Appropriate Lubricant for Sig P365 FCU Reassembly?

[RJ]

I had occasion to tear down and reassemble my non-carry P365 X Macro Frankengun Fire Control Unit today. Most of the parts were covered with a mix of black gunshot residue, run off lubricant and, in the case of the take down lever / trigger pivot point, what appeared to be old, congealed grease. I cleaned everything up and assembled it with a Dri-Lube product.

Not being a P365 Armorer, I should probably ask: What should I be using to lube the moving parts in a P365 FCU?

Grease? Oil? Silicone spray? Dri-Lube? (what I ended up picking) Nothing? I'm thinking the TDL, since it rotates, should get some grease, but I'm not sure about the rest of the parts.

[1911Nut]

I had occasion to tear down and reassemble my non-carry P365 X Macro Frankengun Fire Control Unit today. Most of the parts were covered with a mix of black gunshot residue, run off lubricant and, in the case of the take down lever / trigger pivot point, what appeared to be old, congealed grease. I cleaned everything up and assembled it with a Dri-Lube product.

Not being a P365 Armorer, I should probably ask: What should I be using to lube the moving parts in a P365 FCU?

Grease? Oil? Silicone spray? Dri-Lube? (what I ended up picking) Nothing? I'm thinking the TDL, since it rotates, should get some grease, but I'm not sure about the rest of the parts.

Robert Burke (The Sig Armorer) recommends Super Lube-21030 Synthetic Multi-Purpose Grease

[LittleLebowski]

I’m not a fan of grease. Grease is oil with thickeners added. Lucas Extremeis a safe bet and a forum favorite.

[RJ]

Right, so doing some more research, I came up dry. I did located the MHS maintenance manual, and it seems the Army specifies mostly CLP for almost everything. Well, I wasn't quite sure about that, and since the FCU had a few spots of what looked very much like old lithium grease, I decided to take the FCU apart and apply some reasoning and common sense. For a product I opted for a multipurpose silicone/PTFE grease I use a fair bit for GP work called "Super Lube".

Picture for reference:



Parts in the picture are listed below, from left to right. "None" means part was assembled clean and dry. Where grease is specified ( "(1)" ), I used a minimal amount to coat the surface, then wiped most of it away.

Pin, Receiver – none
Spring, Trigger Bar – none
Disconnector – sides to (1)
Pin, Safety Lever – shaft to (1)
Safety Lever - none
Lever, Takedown Safety – none
Lever, Takedown – rotating ends to (1)
Pin, Trigger – shaft to (1)
Trigger – Pivot points to (1)
Trigger Bar - none

Not shown separately (within the FCU when picture taken):

Spring, Sear – none
Sear – face to (1)
Pin, Sear – shaft to (1)

(1) Super Lube Multi-Purpose Synthetic Grease with Syncolon, -45 to 450F.


I'm still interested if any actual P365 Armorer knows what Sig recommends for FCU internals, but I am satisfied with what I've got on/in the FCU at the moment. There is not a lot of product in there, and where I put it corresponds to the wear marks on the parts, which seems to make sense to me.

[1911Nut]

I posted Post #2 in this thread, based on my previous conversations with Robert Burke (The Sig Armorer).

However, the initial info I provided was misleading. He does not recommend the Super Lube grease I mentioned for the Sig FCU, but just for the slide rails and a couple of other contact points inside the slide.

Attached is a video from Robert outlining his recommendations for lubrication and maintenance intervals on the Sig P320.

https://www.facebook.com/sigarmorer/...0628088119887/

I'm certain there will be those who disagree with his opinions. But I will say this . . . . he absolutely knows what he is talking about when it comes to Sig pistols. His workmanship and customer service is outstanding, and in my experience, he provides a better P320 trigger than anyone out there.

FWIW

[RJ]

I posted Post #2 in this thread, based on my previous conversations with Robert Burke (The Sig Armorer).

However, the initial info I provided was misleading. He does not recommend the Super Lube grease I mentioned for the Sig FCU, but just for the slide rails and a couple of other contact points inside the slide.

Attached is a video from Robert outlining his recommendations for lubrication and maintenance intervals on the Sig P320.

https://www.facebook.com/sigarmorer/...0628088119887/

I'm certain there will be those who disagree with his opinions. But I will say this . . . . he absolutely knows what he is talking about when it comes to Sig pistols. His workmanship and customer service is outstanding, and in my experience, he provides a better P320 trigger than anyone out there.

FWIW

Thanks, I appreciate the follow up.

[RJ]

So over on GenPop forum, I had a couple Sig Armorers tell me the correct answer is ‘nothing’ for FCU assembly, just clean and dry. Apparently that’s per the Armorer Course, so I’ll defer to them on this.

I mean, it makes sense, as these are pretty small wear surfaces and there’s not a whole lot of movement in them.

[piefairy]

All I know is that the last sig I got came with a sample of Lucas oil Extreme Gun Lube.https://www.amazon.com/LUCAS-Extreme...s%2C134&sr=8-3 I'm not sure about the non moving or smaller parts, but they do make a grease as well, presumably less runny. https://www.amazon.com/LUCAS-Extreme...s%2C241&sr=8-5

After watching the video though it makes me want to re-think everything when it comes to cleaning. Grease over oil, never thought of it in those terms and how he states it. Good video.

[flyrodr]

Re: the video. I am not a chemist, nor an engineer, nor a metallurgist. And, being a long-time 1911 user, I tend to over lube striker pistols, which I have primarily switched to. And I don't own a 320.

With those non-qualifications, I do have a problem with the idea than any machine that has metal-on-metal moving parts doesn't need lubrication. Certainly most guns will run without lube, and without much wear. For a while. Similarly, that any grease is better than any oil (or however it was said) seems to be a bit too broad. Especially when after saying multiple times that Sig designed to pistol to be run dry (as opposed to saying it could/would run dry), the video goes on to demonstrate where to put Super Lube and TW-25b. The owner's manual (https://www.sigsauer.com/media/sigsa...WEB_FILE_1.pdf) has a section beginning on page 61 entitled "7.3 CLEANING AND LUBRICATING". That section, early on, says not to over lubricate the gun. And don't lube the striker at all. And thereafter, where it does address cleaning or lube, mentions only CLP and light oil (unless I missed something).

Venturing off course a bit, I would note that, if a gun is cleaned with a solvent, it's important to remove all of the solvent before applying oil or grease. Leaving solvent invites it to attack the lubricant, and remove/weaken/harden it. At least that's what a good friend told me . . .

[piefairy]

Re: the video. I am not a chemist, nor an engineer, nor a metallurgist. And, being a long-time 1911 user, I tend to over lube striker pistols, which I have primarily switched to. And I don't own a 320.

With those non-qualifications, I do have a problem with the idea than any machine that has metal-on-metal moving parts doesn't need lubrication. Certainly most guns will run without lube, and without much wear. For a while. Similarly, that any grease is better than any oil (or however it was said) seems to be a bit too broad. Especially when after saying multiple times that Sig designed to pistol to be run dry (as opposed to saying it could/would run dry), the video goes on to demonstrate where to put Super Lube and TW-25b. The owner's manual (https://www.sigsauer.com/media/sigsa...WEB_FILE_1.pdf) has a section beginning on page 61 entitled "7.3 CLEANING AND LUBRICATING". That section, early on, says not to over lubricate the gun. And don't lube the striker at all. And thereafter, where it does address cleaning or lube, mentions only CLP and light oil (unless I missed something).

Venturing off course a bit, I would note that, if a gun is cleaned with a solvent, it's important to remove all of the solvent before applying oil or grease. Leaving solvent invites it to attack the lubricant, and remove/weaken/harden it. At least that's what a good friend told me . . .

He said it the video it was designed to run without lubricant, not that it cant run with it. I think more the point of the video was against over lubrication which can cause issues with its operation due to the collection of dirt, dust, grease, ect in the nickel plated area's possibly causing wear of the plating. Which was the point of showing the FCU that was filthy due to lubrication. I do agree with you that in my mind any metal on metal contact will cause wear. I've seen equipment that was designed that way fail or squeak horribly from that theory. Also, I'm with you and lube the most everything on my 1911.