GEAR BOX DIFFERENTIAL FLUID

The original shell 75/90 isn't very good and can look like it's years old in a matter of months. There are many alternatives. Personally i use a true GL5 oil rather than shells GL4/5. I put Valvoline durablend in them. If your going for Redline oil go for the 75w90ns and add seperate friction modifier. Don't use straight redline 75w90 (with inbuilt friction modifier, but it's different) as the diff can chatter at low speed manoeuvring. Be aware though, too much friction modifier can make the diff plates slip...

 

i use redline 75/90 with additive in there.

 

Redline mt90. It's 75w90

 

You can use a standard red rubber grease or even a little gear oil to lubricate the o-rings.

Redline MT90 is a GL4 oil which i wouldn't recommend for your application......

 

Sooner than later, I would make every effort to clean the filter. Most failures are not the result of bad fluid, rather the screen being blocked and not permitting the flow of fluid.

 

Redline makes a oil 75/90 NS specifically for transaxle cars with the Ferrari listed on their website: Red Line Synthetic Oil - Gear Oil for Manual Transmissions - 75W90 NS GL-5 Gear Oil
As the 360 uses Hypoid gears in the diff, the oil must meet those standards or the gear facings can get galled from metal to metal contact. A lot of the GL-4 & 5 spec fluids for the diffs contain a good bit of sulphur which is corrosive to brass synchros. As to the additive for the limited slip clutches, this is a friction modifier. It makes things slicker. As such, to much and your synchros will not function very well. If you take your car out and make some figure 8's in the parking lot and the rear does not groan, then your clutches are fine and additive is not needed.

 

you didn't clean the filter?

 

It's a must !

 

If you decide to use Redline Shockproof Lightweight I bought a case (12 qts.) on EBay for $70 plus shipping, total $96. This much less than buying retail. This is enough for a goos flush and refill with a couple of quarts left over.

 

Odd that none of you had any comment about "a little milky". When it gets old the gear oil looks black and burnt not milky. Milky is a potential warning sign.

By now you have probably changed the oil. I would check it again and keep a regular eye on it. If it starts to look milky you need to start troubleshooting because that isn't normal.

 

Eddie- I use Valvoline in my transaxle, too. Works great and is widely available.

Like you said, the pump driven lubrication system is really rough on transaxle fluid. Changes should be no longer than every other year, with gung ho types changing annually.

 

As any GT3 owner will attest!

 

Good observation. Milky could mean that the heat exchanger is going bad and leaking coolant into the gearbox. That needs to be addressed right away or your looking at lots if $$ to fix and a PIA of a mess!

 

I have been running the Redline shock proof lightweight gear oil for 10's of thousands of miles. I can tell you from personal experience that it is 10 times better than regular Redline.

 

Redline has this to say about the shock proof lightweight gear oil: "Avoid use with pumps, coolers, and filters as unique medium and affinity for metal can cause clogging" Their reasoning is, as far as I can tell from reading the Redline literature, based on this: ".............these unique lubricants contain a suspension of solid microscopic particles..............."

Since the 360 gearbox/differential has pump, a cooler, and a fine screen in the system, it seems like there are three good reasons not to use this particular gear oil. On the other hand plenty of people apparently do so and like it. Have you asked Redline about it?

Have you looked at your transmission oil screen since you've been using this product?

 

it is an old thread, but I am looking at swapping my own differential / gear oil.
A couple of questions for those who have done it:

-The workshop manual states that the rear bumper needs to be removed in order to get to the mesh filter and clean it. Is that really necessary? It is in the diff / tranny housing, so a screw will free it, and then one is supposed to pry it out with a flat bladed screwdriver. Is the access really that hard?

-I plan to get a gallon of the Redline Shockproof Lightweight oil for about $60 on ebay. The manual says the capacity is 0.92 gal or 3.5 litres, so this should be OK. The fill plug is on the left side of the tranny housing, while the drain plug is even more obvious (floor pan needs to be removed). Ricambi America is supposed to have a tool to remove the plug, but all i found was one for earlier cars. It is supposed to help with getting access and the right torque (which is apparently critical for the plug). I will wait for their response here, since they also have a modified Hill Engineering plug, and it would be nice to upgrade. Hope it works for the 360, too.

Any other diff fluid gotchas would be appreciated.

regards
luke

 

You have to remove the bumper to get to the screen. You could change without cleaning the screen BUT you wouldn't know if there are bits and parts there that may signal something wrong. There is a thread on here about someone drilling an access hole to remove the screen then using a rubber plug. You can probably find it with a quick search.

That should be enough oil. You can't ever get 100% out so it will take less than the spec. I removed the plug and as I recall, I used a standard hex socket. Then I used a torque wrench to tighten it. Nothing magic about it.

You will need a long funnel to fill it. Access to the fill hole isn't that good; the cat is in the way.

 

What we all missed is that the OP's heat exchanger was likely shot and that is where the milky stuff originated.

 

Luke
You can do what I did and cut a hole in the cover that is part of the bumper and then put a rubber plug in the hole afterwards. With the under tray off you can determine where to cut the hole. I used a 2⅜" diameter hole saw and plugged it with a plug that I got from Ricambi -- it's this one that covers the holes in the front of the luggage compartment that hide the front bumper bolts http://www.ricambiamerica.com/product_info.php?products_id=239167. The black plug is hardly noticeable (see photo) and makes sure that your screen gets cleaned. Mine had never been cleaned in 25k miles even after having services at Ferrari dealerships -- what does that tell you? When you clean yours you will more than likely find white sealing goo and a few aluminum shavings left over from the case machining.'
Alan
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Never ever seen a screen cause a trans issue.
Seen lots of really destroyed transmissions and have yet to see an occluded screen.


I have seen many a trashed transmission with trashed oil.

 

With all the bad info here don't screw it up now.

 

i like this idea "more better" !
It sounds like a doable project and I even bookmarked the lifting/jacking points thread !