Transmission grease

Knoxville9

Junior Member
I'm in the process of getting my 1937 ford up and running. Well after having it running and taking short drives I decided to change the fluids. Well my transmission is filled with grease rather than oil. This truck was previously my grandfathers so I'm assuming this was him, is this common? Should I leave it go? I thought maybe this was just an old truck to quiet it down please give me your thoughts.
 
How thick is the grease?? Pull the top off of the transmission and take a look see. Flush it out and check the gears carefully. Old dirty gear lube can be mighty thick at times, especially when cold. Keep us posted on what you find.
 
the trans may have had a leaking problem and grease was put in it to stop the leak, but grease is not used in a trans or rear end, 90w or 140w gear oil is used, depending on summer or winter climate
 
I'm in the process of getting my 1937 ford up and running. Well after having it running and taking short drives I decided to change the fluids. Well my transmission is filled with grease rather than oil. This truck was previously my grandfathers so I'm assuming this was him, is this common? Should I leave it go? I thought maybe this was just an old truck to quiet it down please give me your thoughts.
Is the trans 3 or 4 speed? If 4 speed he might have used grease to help with shifting the straight cut gears. As Ford 3 suggests it should be filled with gear oil - I use a 90 wt NAPA GL-1 (straight mineral oil no additives) plus 1 oz of Lucas HD oil stabilizer to deal with an oil seepage issue in my truck transmission.
 
This is a 3 speed transmission and I have pulled the too cover to inspect it is filled with grease of a tannish color. I believe the rear main is leaking which is why the grease was put in. How should I clean this grease out?
 
I use a mixture of chassis grease and gear oil in all of my old Fords for 33 years. !,000's of miles, no leaks and quiet. I drive in warm temperatures all the time so cold is not a problem. I make the mixture about the consistency of Honey. I also add some powdered molly which is hard to find, molly grease would be good. To drain yours I would drive the truck in hot weather for a fairly long time and drain it. Diesel fuel can be used to delute and flush it out. Start it up and use the gears as a blender. G.M.
 
Decided to add in a bottle of 85 140 gear oil and run it for now and see how things go for the summer. This winter I plan a good over haul with a rear main, cleaning the ****** and a new clutch among other things. Greatly appreciate everyone's input
 
Sounds like a plan. Fresh gear lube of any SAE grade will start the flush. Drive it a while and then drain & refill. Over time you should have pretty clean internals and like I tell most folks, any lube is better than no lube. The countershaft cluster gear does a good job of oil distibution inside there. Plain chassis grease won't flow into the internal bearings well so there has to be some fluidity to it. Chassis grease has oil soaps in it that are fine for metal to metal oscillating parts like tie rod ends and ball joints but it's not made to lubricate gears and bearings that rotate at rpm. If the transmission doesn't leak a little, then there is no fluid in it. Some folks have an obsession about leaky engines, axles, & transmissions. Modern automitive components are made to seal better than an old slinger ring systems so they don't leak. If you want to slow leakage a bit then just use the next higher viscosity lube or get yourself a catch tray and put it under the vehicle. I use the catch tray myself and just let the old stuff seep like it was supposed to.

As for lubricants, one of the easiest "satisfy all concerns" is Sta-Lube GL-4 as long as NAPA will still carry the stuff. GL-1 will work in most conditions but it has no EP additives at all for heavy use. Truth be known, modern GL-5 will probably work in most conditions unless you have an overdrive transmission. GL-3 hasn't been available for many years and that was mild EP gear lube that was recommended for all the overdrives back in the day. GL-4 replaced it and still has a mild EP rating but it is getting harder to source every year.
 
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