Motor Oil Info

As temperature decreases, the viscosity of oil increases. Gear lubricants with high viscosity at cold temperatures are less efficient, and the gears require more energy to turn. Gears and bearings in the differential and axle housing are splash lubricated, and gear lubricants that are too thick at cold temperatures can channel and starve internal components of lubrication, which can cause failure.

AMSOIL Severe Gear Synthetic Gear Lubes possess excellent cold flow properties, as evidenced in Brookfield Viscosity Test results. Extensive testing, the results of which are available in the AMSOIL, A study of Automotive Gear Lubes White Paper (G2457), and real world experience have proven the Severe Gear line’s ability to deliver exceptional performance and protection at extremely low temperatures.

Gear lubes face many of the same cold weather challenges as motor oils do, and the same basic differences between conventional and synthetic products apply to them as well.Synthetic gear lubes inherently possess superior cold weather performance characteristics and more readily provide dependable protection.

While engines, transmissions and cooling systems use heat created by combustion to warm up, gear oils rely on friction to warm up, which is only generated once the gears begin to move. This initial movement in cold weather is the point at which gears are most susceptible to damage.

I want to wish everybody a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

The differences in gear design create the need for significantly different lubrication designs, which is why manual transmissions sometimes use much different lubrication than differentials. For instance, hypoid gears normally seen in automotive differentials require API GL-5 concentration and performance of extreme pressure additives because of their spiral sliding action. For everyday driving API GL-5 performance and SAE 75W-90 viscosity is recommended. Heavy towing or hauling may require the use of API GL-5, 75W-140 viscosity since pressure between the ring and pinion gears are elevated.

As for manual transmission gearing, how they are set up and the service factor dictates the use of many different oils. OEMs sometimes recommend automatic transmission fluid such as MERCON or ATF+4, specialty lubes such as synchromesh fluids and API GL-4, 75w-90 viscosity gear lube. The difference in GL-4 and GL-5 is that GL-4 gear lubes have half the extreme pressure additives of GL-5. Because the gear types in manual transmissions do not necessitate the use of GL-5 gear lube, GL-4 is the correct recommendation called for by most OEM’s when gear lube is required.

When you think of oil, chances are that you are thinking about engine oil. This motor oil flows through your engine and provides lubrication to mechanical components. However, there are others that are in many ways just as important.

One such oil is the gear oil. This mixture serves as a lubricant for the manual transmission, transfer case and differentials-many of the systems that are under constant stress. Because of this, gear oil has a very high viscosity compared to other forms of oil.

Did you know that Amsoil Marine Gear oil can still work in up to 10% of water. This is very important because if you are out in the middle of the lake and a little bit of water creeps in, you are still protected. With Amsoil you also protect your self against foam that might form.

When Foam does form it does make the gears wear because of the air in the lube. That is something you want to avoid in your gear box. The more wear and tear the gears receives the less use it will allow. With more traditional lubes when mixed with water can form this foam like substance. With Amsoil Marine gear lube tests have shown that it provides %50 more protection against water and helping your gears lasting longer.

The rotating motion of the gear sets also tends to churn the lubricant, resulting in foaming. If a gear lube foams, the load carrying capacity is significantly reduced because the air suspended within the oil is compressible. For example, when the gear teeth come into contact with each other any trapped air bubbles will compress, therefore reducing the thickness of the separating oil film. In turn, this reduction could lead to direct metal-to-metal contact between gear teeth and result in accelerated wear.

The gear lube must have the ability to dissipate this entrapped air, insuring sufficient lubricating film exists to protect the gears from contact wear. Much like engine oil the chemical compounds, or additives, added to drivetrain stocks either enhance existing properties or impart new ones.

Because many of the components found in the drivetrain consist of ferrous material, the lubricant is required to prevent rust and possible corrosion to other materials. Rust and corrosion problems are not nearly as prevalent in engines.

The many small and intricate components that make up gear sets found in the drivetrain can be quite noisy and may be subjected to shock loading. The viscosity and extreme pressure formulation of gear lubes quiets gears and dissipates shock loading.

Motor oil has to combat byproduct chemicals from gasoline or diesel ignition and should contain additives such as detergents and dispersants. Since an internal combustion engine has an oil pump and lubricates the bearings with a hydrodynamic film, the need for extreme pressure additives such as those used in gear lube does not exist in engines.

Engine oils and gear lubes both have anti-wear additives, they both must lubricate, cool and protect components, but gear lubes are placed under extreme amounts of pressure, creating a propensity for boundary lubrication. For example, differentials in cars and trucks have a ring and pinion hypoid gear set. A hypoid gear set can experience boundary lubrication, pressures and sliding action that can wipe most of the lubricant off the gears. To combat this extreme environment , extreme pressure additives are incorporated into the oil . AMSOIL uses an extra treat of extreme pressure additives in its gear lubes in order to reduce wear and extend the gear and bearing life.

High quality gear lubes must lubricate, cool and protect geared systems. They must also carry damaging wear debris away from contact zones and muffle the sound of gear operation. Commonly used in differential gears and standard transmission applications in commercial and passenger vehicles, as well as a variety of industrial machinery, gear lubes must offer extreme temperature and pressure protection in order to prevent wear, pitting, spalling, scoring, scuffing and other types of damage that result in equipment failure and downtime. Protection against oxidation, thermal degradation, rust, copper corrosion and foaming is also important.

Gear lube is very different from motor oil. Most people assume that SAE 90 gear lube is thicker than 40 or 50 motor oil, however they are the same viscosity. According to AMSOIL Technical Drivetrain Products Manager Kevin Dinwiddie, the difference is in the additives.

Motorists know when they’re supposed to change their motor oil. They have owners manuals, oil life monitors, oil change centers and commercials all telling them when it’s time for an oil change. Differential oil changes, on the other hand, often get overlooked. Many people don’t even think of the differential when performing routing maintenance on their vehicles and don’t realize four-wheel drive trucks have two differentials and a transfer case that all require service. In fact, according to one quick lube company, only one to two percent of their customers purchase a differential gear lube change.

Differential internal components consist of six gears (one pinion, one ring, two side and two spider gears), six bearings (two pinion, two carrier and two axle) and sometimes include a clutch setup for limited slip performance. All of these parts require high quality, clean gear lube in order to perform at an optimal level.