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Recommended Lubricants

Andrew

SAOCA Web/Graphics Service
Donation Time
Is there any way that we could have an area on the club site or a topic set up with regard to lubricants?
In looking at my owners handbook it is written that one should use Shell Spirax 90 E.P.:confused:
Could anyone tell me what weight of oil this is or what they would use today?
I am unable to find anything on past postings in regard to rear axle lubricants.
Regards,
Andrew
 

65beam

Donation Time
lubricants

shell spirax 90ep is a 90weight gear oil with an extreme pressure additive. todays product is called shell spirax 80/90. you can use any 80/90 gear oil to replace the original.remember not to put it in your transmission,rearend only!use a 30weight oil in the transmission. i use 20/50 motor oil in my motors.
 

Andrew

SAOCA Web/Graphics Service
Donation Time
shell spirax 90ep is a 90weight gear oil with an extreme pressure additive. todays product is called shell spirax 80/90. you can use any 80/90 gear oil to replace the original.remember not to put it in your transmission,rearend only!use a 30weight oil in the transmission. i use 20/50 motor oil in my motors.

- So you use any 80/90 oil in the diff.
- 30 weight in your gear box / transmission.
- 20W/50 motor oil for the engine/sump.

Should you use 20/50? My handbook reads 10W/30 for 27 deg. C to -7 deg. C
and then 20W/40 from 21 deg. C or above?

I have great oil pressure with 10W/30, what is the reason for 20W/50?
Would it not take longer for the oil to lube the engine with this weight?

Regards,
Andrew
 

Wombat

Donation Time
One additional thing to look for in diff oil is that it meets API Service Classification GL-5. This would normally be listed on the back of the container together with the Ford, GM etc specs it meets.

There is an API GL-6. I am not sure if this meets then exceeds the requirements of GL-5 or if is totally different.
 

Nickodell

Donation Time
Certain things set peoples' teeth on edge; for some it is scraping a spoon in a saucepan, for others chains saws, screaming kids or hairy louts on Harley-Davidsons emitting 120 decibel roars. Or people mispronouncing "nuclear" as nucular. Or politicians promising that theirs will be "the most ethical administraton/congress ever."

As long-time forum members will know, one of the things that sets my own teeth on edge is referring to oil by the term "weight," a description unknown to petroleum or lubrication specialists.

Every time I see it I want to scream out it's not weight, fer chrissake, it's VISCOSITY!! SAE 30 has a lower viscosity than SAE 40, meaning that at the same temperature it will run through a given orifice faster. It's nothing to do with the weight!

Sorry; you're all great guys that I'd like to lift a glass with any time, but ...

Thanks for letting me vent, as I do every year on the subject.

In fact, how about a Chit Chat thread on "Things That Set My Teeth on Edge"? (Nick's obsession with weight and viscosity is assumed).
 

Andrew

SAOCA Web/Graphics Service
Donation Time
Certain things set peoples' teeth on edge; one of the things that sets my own teeth on edge is referring to oil by the term "weight," a description unknown to petroleum or lubrication specialists.
Every time I see it I want to scream out it's not weight, fer chrissake, it's VISCOSITY!! SAE 30 has a lower viscosity than SAE 40, meaning that at the same temperature it will run through a given orifice faster. It's nothing to do with the weight!

Oops, sorry about that weight thing Nick. I should have known about this as it sets my wife off every time I talk about it!:D
Andrew
 

65beam

Donation Time
oils

nick,

the term WEIGHT may irk you, but we in the lube industry still talk that way .we know what the viscosity is but the people that we deal with use this term so we do also.we don't try to make the customer feel like a jerk by telling them that they're wrong in what they say. i have spent a few decades as an oil company rep dealing with all phases of the industry,but what irks me most is engineers that think they know more than what we in the oil industry know. that is probably why they are still working in a plant instead of using their knowledge to sell and make money.in other words ; no people skills.
 

serIIalpine

Donation Time
The "W" in 10w-40 stands for winter.

What they mean by ths is the oil when used in the cold end of the usage range recommended ie: the winter, the oil can be expected to maintan a viscocity that at it's thinnest gets no thicker than the smaller number. In this case a viscosity rating of 10 while also maintaining the properties of oils with ratings up to the higher number.

Eric

'62 Ser II
 

Nickodell

Donation Time
Andrew: no apology necessary. In answer to your question, the only real benefit from moving from 10W30 to 20W50 would be if you can't maintain an adequate pressure because, due to wear, the tolerances in bearings or oil pump are large, or because your ambient temperature is constantly over 90 degrees F or so and you don't have an oil cooler.
 

65beam

Donation Time
lubes

guys,i'm well aware of what the W stands for.we could discuss this forever .as long as nick doesn't get upset and make remarks like he did ,i won't be forced to get into the subject anymore either.
 

Nickodell

Donation Time
nick,

the term WEIGHT may irk you, but we in the lube industry still talk that way .we know what the viscosity is but the people that we deal with use this term so we do also.we don't try to make the customer feel like a jerk by telling them that they're wrong in what they say. i have spent a few decades as an oil company rep dealing with all phases of the industry,but what irks me most is engineers that think they know more than what we in the oil industry know. that is probably why they are still working in a plant instead of using their knowledge to sell and make money.in other words ; no people skills.

You don't have to make anyone feel like a jerk by using proper terminology, any more than a doctor makes his patient feel a jerk by referring to his appendix, rather than "that little wormy-shaped thing stuck on the side of the poo pipe in the right side of your tummy." If you get irked by engineers talking about viscosity instead of weight, maybe there's a message there.

Incidentally, I spent years in pharmaceutical sales and marketing, and we had no problem talking to doctors and pharmacists, or even the lay public who wrote to us, about bacterial and viral infections instead of "scarlet fever," "stomach flu" or "the croup." The idea of using such language so as not to offend them was not considered. Weight, as a substitute for oil viscosity, belongs in the same era.

Incidentally, the whole thing was intended in a light-hearted vein. Remember; I even called it my obsession. Maybe I should have put a bunch of :D :D :D 's in.
 

65beam

Donation Time
lubes

the same goes for me nick.i have spent many years of my working life as a lube rep.i know the terminology as well as anyone probably does.i have spent a lot of time in training classes learning the business.first with valvoline .then shell and later chevron.i guess my attitude sometimes gets rough but that happens. i learned a long time ago to use common sense and to listen to what the customer is asking for .i have seen the industry change and have seen a lot of specs change but the principal stays the same.keep it lubed!
 

Bill Blue

Platinum Level Sponsor
Andrew, to specifically address your question: The first number of a multi viscosity oil has no meaning for a car driven only in the summer, which probably covers your situation.

Also, if the automotive oil available to you has the "Sunburst" on the label, your probably better off to use a Diesel engine oil. The Sunburst oil available to the States does not have a good high pressure lube package and your camshaft will suffer because of it. Your engine was designed back in the days when the Diesel lube additve package was more or less the norm.

Bill
 

Andrew

SAOCA Web/Graphics Service
Donation Time
Lubricants

Hi Bill:
I here so many things about what oil to use, from 10W30 to 20W50 so it is hard to know what is best for the car.
I am using a 10W30 that I was informed was for older engines, I have great oil pressure but wonder if I should be using an oil with a higher viscosity.
I just want to make sure that the engine will last a good long while!
Thanks for all of your help, yet I am still unsure what should be used.
Andrew
 

Bill Blue

Platinum Level Sponsor
Andrew, ultimately, it does not matter very much. Engines have been running fine and lasting for 100 + thousands of miles on 10w30 oil for 50 years. For very hot weather, hard use or somewhat loose engine, go to a thicker oil. But 20w50 will work fine in a newly rebuilt engine driven in cool weather.

Bill
 
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