Hi guys, apologies for this question as I know it has been done to death, but I have read that many threads, posts and watched numerous videos on lubing the splines that I am a bit perplexed on which product to use.

I have bought some Starburags but is this the best option on all of the splined sections and to the inner surface of the rubber boot or are you only using the starburags on specific spline sections and other products on the other areas such as the final drive splines etc?

I bought a tube of Castrol Molub-Alloy many years ago from Motobins in the UK.  It is a white paste in a 100g container.  The other UK BMW parts mob, Motorworks has similar options for greasing splines.  

It just needs to be applied sparingly on the two contact surfaces of the driveshaft splines (the boy and girl bits).  In other words do not lather it everywhere and drown it.  Just the small contact areas (shiny bits) between the two metal surface areas.  Clean the interior surfaces of the drive shaft whilst you are in there with a rag.  

Ensure you clean both surface areas and remove all the previous gunk.  I use white spirits for all my cleaning on metallic items and a soft brush, such as a used toothbrush.  Allow it to dry before applying the paste.  Wipe of excess paste when done.  

Never bothered with the interior of the boot but if you have to lubricate it for fitment or for a moisture seal, then a very thin smear around the surface is all that is required.  Best to use the same stuff, so that in the very small chance it gets into the driveshaft area and comes into contact with the spline lube it does not contaminate it.  Others may differ in this opinion.  

Never used or come across that Starabugs stuff here.  For the UK, Motobins and Motorworks are probably your best choices for parts or advice (apart from us  ).  

If you live next door to a BMW dealership and wish to pay their prices, then that is your choice.  

That's all there is to know.

No problem, that’s fine. Appreciate the input. Probably just overthinking things after reading that many threads on the subject.

I use bacon grease. It's readily available and smells great when it cooks off.

That would drive me nuts. Can’t beat a good old bacon sarnie

A mate has a bumper sticker on his fridge in the workshop: ''I'll grow my own food when I find some bacon seeds.''

Personally, I can't touch the stuff. It is the nastiest scent in a morning kitchen.

So, I reckon bacon grease and the accompanying saliva of the eater would be sturdy enough to do duty on splines.

I’m sure the bacon seeds are not far away, along with the other lab grown meat that’s coming.

I've had my 75 over 25 years and got 186,000 K's on her. I started out using white Castrol Molub grease which has now been superseded by Castrol Molub Alloy Paste TA which is grey BMW part #18 21 9  062 599. Any high 60% moly paste is fine the important thing is to regularly grease the splines. I do mine every rear tyre change and my splines are fine. There are heaps of other choices, favourites include Honda as well as Starburag and Guard dog no longer in production but can be had as it occasionally pops up.
Regards Martin.

Okay, that’s great. It’s all back together, but will bear this in mind for next time. Just went with the Starburags. The splines looked in good shape, but it only has just over 13000 miles on it.

I bought a tube of Castrol Optimol (which has been superceded by Castrol Molub Alloy Paste TA) about ten years ago and I'm still using it. As per MartinW, I grease the rear splines every tyre change and the clutch/forward driveshaft splines every two years because that's an all-day strip-the-bike-down job. Don't be tempted to skip it unless you're a low-mileage rider (some of us are, mostly because of multiple bikes). While I was still working I was racking up around 16000 miles a year and that taught me that, for me, doing the clutch every two years was sufficient.

Good to know Dai. I done the big strip right to the clutch. Seemed to take an age putting it all back together yesterday, torquing everything up etc. But it was quite rewarding knowing that it is now done and it should be quicker next time around.
Next time I do it I will probably do it on a nice dry day and give myself plenty of space as it was quite disorganised working in my small outhouse with gear everywhere.

Do you know if the product composition changed or was it just a name change?

Strangetaste wrote:Do you know if the product composition changed or was it just a name change?

Castrol's Molub-Alloy Paste TA datasheet indicates "This product was previously named Optimol Paste TA. The name was changed in 2015."

Did they change the product or just the name?

The original Castrol Optimol was white the  newer Castrol Molub Paste TA is grey and is a different formula and I believe has more moly in it. Both worked well for me.
Regards Martin.

Ah okay, was just curious as both are still available. I guess there’s still some suppliers with some old stock to shift.

MartinW wrote:The original Castrol Optimol was white the  newer Castrol Molub Paste TA is grey and is a different formula and I believe has more moly in it.

Castrol's msds for Castrol Molub-Alloy Paste TA doesn't list molybdenum as a component in Section 3. Other Castrol products that do contain molybdenum list molybdenum concentration ranges in their msds documents, for example, this one. Perhaps incorrect assumptions are being made about this Molub-Alloy paste. TWB might have the skinny on this, but these sheets can be expected have full disclosure of important ingredients. The exact chemical ranges are proprietary secrets and not required to be published.

Graphite and molybdenum have similar ease at embedding into metal surfaces to lubricate them. Barium also embeds well and seems to be the major ingredient in Staburags NBU 30 PTM. Molybdenum is the most slippery, followed by graphite then barium. Molybdenum works well in heat ranges far beyond beyond what a motorcycle driveline would reach in operation. If any of them are applied correctly on clean metal surfaces, anecdotal evidence seems to indicate all of them will go the necessary distance protecting splines from damage before reapplication.

Like Dai mentioned, the main thing is to lubricate the blasted things regularly and correctly with something in paste form containing generous amounts of one of these chemicals. As usual, luck and karma are always in play.

Nice bit of information. Cheers.