Just been reading Ashcroft transmissions tech stuff about this gearbox, they recommend Dexron ATF?? Is this right, mines pissing EP90 out of every hole possible? I can tell it's EP due to colour & cat piss smell?
On or around Fri, 12 Aug 2005 18:52:03 +0100, "Nige" enlightened us thusly:
recommend Dexron ATF?? Is
due to colour & cat piss
ATF is correct for the gearbox, EP90 for the transfer box.
You can also put SAE 75 synthetic gear oil in the main box, this is a touch on the sticky side in winter when the 'box is cold, but OK once it's bee running for 10 minutes or so.
main box plus cross-drilled transfer gear (no point in fitting one without 'tother) was about 600 notes when I got one. Dunno how it rated in quality compared to Ashcroft. Have heard one or two disaster stories about Ashcroft, but only one or two, and considering the number they probably shift, that's not bad.
The oil pump in the gearbox is unlikely to survive cold EP90. Recommendations have varied over the years, but always thinner than EP90. Different oils have been recommended to get best performance for gear changing. The transfer case is recommended to have EP90, but is not very fussy as long as it has oil of some kind in it. JD
You are right. On no account should EP90 be used in LT77 or later gearboxes. Any MTF is better than ATF but don't worry about it. My fill for the last ten years or more has been oil recommended for Ford manual gearboxes though for some time now LR has recommended their own MT oil which is the same one used in Rover and Honda manual gearboxes. Its viscosity is about the same as ATF at around the same as SAE75w. The transfer box used in Defender and Discovery is happy with anything vaguely wet and slippery, from 10w/30 to EP90. The thinner the oil the less drag.
If you use ATF in the LT77 then you really need to change it every 6000 miles while a proper MTF will last at least double to 12000 miles. My Defender has run for over 10,000 hours [about 130,000 miles with an average of probably in excess of 10 gearchanges per mile] of heavy work with ATF at every 10,000 miles early on [the change quality would deteriorate at anything over 8000 miles] to running on Ford MT75 oil changed at every
20,000 miles in later years. Still changes as well as ever on its original 'boxes.
On or around Sun, 14 Aug 2005 20:06:58 +0100, "Huw" enlightened us thusly:
unless it's been sorted, you're very lucky if the gearbox output shaft/transfer input gear splines ain't worn. Anything before about 1997 suffers from this, IIRC. The one I took out of my disco (at about 100K miles, ISTR) was very worn, mind, it was also very clonky, the TDi disco (M95) has much less clonk at similar mileage.
I use the MTF like I said and the change quality is superior at all temperatures. As far as I can tell the cold viscosity is as for ATF. You and I both know that ATF is near SAE75W transmission oil but EMB apparently knows different. Maybe if he asked it would be explained to him.
Plenty of clonking. Not worried. Been like that for years. Also has, what I assume to be, a chipped tooth on reverse which is equally unworrying. In my opinion the use of low viscosity oil in the transfer box over its life [10w/30 super universal mostly] and its regular use in low ratio might have some bearing on its long life.
Without doubt. But I have been expecting this for the last dozen years or so and it ain't happened yet despite towing the odd overload. If it happens, it happens, and I will make a rational choice as to whether to repair or scrap the vehicle at that time. Until then its business as usual and I ain't going to hold my breath until it goes bang.
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