What gearbox oil are you using in your 308/328?

Hi,

Although I never had a problem with Redline 75W90 (with the additive), I just tried Royal Purple in my '77 308. The car shifts the same (like butter as far as Ferraris go), no chatter, and they claim their additive is non-corrosive.

Anthony

 

Amsoil is good stuff! That's why!

I put in Royal Purple along with RP engine oil and their RP water treatment.

Life is good.

Had to buy it all at the local Ford dealer though!

 

nice looking 328

 

Thanks!!!

 

I was shown the bearing cages in a 246 transaxle a few weeks ago. They are BRONZE. No brass syncros.

Now if I can just get a look at a 308 box..................

 

...308 box, as requested......
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( I think a few of you are waiting for this post! )

I used none on my last drain and refill. I guess it would be a novel idea to use some this go-around!

 

I can't tell you perfect this stuff is. No crunch, pops right into 2nd, even when cold. The limited slip works smooth also.

Peter S, if you show up on Saturday, I'll let you drive my car. Honest.

Jay

 

ALAN!

...................er do you use limited slip additive with this one?

 

Just watch those sharp turns, when cold!!!

 

Mike -- But it's been so long ago I need to change my vote

Now using Royal Purple MaxGear 75W90

Was using Redline 75W90NS with 4.5% Redline friction modifier (which I believe is quasi-equivalent to Redline 75W90), but still had too much LSD chatter.

 

And Steve, how is the Royal Purple working out? Cold/warm shifting and the LSD?

Dave

 

Very well -- the Royal Purple completely eliminated all of the LSD chatter (and I was getting noticeable noise at every slow-speed 1st gear start when turning in either direction). This morning I did notice that my first (thoughtless) 1-2 upshift gave me just a hint of notchyness, but that was ~1 minute from a 45 deg F cold-start so no complaints so far.

The Redline was also very good from the shifting point of view so no complaints there either (but hard to enjoy after you've just let out a groan ). I can't really recall if the Redline also showed a little winter notchyness at 40~45 deg F cold starts or not. I really couldn't tell a shifting difference when running 0%, 2%, or 4.5% Friction Modifier, but perhaps if you're not having a shifting problem you won't.

 

I wanted to post since I just changed the gear oil in my '87 328 GTS. On Steve M's recommendation I went with Royal Purple 75W90 Synthetic. HUGE IMPROVEMENT! It completely eliminated the rear diff chatter/grabbing that I was experiencing with the Redline 75W90 NS and the shifting has improved markedly too. In fact, the 1-2 shift is now the slickest I've felt so far in this car and this is the third different gear oil that I've tried. Anyway, I know that these cars are all different but my car likes the RP! Thank you Steve!

 

Glad that the Royal Purple is working well for you Gus, but I am a little surprised that you are reporting a better cold 1-2 upshift (but it seems there is just a lot a variablity in these issues car-to-car). Now that I've had a couple of winters experience with the Royal Purple, I would have to say that the Redline 75W90NS was/is a little better on the cold 1-2 upshift, but the LSD chatter was just terrible. Somehow though we must be the minority, because (with so many others using Redline NS) you and I are the only ones reporting an LSD chatter problem.

 

I run Swepco. No LSD chatter. But 1-2 shift in when the car isn't warm is terrible. AGIP was better. I'll try purple shortly.

 

Steve,
What I noticed was as the Redline 75w-90 NS broke in, the LSD chatter became less and less. On my 355 I never even had any LSD chatter from the start. I did have it in my 328GTS, but it went away. BUT, I also noticed that with time, the 2nd gear shifting problem returned too. Really noticed it after 1.5 years on my 355. Only 8k miles or so, but maybe a change was in order.

I presently have the Shell stuff in my 355, and it shifts excellently, even from cold, but time will tell how this holds up.

 

WOW! Resurrecting an old thread.

I just changed the gear oil from ??????? (dunno, PO did it) to Redline 75w90NS, there was IMMEDIATE improvement. I let my car warm up for 8 - 10 minutes before moving it to get it to op temp and even then, I'd have to skip 2nd and go to third. While I didnt really notice it when I got it, it was more difficult to shift, specifically downshifting.

It was like night and day when I changed to the Redline, it went into gear very easily, when cold and when I downshift, drastic improvement. I'm sold.

James in Denver

 

Forgive my ignorance but I've got a couple questions on this gear oil bit:
1. Is RedLine, to pick one, usually locally available (Walmart, NAPA, Autozone, etc)?
2. How often should the gear oil be changed?

I just got my 328 and figure it's a good idea to change it since I know the PO didn't do it in 3 yrs.

Thanks for helping a noob out.

 

I have not found RedLine in stores. Had to order mine over the Internet. I used 75W-90NS, but added syncro additive. Works well. I had the gear oil changed by a Ferrari dealer and they used a GM syncromesh oil that worked well also. I change mine every year.

 

To be fair, I haven't tried the 1-2 shift from dead cold yet. My car was stationary for about a month so I let her run for about 10 minutes before I drove away. The shift was pretty good at first and excellent as the oil heated up. I will let you know today how it works from cold when I drive to work.

The rear diff chatter, on the other hand, was really bad with the Redline. In fact, I've tried the Redline 75w90 NS twice, on two different 328's, and the chatter was horrible on both. The Royal Purple has absolutely, positively, 100% eliminated it. Even if the gearbox doesn't shift as slick as with the RL, (which I believe it does) I am satisfied because the chatter bothered me infinitely more than having to wait a few minutes to use 2nd gear.

 

One of my 308 gearboxes I rebuilt had the diff chatter with inexpensive gear oil . .. added some LSD friction modifier and it went away. I've changed the gearbox oil probably 4 or 5 times since the rebuild with the same oil and no chatter developed. No issues shifting 1-2 when cold . .. I do notice shift feel being a little heavier after 40 hrs on the oil which is when I change it with engine oil.

People have questioned why change the oil so frequently . . unlike most cars, the diff clutch mat'l gets into the shfit rods/synchros which I think makes it shift a bit heavier after 40 hrs . .. I can visually see a black film on the shift rods FWIW.

Sean

 

Here is what I noticed when driving my car from cold this morning. The 1-2 shift from dead cold was somewhat reluctant but it did go into gear. With every shift it got better. After it warmed up it was super slick just like yesterday. I even noticed that the 4-5 shift on the highway is smoother than it was before. Again, there was zero rear diff chatter. I am very satisfied.

 

For those wanting to buy Redline products, Jeggs has a full lineup and seemed to have about the best prices. Check their website. BTW- I'm not affiliated with them in any way.