Synthetic Gear Oil in 246 Dino.

Thanks, pantdino. That seems the consistent recommendation. I think I will switch from MT90. I worried about the GL5 rating of 75W90NS, but assume now that was unfounded.

75W90NS is Redline and synthetic, nerodino. It's had very good reviews on this forum.

Andres

 

I've used Swepco 201 for years with great results

 

After years of using dinosaur oil in the Dino I switched to a synthetic after the engine was rebuilt. I use Castrol Edge with Syntec in 5W-50. it is specifically formulated for "classic" (older) cars. No leaks anywhere, but that's probably due to the new seals. My oil pressure gauge actually moves now instead of staying stuck just below the "85". At least I know it works. No problems with the new engine oil. I also added ZDDPlus for the additive package. A little more protection against wear now that most oils have had their zinc/phosphorus levels reduced well below the 1300ppm recommended. It may be my imagination, but I could swear the engine is a bit quieter and smoother than it used to be. And oil gets up to temp much faster. Used to take 10-15 minutes on a cold day to get the gauge to move off the cold stop. Now it's 6-7 minutes.

I am now about to swap out the gear oil. I have heard good things about the 75W-140 oils, and many Porsche guys (I know they are not real cars, please don't post something nasty)(and I once owned one but sold it) swear by Swepco. So I'm wondering what's best? Stay with dino oil in the gearbox or go synthetic? A 75W-140 should have all the cold weather advantages of a 75/90 and better summer performance (Is this really true?). Since I live in NY, I don't drive any Ferrari once the snow and salt hits, so most of mileage is warm weather driving, and it can get hot here (over 90 for a few weeks straight).

Has anyone tried the 75W-140? Results?

 

I have never read anywhere about using 75W-140 oil in an automobile transaxle.

Have you looked online to see what the applications are for that? I'm thinking its for trucks.

I suspect you'd have the constant behavior of a cold gearbox even after it was warmed up-- hard shifting, synchros not working well, etc.

 

BMW M3. My son's car (e36) uses the 75-140 gear oil. That's how I heard of it.

 

In the gearbox or the differential?

 

The differential. The gearbox takes standard ATF even though it is a 5 speed.

 

I can't get the gear oil fill plug loose for love or money. I'm starting to round out the corners of the nut. I really don't want to have to drill this out.

Is it OK to use my air hammer to break the plug loose, or can I damage the threads doing this?

 

You should probably post this to the Technical Q+A section.

Have you tried to remove the plug when the transaxle is hot? The alloy will expand some and if I'm right the circumference of the plug hole will enlarge a bit.

Or you might want to heat the surrounding metal with a torch to see if it will expand a bit, soak the threads a bit, etc, but someone there will probably know if the heat is safe.

 

The diff is a very different environment from the gear section of the transaxle.

ATF is very low viscosity, so that gives you an idea of what is good for gears.

 

Have you read this?
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/206-246/221087-dino-diy-changing-transaxle-gearbox-oil.html


You can also fill from the gear box access above the clutch housing near the air filter housing

 

Well- I take back all the good things I said about synthetic oil. My engine had all the seals replaced while it was out of the car a few years ago. When I got it back I stuck with Valvoline VR-1 non-synthetic racing oil because it has a much higher ZDDP content than regular motor oils. But it has little detergent, requiring more frquent oil changes. I had zero oil leakeage from anywhere for the past 5 years.

In an attempt to get the best of all worlds (high detergent and high ZDDP) I switched to Castrol Edge with Syntec in June 2013 in a 5W-50, specifically formulated for "classic" cars. I added a bottle of ZDDPlus to get the zinc up around 1500ppm and phosphorus around 1300. No leaks initially, but I didn't put on much mileage over the summer-maybe 500 miles.

2 weeks ago I did the FCA-ESR fall drive (which was really terrific) and put a few hundred miles on the car. Ever since I've noticed small oil leaks from different areas. The worst is from the timing chain tensioner on the front bank. It's dripping all over the alternator and then down onto the exhaust shields, onto the frame, etc. The sump studs are also weeping oil.

So it's back to dinosaur oil. I can return to the Valvoline VR-1 racing oil in 10W-30 and add ZDDPlus, or I have been reading about the Brad Penn racing oils which are made from dinosaur base stock (but called "semi-synthetic" for some reason), and they have more variety as far as weights. 10W-40, 15W-40, 10W-30, 20W-50, all with plenty of ZDDP for our flat tappet engines, so no need for an additive. But also lower detergent levels so back to the 2,000 mile or 1 year oil changes.

Does anyone have experience with the Brad Penn oil? What weight is best? I do most of my driving in the temperate months, with temps between 40F and 95F. Car is stored during NY winters.

 

My understanding is that the leakage rumors or problems with synthetic oils were with the very early ones, which had some issues with old seals. If you seals are new that should not be a problem. My guess is that the synthetic oil was SAE 5 when cold while the dino was 10, so the 5 would tend to seep more thru smaller openings when cold.

Or it could just be that the seals have aged a bit and are leaking for that reason. You would have to go to a dino oil w the same viscosity as the synthetic to see if that was the key difference, but that is impossible because there is no such thing.

 

There is quite a bit of info on the dreaded rear timing chain tensioner leak. What worked for me was the Parker Thredseal as opposed to the Statoseal. Here is the link to the info:

Parker - FASTENER SEAL, THREDSEAL

 

Here is a PDF with info on how the Tredseal works.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CDsQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.allsealsinc.com%2Fthredseals.pdf&ei=YH-RUuXBOuO82gWB5oCQAg&usg=AFQjCNE8i5Ssqpo3I2G_ONs9Z5qtTaKqxw&sig2=Z0ODOtWcLx3YGI1rYSxnxg