It will spell out exactly what oil you should use, complete with viscosity and GL values specific to your vehicle.īottom line: To avoid transmission damage, you must consider several factors (including viscosity and formulation) when selecting your gear oil.Synthetic oil for Harley-Davidson motorcycle’s is probably one of the most debated subjects you will find on any message board or in any Harley magazine. We could dedicate a dozen posts to the answer, but since this is a 101, here’s the simplest solution: Check your vehicle owner’s manual. In other words, seemingly identical cars may require different oil, depending on the presence of an optional LSD. You can read more about transaxles and how they differ from transmissions here.įor instance, you might find different oil recommendations depending on whether the transaxle has a built-in limited-slip differential (LSD). That’s because transaxles function as both an axle and transmission. Though the role of the gear oil is the same, there are extra factors at play in a transaxle. (Image/Summit Racing) What about transaxles? You can find the gear oil’s viscosity and GL rating on its label. It’s intended for non-synchronized transmissions, like those found in heavy-duty commercial trucks, and certain four-wheel drive transfer cases. Sometimes you’ll see a bottle labeled MT-1.
Oil for harley transmission manual#
Your owner’s manual will tell you exactly what GL rating your transmission requires. while GL-5 oils are often reserved for high-stress, high performance applications like trucks and high-powered cars. GL-4 oils are typically found in most daily driven cars. Those ratings basically reflect the oil’s ability to function effectively given different driving conditions (read: pressure between meshing gear teeth). The most common ones you’ll see are GL-4 and GL-5. This is also where GL ratings come into play. What’s good for one metal may adversely affect the other-so companies had to develop formulations that offered the requisite lubrication, yet wouldn’t harm any of the transmission’s components. The gears can be made of a hardened steel, while the transmission’s synchronizers (AKA syncros) are often made of a softer metal, like brass. Manual transmissions are often made up of different metals. In other words, a 80w-90 gear oil is much “thicker” than a 5w-30 engine oil.īut viscosity is only part of the equation. Gear oil is different from engine oil.įor starters, gear oil can come in much higher viscosity ratings. Regardless of what your manual transmission uses, the fluid or oil’s primary function is lubrication-preventing metal-to-metal contact between the meshing gears. In fact, many modern manual transmissions actually spec for automatic transmission fluidinstead of a traditional gear oil. But gear lube isn’t the only choice for a manual transmission. Gear oil, AKA gear lube, is often used in your manual transmission’s gearbox, and you’ll commonly find it in older transfer and differential cases too. Keep in mind that most modern manual transmissions have gear oil service intervals well north of 50,000 miles, with many being “lifetime” oils.ĭriving enthusiasts, however, change gear oil to deliver improved transmission performance-like smoother shifting or added durability in extreme conditions. There are dozens of different types of gear oils, each with its own special designation and use, so we created this handy primer ( oil pun!) to help you make good decisions. Similar to what we discussed in our Automatic Transmission Fluid 101 post, selecting the right gear oil for your manual transmission isn’t as easy as it might seem. Selecting the right gear oil or transmission fluid is critical to the life and performance of your manual transmission.
0 kommentar(er)
