Gear oil

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donthekawguy

Junior Member
Where is everyone getting their gear oil? All the local stores give me a confused look when I ask about it. lol I could only find it for 14 a quart on Amazon and that seems steep.
 
I get mine from brattons but all the vendors sell it. I think it's 140 weight modern, someone will correct me if I am wrong.
 
They say that the W stands for winter . I've been told that the so called 600 W gear oil that is sold by the model A parts vendors is made up from a mixture of 140W and STP . A person can mix and make their own gear oil . I have used 90 W with no problem if I didn't have any 600W and it shifted just fine .
 
A Model A friend swore that 600W was 600 weight oil, until I stopped at a local business that sells heavy lubricants. I asked if they carried 600 weight and was told that the heaviest they handled was 700 weight. They asked me "what the hell" I was going to use 600 for. I explained and they said you can't put 600 weight in a car. You have to heat 600 just to pour it.
Marty
 
I have used for the last year the MEROPA 1500 sell by restoration supply (link provided in a previous post), with excellent results.

It's been said that in winter you can't shift. Not true for my MA winter. I started the car this winter with several degrees Celsius below cero in the non heated barn and moved the car, back and front inside the barn and shift perfectly. You will read that you can't move the shift at all. Well, on our MA winter if I go with -11 Celcius outside (-7 in the barn) without starting the car, you can shift without problem. Yes, it is a little harder than in Summer, but smooth and without problem

At least that was my experience. But I am a newbie.

You can take a look to this thread I started in October:

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=272671
 
Purdy Swoft said:
They say that the W stands for winter . I've been told that the so called 600 W gear oil that is sold by the model A parts vendors is made up from a mixture of 140W and STP . A person can mix and make their own gear oil . I have used 90 W with no problem if I didn't have any 600W and it shifted just fine .
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W does stand for winter in multigrade oils...the W in 600W I don't think means that as it dates back to the 1920s when multigrade oil didn't exist. Today 600W is a marketing name, nothing more.

I prefer a heavier oil than 140 but if you okay with it I'd go for something like this and avoid the dirty tricks of the suppliers and save $:

https://www.amazon.com/Sta-Lube-SL2...id_Ounces/dp/B000M8IHI2/?tag=atomicindus08-20
 
Forddan said:
I have used for the last year the MEROPA 1500 sell by restoration supply (link provided in a previous post), with excellent results.

It's been said that in winter you can't shift. Not true for my MA winter. I started the car this winter with several degrees Celsius below cero in the non heated barn and moved the car, back and front inside the barn and shift perfectly. You will read that you can't move the shift at all. Well, on our MA winter if I go with -11 Celcius outside (-7 in the barn) without starting the car, you can shift without problem. Yes, it is a little harder than in Summer, but smooth and without problem

At least that was my experience. But I am a newbie.

You can take a look to this thread I started in October:

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=272671
Click to expand...




Good on you Forddan, you did some critical thinking rather than just be sucked in by the words "600W" on a generic plastic bottle. Gear oils must come with some info such as pour point, ISO rating, viscosity index (you want 100 or more), copper corrosion test...if a seller cannot supply then don't buy. Even the top $ Penrite Transoil specs do not mention some of this critical info. I guess their plan is to sell their oil based on the cool painting on the bottle. You don't buy books based only on what the cover looks like.


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Guten Abend M2M.

680 is the viscosity in mm² / sec. at 40 ° C. It is the thickest industrial machine gear oil you can buy here. The data 1000 or 1500 are unknown here. But the 680 is as tough as honey at 10 ° C. Pour point -8 ° C.

I add 5% MoS2.
 
Werner said:
Guten Abend M2M.

680 is the viscosity in mm² / sec. at 40 ° C. It is the thickest industrial machine gear oil you can buy here. The data 1000 or 1500 are unknown here. But the 680 is as tough as honey at 10 ° C. Pour point -8 ° C.

I add 5% MoS2.
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Werner, I'm sure you can find 1000 or 1500 in the EU, but you must search for it.
Gold standard Mobil SHC 636 which is ISO 680 has a pour point of -39C, and even Mobil SHC 639 which is ISO 1000 has a pour point of -33C. There's nothing stopping you doing that winter trip to the Kremlin that you've always wanted to do. See:

https://petroleumservicecompany.com/content/pdfs/MOBIL_SHC_600_SERIES_PDS.pdf
 
I don't know much about oils and there make up but I know from working with steam engines for the last 50 years you use 600w for steam lubricators on the engines. Other oils brake down under the heat and wet steam on the cylinder walls of steam engines. A steam cleaner want clean it off of engines, you have to wash it off with kerosene. Allso we used 600w in winches with a worm gear setup. Ford recommended it for their gear boxes and so did John Deere.
 
Yes Sir, that's right! Steam cylinder oils are very temperature stable and particularly thick. But here you can only buy this in 50 gal barrels.
 
I have worked on aircraft for about 40 years, restored old Harleys and Model A Fords, that W600 is crap. The best I have found is Mobil One synthetic 90W140. It has enough weight(thickness) to drag the gears slower for better shifting yet it is not so thick to make the roller bearings slide instead of rolling, sliding bearings due to thick oil is not good. Mobil One 140 also works good in the steering box(don't ever use grease in it). If you really need something thicker than the Mobil One, Lucas sells a nice straight 140 weight, shake the bottles and you can hear the difference.
 
Flyboy1st said:
I have worked on aircraft for about 40 years, restored old Harleys and Model A Fords, that W600 is crap. The best I have found is Mobil One synthetic 90W140. It has enough weight(thickness) to drag the gears slower for better shifting yet it is not so thick to make the roller bearings slide instead of rolling, sliding bearings due to thick oil is not good. Mobil One 140 also works good in the steering box(don't ever use grease in it). If you really need something thicker than the Mobil One, Lucas sells a nice straight 140 weight, shake the bottles and you can hear the difference.
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The main problem with the oils you suggest (and the one's I suggested) is the bottle doesn't say "600W"...for many guys what's written on the bottle matters more than what the oil actually is. Also, if they purchased a quality gear oil they wouldn't be able to delve into the world of old wives' tales by adding STP, extra virgin olive oil, raw honey, etc. People spend big $ on new rear end and ****** parts and a rebuild costs then add such things rather than buy a quality gear oil !!!
 
Why would anybody use this thick junk in a transmission or rear end, they're gears no different than today and every bit as good, go to Walmart and get some 80-90, get rid of the tar, put in some real lube' with modern EP protection, your Model A or T will love you for it, won't ever have to replace 'em again.
 
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