TeriAnn asks:
>Lightweight oil in a B gearbox???? What is the recommended oil for a
>MGB early series II {all syncro} gear box? I thought it took 90 wt.
Nope -- 20W50, just like the motor. Spridgets do too. The
rear end takes something like 75W90, if I recall. The Bentley
manual lists all the weights and even brand names of approved
lubricants for all the parts of MGBs that need to be made more
slippery on occasion. (Note that on older Bs, this includes
the water pump, the propeller shaft, and the distributor as
well as the usual places.)
In fact, even newer Bs need a drop of oil run down the centre
of the distributor -- well, here's my technique.
1. Open a quart tin of Marvel Mystery Oil.
2. Loosen and remove the distributor cap. Pull off the
rotor, noting the orientation of cap and rotor to ease
reassembly.
3. Insert a chopstick into the tin of Marvel Mystery Oil
to a depth of about 4" (100mm).
4. Quickly move the chopstick to the centre post of the
distributor and place it down into the hole so that the
oil runs off the chopstick and lubricates the distributor
internals.
5. If necessary, repeat steps 3 and 4 to ensure that approximately
three drops of oil are put into the distributor.
CAUTION
Do not cook, eat, or otherwise prepare food with this chopstick
after immersion in Marvel Mystery Oil! Likewise, be sure to
use a clean chopstick, as Hunan black bean paste with garlic
has not been approved for use in Lucas distributors.
>& do you mean I should have put non-detergent oil in my TR4 gearbox because
>of problems with the syncro rings???
Rumor has it. Apparently some synchronizer rings are coated with
a compound that the detergent removes, which accelerates wear. I
seem to recall that Alfas are the main victims of this user error
and I don't know whether or not British cars succumb to it. I
used detergent Castrol 20W50 oil in my Midget's gearbox, which
eventually lost first gear (no synchros on that one), but that
was at 11 or 12 years of age.
BTW, I didn't know about the TR4. Is that new, or is it just
a TR4 box in your TR3?
--Scott "Please try your Nice Chinese Food with Chopsticks" Fisher
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