in but the Isky extreme pressure moly break in grease works best on flat tappet cams in my experience

I'm in the Permatex Ultra Slick camp. When you put it on bearings, the capillary action will hold it there. All you need is a trace film until the engine oil makes its way to these parts. I always crank the engine for 30 seconds with the ignition disconnected to pump the oil through the engine on a fresh rebuild. I would've liked to have seen a lubricity test to see which one is the most slippery under a load.

Are we confusing assembly lube for cam break-in lube here? Driven is marketed as a camshaft break-in lube and included with Lunati camshafts now. The others are assembly lube that I would never put on a camshaft for break-in. Almost every cam manufacturer has it's own lubes they recommend and only one of them is in this test.

Never done a premier before. That was kinda fun. Thanks for watching! Let me know what you think of this one. First time doing anything like this.

"Side note. You'd be surprised how quickly a hundred ml of oil heats up on a burner." Oh no, not at all. I'm guessing that heating oil on a burner is the number one cause of kitchen fires. But, my smartass comments notwithstanding, great video. I came here to find which assembly lube I should use on my project. The ~weeklong test answered a big question I had. I get a couple of hours on the weekend to work on cars. I could easily assemble a head and have it sit for a couple of weeks. Thank you.

Been wrenching for 45 years most off road heavy equipment and crane repair and have always used lubriplate 105 and have never had any issues with it, back then people made something as good as they could and now a days it’s all about the money so I have a hard time when I hear these millenniums saying it’s better, but I’m old school, yes sold the big 330 Pete and still run around in a F450 service truck at 61 years old and yes there’s still some 105 in the lube cabinet.

I love that, "My Break-in Bad Chemistry set."

Thank you for this video. Rebuilding a k24a2 and this was an excellent test!

I was waiting for an actual wear test, but never saw it. Assembly lubes protect parts wear on first start up. You claimed a winner but never actually tested ANY wear properties. I'll keep searching the internet and eventually I find an actual wear test. Thanks for posting this video though 🙂

How does this gel compare to redline assembly lub?

4:21 I saw the tub of Ranch White Queso on the table. How did it stack up against the rest?

I'm using the GP-1 in the mower at the moment and getting at least 7 cuts per change, I guess it helps glide over the lawn faster.

I restore old cars as a hobby. and do around 1-2 engine builds a year. I prefer the Max Tuff lube for main and rod bearings, and the Driven Engine assembly lube on roller cams, I use max tuff on roller rocker arms, valve guides. i use driven assembly lube on the ends of the push rods, and max tuff on piston pins, and rings. for ball stud rockers or shaft rockers, i use comp cams spray lube. I use comp cams valve train lube spray on the springs and for the gears on the cam and distributer. I also use Driven Break-in Engine oil for the first 30-minute breaking period. then i switch or either Lucas hot rod and classic or mobile 1 full synthetic depending on the engine. On flat tappet cams i use the lube recommended by the manufacturer and Lucas Break In oil. it has 4000ppm ZDDP for protection of flat tappet cams. after the initial 30 min break in period, I change the oil and filter and then refill with Luca's break in oil for the first 500 miles, then swap to Lucas hot rod and classic since it has 2100 ppm ZDDP and the benefit of anti-corrosion additive package, since most classic cars are not drive frequently. flat tappet cams require high zddp oils to live a happy life, they need at least 1600 ppm ZDDP. there is currently no engine oil brand that you can buy at the auto parts store off the shelf. all for them are SN rated and have less than 1000 ppm ZDDP. so, if you plan to run a flat tappet cam, plan to buy some kind of specialty oil like Luca's or other that have a High ZDDP and order it in advance before doing oil changes. air cooled VW's i use bard penn 10w40 in winter and 20w50 in summer I have not had a cam go flat since 2003. not since switching to better oils and better break in lubes.

To be fair the test is somewhat flawed from the start, you're basing your result on the product that acts the most like assembly grease. You can buy assembly grease if you want to install your camshaft and let it sit. According to the measurable part of your test the white lithium grease did just as well as the GP-1. but obviously white lithium grease isn't the greatest assembly lube and I would not use it. The reason it did good on your test is because It's a gel, if you had tested peanut butter it would also have not dripped down. If your physical test rank the second worst lube as one of the best you know it's flawed. GP-1 is not the best assembly lube and you can see it in the first part of the video when you test the stickiness. The gel seems to mostly stick to itself and you can see that the bulk of the blob moves from one finger to the other. The permatex and lucas did a much better job at sticking to the part (in this case your finger).

Just the kind of video I needed! Thank you Sir.

I mean I really don't spend the extra money on the assembly lube when I build an engine. As long as you pre lube the parts with oil it'll leave a very thin film on the parts. At least it's not running dry for them I first start it. Oil doesn't evaporate. So as long it's a break in oil that you used as a assembly lube it'll be fine. I know a lot of engine factories that don't use assembly lube and just use there factory engine oil. 👍🏻👍🏻

Thanks for the testing, great content

interesting video although I feel the test of letting the lube sit on a bare cam and see what's left later after a week isn't realistic to how it would be in an engine. when a cam is in an engine its going to retain a ton more oil under and around it being in a journal, there is no doubt there. There would be a significant amount of oil or assembly lube under each journal or cam bearing on the cam compared to this in open air sitting allowing to drip dry.

I've built a few engines and tried out various assembly lubricants. I've narrowed it down to two types of products for general engine assembly. 20w50 engine oil in a squirt can for bearings, it's tacky and has plenty of cushion and doesn't run off of stuff very easily. ND30 (ND10 is recommended by several piston ring manufacturers) for piston and rings, you don't want a lot of excess thick oil hanging around the piston and rings clogging and carboning up on first startup. Flat tappet cams get a healthy coating of moly grease on the cam lobes and lifter faces, the lifter bores and sides of the lifter get engine oil, you don't want thick sticky gel slowing down the rotating ability of the flat tappet lifter, oil will be just fine for that. As far as valves in cylinder heads, I absolutely hate anything thick and sticky or greasy. I have taken apart several new and rebuilt sets of cylinder heads that didn't get used for several years, the grease they had used on all of them basically dried up and I am willing to bet they all would have had at least one valve stick had I not taken them apart for inspection. Again, a good amount of engine oil there is sufficient, and I bet would hang around a lot longer than that white grease would have on the valve stems. I'm not quite sure how the logic of ENGINE oil being used for assembly is a bad thing. From the first start up to the time the engine is taken out of service all it will ever see, is engine oil.

What ever happened to using moly grease on cams and assembly lube for bearings?

Thanks for this great testing

I've used "Lucas Extreme Pressure Valvetrain Grease 10578 " on cams and lifters, and that stuff stays on there, and it's really tacky. I use the other stuff like Ultra Slick on bearings.

That was a great video, thanks for taking the time to put it together. One question that always troubles me though is all the lube (or at least some of it) is wiped off the lobes before the engine ever starts due to setting the pre-load on the lifters. The camshaft has to be moved around to do that properly.

I am late to the show but has anyone used Mr. Race Oil assembly, cam lube? It stays in place for ages and the maker says it dissolves in oil with no issues. Cummins Reman uses it. Goodson sells it and it can be purchased directly.

Oh man, the one I've used the most is CRC, I'd love to see how that does. I'm sure it's fine since I've never had an issue, either way great video and great testing process.

no moly?

Clevite bearing guard is pretty much the same as the gel but instead of an ounce for $7 you get 8ounces

Built a fair amount of small engines with lubriplate 105. All of them use flat tappet cams. Never had an issue.

why would you want an assembly lube that stays like grease blobs going through your engine could slow down oil flow through certain passages especially in the cam gear area some sticky is good but permatex ultra is the best way better than what is reccomended in this video

Marvelous Marvin the best around from what I have gather.

Question so what would you recommend for a motor that’s going to sit I have the pets for the short block but need to save for the cam kit

Clevitte77 bearing guard and Driven assy lube are my favs.

good review. I hoped you would have included redline's assembly lube.

i doubt we need much oil on part... simply because only a thin layer of lube needed.... i can assure that a great amount of the apply oil will fly off at first rotation

I stricty use WLG. Lasts for months and keeps the voices at a minumum!

For royal purple max tuff. Use it anytime or after oil change.

One thing I notice is that gel material seems to have a hard time to get 100% coverage compared to permatex or others that are thinner.

Why does the motor manual state use the same oil your going to use in the engine?

Where is the Comp Cams Assembly lubes? (104, or 152?)

So for the same reason you love the driven you don’t like the white lithium?

Permarex Ultra Slick is the best I’ve found.

I've always used Red Line or Amsoil. I wouldn't use any product made by Royal Purple.

Hi just want to know, if an example we use lucas oil on cam shaft and let it be for a week, then i put engine oil to the required amount for an engine, then i fire it up, will it be ok?

Excellent video! thanks

I’ve built a lot of engines and really have never had problems with lubriplate 105! I just had a headache with a brand new xe series comp cam that I used there grease with break in oil and the cam wiped within 5 minutes at 2000 rpm. I really wish I would have used lubriplate 105.

I am curious why you definitively ruled out the Super White Grease. Why exactly is it so poor? I noticed you did not try dissolving it in oil. Does it dissolve in oil? I am rebuilding my old NP203 Chevy Transfer Case and it has tons of needle bearings (over 200 of them). I tried using Lubriplate 105 to hold the needle bearings in place, but it was not tacky enough. I ended up using Lucas Red & Tacky Lithium grease to hold them in place for assembly. However, I'm concerned it won't eventually dissolve in the oil. This is a full time transfer case and uses 10W40 motor oil. I probably should of used some TransJel or vaseline. Do you think I will have any problems with it eventually breaking down and mixing with the oil?

ATF isn't going to do anything once the engine is at temp. Between 80c and 115c, ATF becomes super thin and it's not going to live behind your bearing long. If someone mentioned a spun bearing, they're just spitting words they've heard.

Where's the Lubriplate 105?

Boss got us white lithium grease for building engines at my freightliner shop. Is that good?

U forgot to try the White Queso on the right. Just joking, thanks much for the video.

Id like to see these tests on the CRC Sta-Lube and the Isky Rev-Lube???

Watching right now 👍

Take note that the white grease has probably been around longer than anything else on the market for the purpose of building things like engines

Assembly lube one thing you want most of is zinc concentrated.

Which one sir for a cam install for an engine that may sit for quite a while? I saw you said driven in another post, which would be your second choice? Thanks

this test missed the part where u have the bearings or caps not letting the oil drip and this is what it was, just a drip test...u can see how the white paste held up fine because well, past doesn't drip...redline assembly lube would of won on a drip test as well.

Have you tries Bel ray assembly lube with moly?

Red Permatex or Lucas assembly lube? I will orde rone of them but can't decide

What Do you think about permatex assembly lube?

what do you use to pack a new oil pump?

Awesome video!!!

You should shake the bottle. ✊👋👌

Lucas is good? Amd will oil pressure increase

Hello, nice video. I have some questiones. How does the grease dissolve in the oil? And why did you heat up the oil? At first startup the oil is cold and it takes a while for it to heat up. Maybe in this time the gel for example could probably clog up some little oil holes and cause metal wear. Another video according this subject would be great. Greetings. Martin

Amsoil! 😁

Liqui moly lm48 assembly pase. Doesn't drip Stays in place for as long as you need.

You didn't give the lithium greese a fair go, you didn't test it in the heat test, I wanted to know about that one. I also wanted to know if chain bar lube could be used às an assembly lube.

Can assembly lube be added in with the motor oil during oil change on a car or bike?

The Driven, looks like a winner, seeing how I'm not starting the engine right away. One question, would you use it for the piston rings?

What do you think about moly assembly lubes

Where is 105 in your test?

What’s wrong with motor oil?

Should i use CRC sta-lube with moly-graphite?

I’d like to see valcos gel lube tested

How would you compare the GP-1 Gel to the Driven Engine Assembly Grease? Reading Ive been doing has a strong recommendation of a quality assembly grease like the Driven assembly grease for aggressive roller cam lubrication for break in but Ive personally never used it before and not much online comparing the GP1 to the assembly grease.

Don't really get this whole "Assembly Lube" test criteria ? Other than open, Non- pressurized wearing parts like gear-sprocket teeth

What’s the diff between assembly lube and red n tacky?

And what about Redline?

try using the detroit deisel"peanutbutter" for this.and what about the lubri plate assembly lube?

How many packs of Driven gel should I buy for my sbc 383 build? The 1oz seems to not be enough for the crank, rods, and cam ect.

29:40 Dont forget about the rotational forces slinging the lube off aswell. Lucas are masters at ad writing. None of their products measure up to their claims. Royal purple is over hyped turd sauce. Their motor oils fall out of grade super quick.

Wheres vasaline? I assembled my family with that. Broke in fine.

Too bad you overlooked crane’s great sticky grey color moly assembly lube that comes with all their new ft cam & lifter kits. I’ve been using it for over 4 decades with great results & it stays put for wks/months till you fire up a fresh motor or just a fresh cam install.

Where is lubriplate

What about Sta-lube?

General comment. I wouldn't use anything by Lucas even on a lawn mower.

no STP I dig the permatex lube and driven gp1