Correct Shimano grease for Nexus SG-8R36
 

I just gave my hub listed above an oil bath and was going to grease the parts Shimano recommends on the instructions with some Shimano Internal Hub Grease that I ordered but when I opened up the bottle the grease is dark unlike the white lithium grease that was already present. On the Shimano instructions for 8 speed IGH's it lists the same product code that I have (Y04130100) for the post-bath regreasing for 8 speed hubs. Could anybody clarify whether it is OK to use this darker colored grease that I have?

I have two Nexus 8 hubs. One is a "normal" hub and the other is a "premium" (red band). The normal hub was originally lubricated with the darker grease, which I believe is a molybdenum disulfide lube of some sort. The red band was lubed with a white lithium-type grease when I first opened the hub.
For about the last 15 years I have been lubricating each hub by dipping it once a year in gear oil (Royal Purple 75W-140), and lubricating only the hub bearings with the black Nexus grease. The bearing races appear un-worn and the hubs perform normally. There is a total of about 15,000 miles on the hubs... I haven't kept exact records.
So my untrained opinion is that you can safely use the darker grease.
BTW, my grease comes in a tube, not a bottle.

I've been using Shimano Special/Dura Ace grease for everything once I discovered it basically never dries out--unlike white lithium. It looks new in my nearly 40-year-old pedals.

Although, probably for cost reasons, we used white lithium in the bike shops I worked in the 1980s/90s exclusively.

Thanks. I should have said tube, not bottle. I contacted Shimano and they got back to me quickly with this:

"Thank you very much for the pictures. I have confirmed with our product and technical teams that the nexus grease did in fact change, most notably in color within the last year or so. This is reflected in minor part number changes:

Y04120800 (White) ? Y04130100 (Black)

Be assured that both types of grease mentioned above are compatible and interchangeable, and the black grease is currently used in newly assembled hubs. The roller brake grease, which I mentioned is a different product entirely."