Consensus on wheel drive lubricant?

Diffs, axles, lockers, transmissions, portals, that kind of thing.
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ChickenPinz
United States of America
Posts: 327
Joined: Tue Feb 11, 2020 7:16 pm

Consensus on wheel drive lubricant?

Post by ChickenPinz »

What's the consensus on valid (preferred?) wheel drive lubricant?
- Old school 80/90W is I believe okay, but pretty thick on a cold morning. I like to call it "auto-braking".
- GL-5 Redline 75W90 seems an option, but there has been some fear expressed about it if an axle seal fails. Not sure how big that risk is.
- Something else you're running?

Right now I'm MT-90 in the transmission, dino 80/90 in the wheel drives, and moving to Redline GL-5 75W90 in the axle drives. That's three different gear lubes, and if I could settle on the same in axle drives and wheel drives, that'd cut me down to just two. The dino 80/90W is "okay", but I'd rather use something with a lower cold viscosity.
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pcolette
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Location: Southwest Wisconsin

Re: Consensus on wheel drive lubricant?

Post by pcolette »

I've used CRC STA-LUBE SL24239 85-90W in wheel drives and differentials for over 10 years in multiple Pinz's and have experienced no issues. Disclaimer is that I'm not too hard on my Pinz nor do I put on many miles in a year. Looking through the forum archives you'll see many opinions on appropriate lubes along with the why's and wherefore's of each.

One of the best tools you should consider for yourself is a Mityvac MV6400 Fluid Dispensing System or similar. Not inexpensive but really saves your arm, etc.
Paul C.
_________
'73 Swiss 710M
'89 Puch 230GE
ChickenPinz
United States of America
Posts: 327
Joined: Tue Feb 11, 2020 7:16 pm

Re: Consensus on wheel drive lubricant?

Post by ChickenPinz »

I use either a syringe or a pump-on-a-quart container -- both work fine.
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MTPinz
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Location: Montana

Re: Consensus on wheel drive lubricant?

Post by MTPinz »

I stole my wife's garden sprayer, chopped the end off the wand, and have used that for years to pressure fill gear oil. It's a slow process (especially when the oil is cold) but works well on any vehicle. And since she bought it it was free for me! :).

I just filled my diffs and gearboxes with it today and it worked like a charm, again.
Joeri
Belgium
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Re: Consensus on wheel drive lubricant?

Post by Joeri »

I use...80/ 140.....your bearings will last longer :wink:
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