Hi Adrio,
Check out Topic of the Month at
www.quantumechanics.com
They rebuild lots of ODs and gearboxes, so I would trust John Esposito's opinions.
The upshot of his article seems to be that 30W non-detergent, non-synthetic oil is what they recommend for freshly rebuilt OD gearboxes. However, his writeup still leaves me wondering about using 20W50 non-detergent, non-synthetic, or maybe 40w non-detergent/non-synthetic in an OD gearbox that has some miles on it.
All TR gearboxes should avoid GL-5 gear oils, due to sulpher corrosion effects on brass parts. Sulpherous compounds are added to extend the pressure capabilities of GL-5 gear oils.
Detergent oils should be avoided in both OD and non-OD boxes because the detergent causes foaming, plus detergent serves no purpose in a gearbox. High detergent oils are useful in modern car engines, but might be deterimental in older designs.
Non-detergent motor oils are most often marketed and sold as "racing" oil. That's because racing engines get their oil changed a lot more often than street car engines, and foaming issues might cause problems in racing engines running at high rpms.
Synthetic oils might cause additional leakage, particulatly in the high pressure environment of an overdrive.
Plus, many synthetic motor oils are very high in detergent to give them "extended life", ruling them out entirely.
Synthetic gear oils might be better, since they don't have detergents. But, I also have concerns about using a synthetic oil with an oil-bathed clutch, such as is found in the Laycock overdrives. I've seen motorcycle clutches ruined by slippery synthetic oil.
Finally, some TR gearboxes have reportedly started popping out of gear when slippery synthetics were used. Draining and replacing with mineral-based oils solved the problem.
Redline might be an exception, because that company goes to great lengths to engineer their synthetic oils for specific needs. Their GL-5 rating comes from other modifiers, rather than sulpher, for example. However, watch that viscosity isn't too high for the Laycock overdrive. I haven't tried it so can't comment based on personal experience. I have used some other Redline products and found them good.
The bottom line is that the OD utilizes the oil for both lubrication and pressurized hydraulic operation. The gearbox itself is just looking for proper lubrication. Moderately heavy oils might be best for lubrication, but bad for hydrualics. Moderately lighter oils work best with the OD hydraulics, but too light might not provied adequate lubrication to either the gearbox or the OD.
Hope this helps clarify and doesn't just confuse matters more!
Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif.
'62 TR4 CT17602L