[TR] Synthetic gear oil

Dean Tetterton tr3a58 at verizon.net
Sat Dec 21 15:26:36 MST 2013


Just before leaving for the VTR Convention in Hudson WI in 1998, I changed the
fluid in my TR6 A OD tranny to MTL. Drove to the convention from Richmond, VA.
by way of Canada and put on a lot of miles. Tranny is still working well and
have changed the MTL in it once. Would not use any thing else in my
transmissions. Also use it in all the race cars.

Happy Holidays
Dean Tetterton


On Dec 21, 2013, at 4:55 PM, Tony Drews wrote:

> I've had a long series of e-mail conversations with Steve Yott who knows
more about our trannies than most of us have forgotten.  He did some testing
where he had a window into the gearbox to see what was happening.  One think I
wasn't aware of is that different lubricants "foam up" more than others.  He
strongly recommends the Redline MT90 - it foams less and is compatible with
the synchros and overdrive.  When the lubricant foams up it doesn't lubricate
as well.
>
> So, another vote for Redline MT90.  As infrequently as the lubricant gets
changed in the tranny, the ~$15 per quart is cheap insurance.
>
> Cheers, Tony
>
> At 10:28 PM 12/20/2013, Randall wrote:
>> > Does anyone use synthetic gear oil in the transmission and/or
>> > differential of
>> > their TRs?  Any comments on the pros and cons of using synthetic oil?
>>
>> I've been using Valvoline full synthetic gear oil in all my Triumph diffs
for a long time.  The diff in my 59 TR3A was already well
>> worn when it came to me in 1984.  20 years and perhaps 200,000 miles later,
it wasn't any worse.  ISTR I changed the pinion seal
>> once, but otherwise it was still working fine when the car got wrecked.
>>
>> More recently, I switched to using Redline MT-90 in the transmissions and
overdrives.  It improved the synchro action, and so far no
>> problems, at least not that I attribute to the oil.  I have had a few
failures, but they clearly had other causes.
>>
>> But I wouldn't use a synthetic in the transmission that wasn't designed for
a synchronized transmission.  Reportedly some of the
>> gear oils on the market are too slick and interfere with synchro operation
(which requires a certain level of metal-to-metal
>> friction).
>>
>> Only "con" I see is increased cost.  The MT-90 in particular is worth
shopping around for, as prices vary quite a bit.  Compared to
>> the cost of new synchro rings, it's a bargain.
>>
>> Randall
>
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