What oil for trans? stock 1935

[Jembow]

I think my trans still has pre-war thick oil (the stuff that's more like grease) in there. Really hard to shift until it's warmed up. What grade is recommended nowadays?

[rotorwrench]

Ford called out "mild EP" in relation to gear lubricants. The viscosity was SAE 80 winter and SAE 90 for summer. Now days most gear oil is multi viscosity which is fine. The gear oil grading in the US is GL4 for mild extra pressure or EP rating. If you can find something that is lower on pressure additives you'll be better off since it tends to slowly break down the softer metal bushings inside there due to acidity. Lubes with no additives are available for tractors and such and are usable under light duty. I'm not sure how your lubricants are rated there in the UK these days. A lot of stuff is ISO graded for viscosity but it can be converted over to something equivalent.

[JSeery]

To add to above, be careful of claims of backward compatable. This refers to the lubracation properties and not the "yellow" metal compatable. Some newer gear lubes do claim "yellow" metal comp, but if it was me I would stick with GL-4, not that hard to find. With the number of stick shift cars/trucks in the UK would think it would easy to come by.

[19Fordy]

GL-4 is the way to go.

[Seth Swoboda]

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[JSeery]

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Originally Posted by Seth Swoboda

Can you get a GL4 in a OO weight?

What is OO weight?

[Seth Swoboda]

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[Jembow]

My favoured supplier Miller Oils offer a 80w90 GL4. Think I'll try that.

[JSeery]

Originally Posted by Seth Swoboda

00 (zero,zero) gear oil. It's commonly used in agriculture gear boxes like a rotary mower. Low pour point, low viscosity.

You can use it in your steering box but it doesn't say "John Deere Corn Head Grease" so it won't work.

I have no idea what this has to do with the topic, over my head.

GL ratings relate to EP additives (among other things). EP additives are required for high load gears, such as the ring and pinion in a rear axle. Modern ring and pinion gears require a high EP ratio. Early Ford ring and pinion gears do not. You can use a GL-5 gear oil in a banjo rear axle, but it is not needed. The transmission does not require a GL-5 gear oil and in fact it can damage "yellow" metal parts. The V8 years transmissions do not require GL-4 either as far as that goes, but the EP levels are low enough to work ok and it is fairly easy to come by. GL-1 will work fine, but it is harder to find.

Note: From a quick look, the 0-0 grade is listed as a grease, not a gear lube. At least the ones I looked at had an EP additive. So, you would have to know the levels to know the effect on "yellow" metals. But again, no idea what this has to do with transmission and axle gear lube.

[JSeery]

This information has been posted many times before, but for someone new who is interested here are the SAE designations for motor oil and gear oil. The "W" is for Winter ratings. The other chart is the GL definitions. The normal Gear Lube viscosity ratings start at 75W.

[rotorwrench]

Thixotropic type grease and just plain grease in general, are rated differently than gear lubricants. If it isn't GL or MT rated, it's not considered gear lube.

Engine oil and gear lube even have different viscosity ratings. SAE 50 motor oil is the same viscosity as SAE 90 gear lube.

The ring & pinion type have a bearing on EP use. The hypoid types with offset pinion to gear contact need the higher EP GL5 lube. GL4 will work for non hypoid like the old banjo but GL5 won't hurt the rear axle since there are no soft metal bushings or thrust washers in those.

[JSeery]

Well rotor within two minutes of each other.

[Talkwrench]

Originally Posted by JSeery

Well rotor within two minutes of each other.

Gold ...

[Seth Swoboda]

Originally Posted by JSeery

I have no idea what this has to do with the topic, over my head.

GL ratings relate to EP additives (among other things). EP additives are required for high load gears, such as the ring and pinion in a rear axle. Modern ring and pinion gears require a high EP ratio. Early Ford ring and pinion gears do not. You can use a GL-5 gear oil in a banjo rear axle, but it is not needed. The transmission does not require a GL-5 gear oil and in fact it can damage "yellow" metal parts. The V8 years transmissions do not require GL-4 either as far as that goes, but the EP levels are low enough to work ok and it is fairly easy to come by. GL-1 will work fine, but it is harder to find.

Note: From a quick look, the 0-0 grade is listed as a grease, not a gear lube. At least the ones I looked at had an EP additive. So, you would have to know the levels to know the effect on "yellow" metals. But again, no idea what this has to do with transmission and axle gear lube.

...

[JSeery]

Originally Posted by Seth Swoboda

What this has to do with transmission and axle gear lube is it can be used in both. As I explained it is used in gear boxes for other applications. I live in an agriculture area and if you walk into any auto parts or farm store they stock "00" gear lube. But hey, what do I know?

No idea why anyone would do anything like this. And I really doubt anyone has "00" gear lube unless it is some none SAE rating system. The lowest viscosity SAE gear lube rating as far as I know is 75W. To each their own, but still no idea why.

Upgrade: "The National Lubricating Grease Institute (NLGI) is a not-for-profit organization that serves the lubricating grease industry. The NLGI consistency number, sometimes referred to as NLGI grade, refers to the relative hardness of a grease used for lubrication as specified by the institute's standards. NLGI 00 grade grease has a semi-fluid consistency similar to applesauce."

"Grease consistency is a major contributor (in combination with additive technology, base fluids, and types of thickeners) to the performance of a grease and how well it will execute lubrication tasks in specific applications."

"NLGI consistency numbers do not provide enough information to determine whether a specific grease is applicable to any given undertaking - instead, these numbers should serve as a general guideline and should be taken in consideration with the structural and mechanical stability, viscosity, and specific additive technology of an exact grease."

"The NLGI number system categorizes greases according to their hardness, from an NLGI No. 000 through No. 6, with an NLGI No. 2 being the most common."

[Seth Swoboda]

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[rockfla]

For my .02 worth
I'm sure JSERRY and ROTOR are cringing about now, and not sure how or IF STP stacks up BUT my Dad has been adding a small can of STP to every transmission we have from (15 different) GPW's and a GPA to our long list of V8 Fords to a Harley 42WLA, your transmission will NEVER shift smoother & quieter, guaranteed!!! Been doing it for over 30 years not one issue!!!

[JSeery]

STP is some interesting stuff, used it for about everything in my youth. Somewhat funny story. I purchased a brand new 67 mustang GT. Decided it needed a lower rearend gear and took it to a local High Performance shop. They put the gears in using GM fluid, it was a posi-trac type of rearend (well, not posi-trac! but the Ford version). I picked it up and didn't even make it around the block!!! So, they had to redo it. Guess getting the proper gear lube was to much effort for them, so they used STP. It ran fine, but I'm sure it was not working correctly.

[rockfla]

JSEERY
Wasn't it the "miracle" engine fix??? That and marvel mystery oil...my granddad swore by it....he added a cap full or so to every fill up of gas to every car he owned.

[David J]

Here's one example of it . Very good stuff .

Originally Posted by Seth Swoboda

00 (zero,zero) gear oil. It's commonly used in agriculture gear boxes like a rotary mower. Low pour point, low viscosity.

You can use it in your steering box but it doesn't say "John Deere Corn Head Grease" so it won't work.