Fluids

British Car Fluids

This page was last updated on 04/27/00

By Roger Garnett

[If anyone has additions, comments, complaints, questions, etc. please mail them to me directly. I will make appropriate changes, repost here, if necessary.] RG

Here's a chart of some acceptable, available fluids for your British car: {as always, check the specs for your car!}

Brake and Clutch

DOT3 -Do not use on British cars it WILL rot your seals.
DOT4 (DOT4 should be flushed and replaced at 2-3 yr intervals)
- -Castrol LMA -Low Moisture Absorbent, easy on seals
- -Girling
DOT5 (Silicone) Doesn't absorb water, or remove paint. Can be a bit harder to get the air out, and may be more prone to boiling in heavy braking usage. Fantastic for long term storage -Good for 5+++ years.

(While DOT4 and DOT5 are officially compatible, for best performance, it's best not to mix them.)

Hydraulic Lever Arm shocks

This should be an hydraulic oil designed for this application, with anti-frothing additives. A small hand-pump oiler with pointed nozzle is very handy for filling shocks.

OEM Girling, Armstrong, or Lockheed Shock oil, if you can find it.
20/20w motor oil, except cold conditions. (From AH Sprite manual)
Motor Cycle Fork oil.
- Castrol Fork Oil. Available in 20 & 30 wt. (30 works good)
90 Wt Gear oil or STP. For really stiff shocks (competition use.) (Note- this may reduce the life of the seals)
Hydraulic jack or ram oil?

Carburetor Piston Dampers

Factory recommendations may be motor oil, or special damper oil.

Solex Carb or SU Damper oil, available from some mail-order places.

For light damping (faster response):

Marvel Mystery Oil (very good for this application)
Automatic Trans Fluid
3 in 1 oil

For moderate damping:

20 or 30 w Engine Oil
20-50 wt Engine Oil

Transmission

Check your specs! Some cars specify Hypoid gear oil, some engine oil, and others!

90 or 85-90 Hypoid Gear oil -For required high shear strength usage.
85-140 Straight oil. (Older straight cut transmissions/rear-ends)
75-90 GL5 MTL (Redline synthetic)
30 wt, non-detergent, or engine oil (MGB Spec)
Automatic Trans Fluid -This can be good for short term usage, to clean things out & free sticky syncros. May be prone to more leakage. Spec'ed for some newer gearboxes, or some with internal oil pumps (TR7-8).

Oil-lite Bushings (Some pilot bearings, etc.)

Rear Differential

usually a high shear strength "Hypoid Gear Oil"

90 wt, or 85-80. Some older cars require STRAIGHT 140wt.

Steering Gear

if you have power steering, check manufacturers recommendation.

90wt Hypoid Gear Oil -many rack & pinion, others.
Grease- some worm and sector, other boxes.

Wheel Bearings

use a high quality, high temperature bearing grease. ie:

Castrol or other good wheel bearing grease.

Grease fittings

the stuff you use your grease gun for

Lithium Grease
Silicone grease -For suspension and other components where rubber is present, this will prolong the life of the rubber.

Trunion Fittings (TR's and others)

90 wt Oil. (Not Grease) - application methods: fill the cartridge with oil, or just invert the top of the gun with the lever, fill the depression with oil and pump away.

Cooling System

50-50 mix of water and Anti-Freeze is best for *most* applications. This offers the best Anti-Corrosion, Anti-Freeze, and Cooling capabilities. If you have an Aluminium head or block, you ought to make sure that your anti-freeze spec'ed for use with Al.
Water with a corrosion preventing additive. Note: Distilled water is preferred for all cooling systems, to prevent ionization and mineral deposits (and even reduce deposits).

Battery

Top up cells with distilled water. Do not use tap water.

The editor of this page is Bob Haskell.

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