AmsOil Synthetic Gear Oil, 80W-90

Beats the s--- out of me ! But I'm really interested in what others have to say about this. My brother sells AMSOIL and is always raggin on me to use his products. I hope all you out there give your opinions.......Aircooled

Yes, it is true that Amsoil MTG SAE 75W-90 is non corrosive to yellow metals and it is a full synthetic.  We have been using Amsoil products in all our vehicles for 15 years and have been very satisfied.

Everything I've heard about AMSOIL has always been good.

Or you could go with the LAT Hypoid oil that Rancho recommends for their transaxles:

 

http://www.ranchotransaxles.co...f6g87nf6ba3da0607rb7

 

 

 

Most GL-5 gear oils have changed from the active sulfur compounds they initially used 30 years ago that was rather corrosive to brass. There are a number of GL-5 gear oils that are closely equivalent to GL-4 in terms of yellow metal corrosiveness, but be careful as there are still those that are pretty bad for synchros as they're meant for rear differentials, not transmissions. Lucas gear oil was particularly bad as I recall.

 

Corrosiveness is different from wear though. The additional pressure protection in GL-5 bonds more strongly to the brass synchros than it does with GL-4 and as that protection layer is peeled off, it takes more of the brass with it. Therefore GL-5 will tend to wear the synchros faster than GL-4.

 

GL-4 vs GL-5 however is really about extreme pressure protection. So if your trans has hypoid gears or you are running a lot of power through it, you'll want the higher protection of GL-5 at the cost of lower lifespan on your synchros. (It's cheaper to replace synchros than gears.) If you're running a beetle trans (not bus) and a modest engine, stick with GL-4 and things will likely last longer. I use Redline 75W90 NS GL-5 gear oil, Swepco 201 is another common GL-5 oil that tends to top the recommended lists for VW/Porsche.

Hey I put Mobil 1 synthetic 75-90 in B's new (Type 1, 3.44 R&P) gearbox. Was that a mistake?

 

Cuz if it was I can just change it out while she's torn down for the head gasket job...

Should be OK. It's a Limited Slip formula, but if you're happy with the way it is shifting don't worry about it.


Found the paper on various gear oils tests (done by Amsoil): http://www.oilteksolutions.com/GearLubeWhitePaper.pdf

As for the corrosion question, paper summary from http://www.hdforums.com/forum/...sporty-answered.html

ASTM D-130 ratings fall on a scale going from 1A (least corrosive) to 4C (most corrosive) From a corrosive standpoint, an oil with a 1A or 1B rating is considered safe.

The following is the latest product list I could find that has undergone ASTM D-130 testing.

SAFE GL-5 Oils
Amsoil M/T Fluid MTF..5W-30.............. 1A Light Orange
Red Line MT-90.......75W-90 GL4......... 1A Light Orange
Amsoil Long Life FGR 75W-90 GL5......... 1B Dark Orange
Amsoil Severe Gr SVG 75W-90 GL5....... 1B Dark Orange
Amsoil MT & Gear MTG 75W-90 GL4...... 1B Dark Orange
Mobil 1 Synthetic....75W-90 GL5......... 1B Dark Orange
Castrol Hypoy C......80W-90 GL5......... 1B Dark Orange
Castrol SYNTEC.......75W-90 GL5........ 1B Dark Orange
Citgo Citgear Std XD 75W-90 GL4........ 1B Dark Orange
GM Synthetic Axle....75W-90 GL5........ 1B Dark Orange
Pennzoil Gearplus....80W-90 GL5.......... 1B Dark Orange
Pennzoil Synthetic...75W-90 GL5......... 1B Dark Orange
Red Line NS Gear Oil 75W-90 GL5......... 1B Dark Orange
Red Line 75W90 GL-5..75W-90 GL5....... 1B Dark Orange
Torco SGO Syn G LS....75W-90 GL5...... 1B Dark Orange
Valvoline High Perf..80W-90 GL5........... 1B Dark Orange
Valvoline SynPower...75W-90 GL5......... 1B Dark Orange

MARGINAL GL-5 Oils
Delo Gear Lubric ESI 80W-90 GL5.......... 2A Claret Red
Delo Trans Fluid ESI 50W..................... 2A Claret Red

UNSAFE GL-5 Oils
Royal Purple MaxGear 75W-90 GL5......... 4A Trans Black
Mopar Syn LS additive..75W-90 GL5....... 4A Trans Black
Lucas 75/90 Synthetic75W-90 GL5......... 4B Graphite Blk

That is massively helpful. Thanks.

 

And yeah, she was shifting pretty darn nice. I was still dialing in the shifter position but it was already much better than before the rebuild.

Justin - great tech tip! Thanks for sharing that info! 

Two oils not mentioned. Swepco, this oil has been the norm for all porsche owners for years. Very expensive in comparison to others on the market. The redline shock-proof is similar. The other is the old tried and true brad penn classic. This oil even smells like the old traditional gear oils of years pass. Remember too slick of an oil (GL rating) can cause difficult shifting.

FWIW, Rancho recommends LAT.  Of course, I think they own LAT.

Yes they do!

LAT?  Please elucidate.

http://www.ranchotransaxles.co...7v9qcs9ldev97r76rte4

When I was trying to smooth out my shifting originally (turned out to be the clutch cable), I researched this a bunch & drove myself nuts.  Finally, I decided that I should use what the transmission manufacturer recommended.

Mmmm, "Sever duty" is it then? 

Sorry, I've been off line for several days. Thank you all for posting on my original question. Especially Justin for the ratings. I'm going to drain my transaxil and put in the Valvoline HP.

Yeah, I caught that "Severe Duty" thing, too.

 

When I had my transaxle rebuilt at Rancho last Spring, just as they were about to ship it I talked with Sam Shackleford there and asked what they recommended for lube for their builds, given what I had for power (140hp) and expected driving conditions in New England and he shipped out 5 qts of LAT 80W-90 with the tranny.

 

http://www.ranchotransaxles.co...7v9qcs9ldev97r76rte4

 

Personally, I really don't think I need "Severe Duty" 85W-110lube in there, as I would never expect to be running hard enough to increase the internal temp of the transaxle enough to warrant it.

 

I would also expect the heavier lube would also be much thicker at expected operating temps just putting around New England and would tend to make shifting sluggish, as the synchro rings would spin up and "sync" slower.  You might never notice this if you tend to shift at a leisurely pace, but it should offer resistance if you push it.

 

But then, I don't believe in 20W-50 oil in the engine, either, so what do I know?

 

Michael:  That Valvoline 80W-90 should work just fine.  I've been running Valvoline Hypoid lube for decades and it's always been good stuff.  Plus....you can buy it everywhere.

Gordon, just finished draining out the old stuff VS had in casing after 1900 miles. Noticed a large amount on both plug of slug; wiped it clean and moved on. Replaced the gear oil with what Justin had in his list; Valvoline High Performance 80W-90. Etching to take a drive this weekend, but the SoCal weather is sitting at 95F and humid. Thank yo for the feedback.

RATS!!!

Just realized that I'd recently drained and replaced my tranny lubricant with Wolf's Head 80w-90..."that meets, or exceeds API GL-5 service"...thanks NAPA!!

 

Is there a procedure to flush the case clean to mitigate the corrosive additives of the GL-5?

 

 

Carl!

 

Before you go nuts worrying about a potential nothing, I would dig into the specs for that Wolfshead oil.  

 

http://www.wolfshead.com/specsheets/hdxgear.pdf

 

I know that the muscle car guys in the Beaufort Car Club all ran Wolfshead oils and loved them, so I wouldn't say that you made a poor choice.  It may not be on Justin's list simply because it was not included in the group of lubes tested (Maybe not as popular because of a lower Marketing ad budget, say) and may, in fact, be fine.  

 

Wolfshead used to be owned by Pennzoil but got sold to Amalie when Shell bought out Pennzoil in the late 2000's.  I've never heard anything bad about their products.

 

Michael:  a small amount of sludge on the drain plug(s) should be expected after the first few thousand miles.  Lots of moving things in there that wear in during that period and they create metal "dust" that gets collected by the magnetic plugs.  All good.  Usually, after that break-in period, things settle down and the initial wear is done.

 

Now, get out there and enjoy it!

Gordon,

No. It hasn't been driven

Started a few times for brief periods of time only.

There's no way of knowing, but they may have tested it and found it as good as Amsoil, and since it sells for way less money, not published the results. Could be why Swepco isn't on the list either. We'll never know...

I read a loud resounding NO to potentially corrosive GL-5

 

I've acquired great respect for the opinions, experience and information blogged on this site, so to be on the safe side I'll drain and replace the Wolf's Head 80w-90.

 

Can I use gasoline or alcohol to flush the case?

I'm no expert here, but if it were me I'd drain/replace the oil, drive it for a bit and then do the drain/replace again.

Getting too technical. Just put the gear oil in the trans and drive it.

I put Lucas gear oil in mine. Guess what? It works.



I love that we have guys who sweat this stuff so I don't have too.

Ted

What Anthony said; drain it and replace it. There won't be enough of the old stuff in to worry about.

Hello and thank you Gordon and everyone one else on this great string of info based on my initial question. I did go out Sunday Gordon before it got toasty and had a great ride. Gordon it makes sense what you say about metal gear break-in, the shifting is not so stiff and much smoother.

I'm stumped David,

 

Hesitant to ask...but what is MMO?

 

"Massively Multi-player Online" (MMO), short for "Massively Multi-Player Online Role-Playing Game" (MMORPG), like with a networked Playstation or X-Box and playing against hundreds or thousands of other on-line players.

 

But, more to the point......Who is "David"?  He's not on this thread.

Huh?...this is a puzzle Gordon

 

Tacked onto my SOC AmsOil thread is a comment from Stroud dated 12:16am in which he suggests "....give it a heavy shot of MMO..."

 

It wasn't addressed to me as an e-mail...it was a generic "Reply to Topic" comment as an addition to this existing thread.