Bridgeport TC-3 gearbox oil level and drawbar grease type

So the pinion gear on my spindle drive is worn badly on a TC-3 I picked up a few months ago and the spindle motor is loud. I'm having new bearings put in the motor and replacing the pinion gear. Everything else looked fine.

The oil level in the gear box was about 1/4 up the sight window which appears to be below the pinion gear. Normally on a gear box I'd fill until the oil came out the fill location... which is at least another inch higher than it was. Where should the oil level be? Also, is there an alternative to MOBIL SHC 626 Synthetic Gear Oil? It appears to be a 90 weight synthetic but I can only find it in 5 gallon pales.

My drawbar pressure was a little low so while I had everything apart I check out the drawbar for broken belleville springs. It actually looked really good, including the grippers. What grease should I use? It had some crazy sticky white grease and was well lubed. Also, do I lube the backside of the grippers?

I ordered the MOBIL SHC 626 synthetic gear oil and the vendor confirmed the ideal level in the gearbox is mid way up the sight glass.

I'm still needing a recommendation for the drawbar grease. I know some machines use Kopr-Kote on the belleville springs. Any recommendations?

What's the manual say?
JR

JRIowa said:

What's the manual say?

Click to expand...

The manual is lacking on lubrication details. Because the spindle is a cartridge I guess they assumed it will be replaced as an assembly. The spindle print doesn't even call out part numbers for the drawbar components like belleville springs or retention fingers. Lacking details in the manual... maybe someone knows the best practice?

The maintenance page lists a Mobil Plex grease but no mention of drawbar lubrication.

I called the company that ground the spindle. They use Klüber nbu 15 on belleville springs. I ordered a 50g tube... it wasn't cheap.