• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

transmition fluid

Share this page

B

Bill Toppin

Freshman Member
Offline
Hi I have a question on what I should be putting in the tranny for gear oil. when I cleaned and refilled it I used Lucas 85\140 gear oil that I got at pepboy's .This seems to be to thick as I had trouble shifting the gears(it was very cold out that day about 18 F) soooo I was wondering what I should use to make the o/d work smoother. I should slso tell you it's a side loader 4 speed with o/d in a BT7 thanks for any help bill toppin
 
Re: transmission fluid

Hi Bill,
The factory specified 30 wt engine oil for Healeys. Interestingly, Triumph specified gear oil, GL4 or lower rated. Many Healeys use 20W-50 engine oil. Some use Redline MT 90, a SAE rated 75W90 gear oil, or MTL, a SAE rated 70W80 gear oil. Neither of which contains sulphur. This is not really the contradiction that it sounds like. Gear oil & motor oil have different rating systems so gear oil & engine oil are close to the same viscosity at transmission temperatures. The important thing is to avoid sulphur compounds, which may degrade the brass/bronze parts in the transmission, & avoid friction modifiers which may cause the OD to slip. A GL5 rated gear oil would be an example of the wrong stuff.

I think 85/140 gear oil is definitely the wrong thing to use. Especially if it is GL5 rated. SAE 20w-50 or Redline MTL would likely improve your situation. R/L seems to give better shifting than 20-50 but is quite a bit more expensive.

There are a lot of differing opinions on this subject so you may get others.
D
 
[ QUOTE ]
Red Line MT 90 is the only way to go. I just changed mine and will never go back. Shifts great and the OD works flawlessly. Skip

[/ QUOTE ] I am traveling so I am unable to check but I believe that I have used Red Line MTL with sucess in my vintage race car.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I am traveling so I am unable to check but I believe that I have used Red Line MTL with sucess in my vintage race car.

[/ QUOTE ]
Another vote for Red Line MTL.
 
I have used Shell ND (Non-Detergent) oil in two Healeys that both shift well. It is probably cheaper than Redline, although, I have heard enough support for Redline that when I change my oil next, I will try Redline.
Robert
 
I believe 30 weight engine oil is specified in both the shop manual and owners manual. That's what I used, no problems.
 
Back
Top