Recommended Transmission Fluid Supplier

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
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Wed 1 Mar 2006 20:50
Recommended Transmission Fluid Supplier - Aprilia
The topic of transmission fluids often comes up on this forum and I thought I would give a recommendation to a supplier I've been using for the past year or two.

www.specialtyformulations.com/

Its a company in the US run by a lubricants chemist who makes some really top-spec synthetic transmission oils (auto and manual trans) which are pretty cheap by UK standards (even allowing for shipping from the US to UK). I have no connection with this company other than being a very satisfied customer, having had many gallons shipped over! I've just had another two gallons of fully-synth Dexron III delivered at an all-in cost of £27 (pay by PayPal). Took about 2-3 weeks to arrive.

His MTL-P GL-4 fully-synth manual fluid is good for most Japanese manual transmissions and also meets the BMW MTF-LT (lifetime) fluid spec at a much lower cost than BMW charge. A good alternative to Castrol SMX-S too.

'AutoGlide' is a synthetic ATF for manual transmission (e.g. most MB's and some BMW's).



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Wed 1 Mar 2006 21:06
Recommended Transmission Fluid Supplier - Number_Cruncher
Aprilia,

Gear oil spec has become quite a bit more complicated in the intervening time since I was last employed in a workshop. Is there a simple online guide to the transmission oil specs? For example, I don't know what GL$ or GL5 actually means.

Number_Cruncher


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Wed 1 Mar 2006 21:11
Recommended Transmission Fluid Supplier - defender
An alternative is to visit your local JCB dealer /ford new holland dealer with the spec and have a nice surprise when you compare prices
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Wed 1 Mar 2006 22:38
Recommended Transmission Fluid Supplier - Aprilia
Copied the following off 'performanceoiltechnology.com' website. Basically GL-4 is for nearly all manual transmissions. GL-5 is for hypoid drives (i.e. sliding gear contact with lots of shear) - usually rear diff.

+++++++++

The GL ratings are specified by the API and are as follows:

GL-1: Specified for automotive spiral-bevel and worm gear axles and some manual transmissions subject to mild service and that can be sensitive to some EP additives. These lubes usually contain rust and oxidation inhibitors, defoamants and pour point depressants but do not contain any EP additives or friction modifiers.

GL-2: Specified for automotive worm gear axles that are subject to more severe service than that which is covered under the GL-1 specification.

GL-3: Specified for manual transmissions and spiral-bevel axles operating under moderately severe service.

GL-4: Specified for hypoid gear service without shock loading, but still moderate to severe service (high speed/low torque and low speed/high torque). These lubes may be used in manual transmissions and transaxles where EP additives are acceptable and typically contain a different zinc additive combination. This classification is still commonly used, but is also obsolete. It is also a commonly specified for marine outboard and stern drive lower unit gears and bearings where the manufacturer specifies GL-4 rated performance. GL-4 rates lubes are not recommended as a replacement for GL-5 rated lubes. ?GL-5 rated lubes shows significantly better anti-wear (anti-score) properties than GL-4 rated oils under similar service conditions?

GL-5: Specified for hypoid gears under shock loading and severe service operating conditions used in cars and trucks. This is the most common and widely used specification today. These lubes have a high level of EP additives and, depending on the manufacturer and formulation, could be mildly corrosive to non-ferrous parts in certain applications.

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Wed 1 Mar 2006 22:40
Recommended Transmission Fluid Supplier - Aprilia
An alternative is to visit your local JCB dealer /ford new
holland dealer with the spec and have a nice surprise when
you compare prices


Yes, I'm sure you can find cheaper. However I'm pretty much convinced about the quality of Speciality Formulations oils and I have used them in a couple of 'problem' gearboxes where they have improved the shift performance quite considerably.
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