jimbob88 10 Posted September 21, 2012 this is a new one for me, a friend of mine took his gearbox (mk5 golf tdi) to a gearbox specailist in leeds for a service, this guy came very highly recommended and runs a well established business that has specailsed in gearboxes for 20 years. so my mate has the work done (new 3rd gear, diff rivets, bearing etc) and gets the gearbox back, whie we're chatting to the guy i say "oh what oil should he be using" guy says "10w 40 mineral engine oil"!!!! "what dafuq? engine oi??" i say, he reckons it will out perform and out last ANY fully or semi synth gearbox oil you can find by a long chalk, so i asked him what he would recommend for my ageing VR6 as i have the gearbox out i may aswell do a service while its on the ramp, same thing 10w 40 mineral oil? any one ever heard of this? the guy was adamant (not adam ant, hes called ste lol) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davidwort 0 Posted September 21, 2012 err, no, gear oils are formulated for very different demands, he wasn't a classic mini specialist by any chance :lol: Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jimbob88 10 Posted September 21, 2012 (edited) lol no mate just your average gearbox specailist, like i said this guy came highly recommended and has been trading for years and runs a very reputable busniess not a back street hell hole. he reckons the mineral oil will give better protection all round and last longer, i've just beeen doing abit of googling about it and there are a few manufacturers that use engine oil in gearboxes as standard (isuzu, toyota, vauxhall) Edited September 21, 2012 by jimbob88 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davidwort 0 Posted September 21, 2012 (edited) oh dear, I've resorted to wikipedia: Most lubricants for manual gearboxes and differentials are hypoid gear oils. These contain extreme pressure (EP) additives and antiwear additives to cope with the sliding action of hypoid bevel gears. Interestingly it also says: many modern gearboxes use a 75W90 gear oil, which is actually of equivalent viscosity to a 10W40 motor oil. What I wouldn't like to guess is how detergents or additives in engine oil might affect some of the special materials used in, or to coat gearbox parts, for the cost of some VAG gearbox oil (pretty cheap) I think it's safer to use the specified oil. this seems like a fair explanation of the reasons/requirements for gear specific oil http://www.upmpg.com/drivetrain/gearlube/index.html Edited September 21, 2012 by davidwort Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
swampy 0 Posted September 21, 2012 And how much warranty does he give?? And how long will your average box last running said oil?? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rado mc 0 Posted September 21, 2012 One of the top gear box places in UK is just up the road from you jimbob in queensbury. I'd pop in there and get a second opinion. is interesting though. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trickygti 0 Posted September 21, 2012 Honda PG1 gearboxes were always filled with 10w40 engine oil and very rarely gave trouble. But they also had a service interval to change the oil around 48k if my memory serves. Gonna change my gearbox oil next week but I'll be using the 75w90 that we have at work as it's easier and if its good enough for the Ferrari's I work on then its good enough for the old Corrado :D Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
