I'm going to disagree on both points. Campy grease just hardens. It is junk and lithium grease in general is not the best idea..
And those crank cracks seem to grow and grow with relatively few failures at the junction before people retire Campy cranks. I'm not getting into metallurgy, just the long experience of many that the crank junction cracks are sort of a benign tumor. Not a good thing, file them out and forget it.
Joe Bender-Zanoni Great Notch (all my Campy cranks get notched at installation) NJ
John Thompson wrote:
>Patrick Lay wrote:
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>
>
>>Hello to all..I recently purchased and overhauled a nice 70s Paramount
>>which, from the evidence at hand. had been restored and promptly
>>warehoused for years in less than ideal conditions. The Campy BB grease
>>had been reduced to a clay-like substance and was very hard to clean out
>>of the bearings. I had so much trouble cleaning the cage on the fixed
>>cup side before reloading it with new balls that I tossed the adjustable
>>cup bearing assembly into the someday box and filled the cup race with
>>loose bearings. What is the best grease to use for longevity and
>>stability as well as effectiveness to avoid having it dry up every few
>>years?
>>
>>
>
>The best way to prevent this is to take the bike out for a spin every
>now and then!
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>>I also found the two feared tiny cracks on both sides of the
>>crankarm spider, I tried to file them away but one had progressed beyond
>>the practical range of the file. So not only do I need a crankset, but
>>it occured to me to ask if the crack will cause catastropic failure
>>without warning or if it will grow slowly before the inevitable happens
>>and allow me to use it on an occasional use bike.
>>
>>
>
>Alas, unlike steel, aluminum tends to fail suddenly and catastrophically.