Valve stem and valve guide lubricant

[creia]

When reassembling an engine I have always just used the same SAE 30WT oil that I use for the crankcase/sump. Is there something better that you pros have used?
If it matters, this is for the old Briggs and Tecumseh flat head engines from the 1960s- 1980s.
Thank you,
Michael

[Arkie]

When reassembling an engine I have always just used the same SAE 30WT oil that I use for the crankcase/sump. Is there something better that you pros have used?
If it matters, this is for the old Briggs and Tecumseh flat head engines from the 1960s- 1980s.
Thank you,
Michael

When you asked for a pro's response, well that leave me out of the loop.

[hanz63]

I too have just used oil. Briggs used to have valve guide lube, pretty sure that is gone. I mean, you can buy engine assembly lube out in the wild.

[bgsengine]

plain 30W is just fine. Briggs DID used to make a valve guide lubricant and anti-seize compound - I still have a can of it (or did, might have gone in my cleanout sale) Before that, however it DID contain Lead , nowadays it typically will just be a zinc composite (or copper for that matter) same as your typical anti-seize compound But to be honest that stuff really did not do a whole lot - theory was it would be a little "stickier" than plain engine oil, but it eventually did get washed away by oil anyhow (old formulations with lead actually sort of embedded into the aluminum guides, not so with bronze guides, but you'll never find any lead based stuff new anywhere. you'd have to go back to the 1970's to find a can (from the 60's) of lead-based valve guide lube If you really feel like adding some "sticky" lube to the valve stems / guides (engine that sits idle for a long time can have those areas dry up, so..) you might consider a dry graphite spray lubricant which can actually "stick" fairly well for quite a while even with oil running over it. (but you'd need absolutely clean & dry metal to start with before applying graphite)

[creia]

Thanks for the replies.
I see (now) in the Briggs repair manual (this one published in the early 1970s) they mention using Briggs "LED-PLATE" # 93963 which is NLA as has already been mentioned. I'll continue to use the oil or maybe assembly lube which I have been using on all of the other internal wear surfaces.
Michael

[RoyM]

The Briggs lead based lubricant was great stuff but verboten now. A light dab of copper anti seize compound works well.

[creia]

I found someone selling the OEM Briggs # 93963 on eBay. If that can is from the late 1960s or 1970s I would have concerns that the compound has dried out,deteriorated or otherwise ineffective after this long. What would be the shelf life of a product like this?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/184770473069
Michael

[bgsengine]

I found someone selling the OEM Briggs # 93963 on eBay. If that can is from the late 1960s or 1970s I would have concerns that the compound has dried out,deteriorated or otherwise ineffective after this long. What would be the shelf life of a product like this?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/184770473069
Michael

Basically it is oil & lead , if it "dries out" you can re-dilute it with plain old motor oil. We'd do that with never-seize brand (Heavy equipment shop I worked at got a 35 gallon drum of it 15 years before I started work there, drum was still more than half full, they'd refill their small cans out of it, just add some oil and stir it up good to get it usable again... we , and the oil riggers, etc used that stuff on EVERYTHING that we thought might have to be taken apart again later) However, if it is the real thing and actually contains lead, you'll want to wear nitrile gloves when using it, and a 1 lb can like that would probably outlive you (and your grandchildren) unless you were a huge pro shop doing 8 to 10 engine rebuilds every day (Racing engine builder's shop maybe) In other words- Shelf life is probably longer than any one tech's shelf life.

[creia]

I found someone selling the OEM Briggs # 93963 on eBay. If that can is from the late 1960s or 1970s I would have concerns that the compound has dried out,deteriorated or otherwise ineffective after this long. What would be the shelf life of a product like this?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/184770473069
Michael

Basically it is oil & lead , if it "dries out" you can re-dilute it with plain old motor oil. We'd do that with never-seize brand (Heavy equipment shop I worked at got a 35 gallon drum of it 15 years before I started work there, drum was still more than half full, they'd refill their small cans out of it, just add some oil and stir it up good to get it usable again... we , and the oil riggers, etc used that stuff on EVERYTHING that we thought might have to be taken apart again later) However, if it is the real thing and actually contains lead, you'll want to wear nitrile gloves when using it, and a 1 lb can like that would probably outlive you (and your grandchildren) unless you were a huge pro shop doing 8 to 10 engine rebuilds every day (Racing engine builder's shop maybe) In other words- Shelf life is probably longer than any one tech's shelf life.

Thanks Brian.
I'm not going to purchase it- I was just curious.
Michael