On Tue, 13 Aug 1996, Peter Zaborski wrote:
> 1. I only drive the car in summer (or rather I don't drive in winter, we
> have four seasons here :-). Is there any advantage to using the engine
> oil instead of gear oil?
This is a subject that is raised every four months on this list.
Issue #1:
Assuming your late autumns tend to get somewhat cold :-), normal gear oil
will get a bit on the thick side. This will mean a stiff shifter action,
and decreased mileage. Various respectable and reputable car manufacturers
handle this in different ways, usually be specifying either engine oil or
ATF oil for manual transmissions (with Laycock O/Ds). A third
possibility (which I have stuck to) is to use synthetic GL4 gear oil.
Issue #2:
Some high pressure additivies (usually sulphur based) are not good for
the O/Ds cone clutch. They may also cause problems with certain brass parts,
although I think that due to change of materials, this is not really only a
problem with gear boxes from the early 60s and onwards. I have been
advised by an oil company that, generally speaking, a GL4 spec oil is
safe, and a GL5 spec should be avoided.
For the differential, you would really want to use the GL5.
Egil
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