spitfires
[Top] [All Lists]

RE: Alternative Gear Lubes

To: spitfires@autox.team.net
Subject: RE: Alternative Gear Lubes
From: J Constantino <jjcon2@yahoo.com>
Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 20:49:04 -0800 (PST)
I have been advised by everyone I talked too, not to
put lubes with teflon additives in an OD trans, but no
one advised against synthetic gear lubes (one does not
require the other).

Redline recommended their GL4 MT-90 gearlube and the
staff person at Grass Root Motorsports Magazine I
spoke on the phone with said they have used Redline
with great sucess in the many Spitfires that have gone
through their hands (a dozen or so..)

In an early 80's Hot Rod magazine I remember reading
that the then new manual transmissions of American
cars had tighter clearances specifically so they could
run ATF.  Detroit did this so that they could get
their transmissions the shift as smooth as the Asian
and European cars.  Hot Rod advised against running
gearlube in a trans designed for ATF and I would think
the converse would be true.

A trans with "Loose" clearances might be unhappy with
the thin ATF.

Last, I read (I think on the Redline web site) that
the viscosity of Gearlubes and engine oils are
measured at different temperatures.  30 or 40 wt
engine oil is about equal to 90 wt gearlube at the
same temp.  I don't remember the exact conversion.
As an aside, I also read on the Redline site that
gearlube gets it's bad smell from sulfur additives
(which are bad for bronze), so the worse your gearlube
smells the worse it is for your driveline.

Hopefully in a few months I will be roadtesting my
Redline filled OD tranny.

Jason
GT6
Yahoo! Photos - Share your holiday photos online!

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>