Sprinter VS30 ARB Gear Oil

[johan4]

I recently had my 2022 Sprinter 2500 4X4 rear-end worked on. Had an ARB locker installed and the shop used Lucas HD HP conventional 85W-140. This is also the gear oil that they recommended for a drain and refill after 500 mile break-in. Did that and now I'm planning on draining and refilling after another 1,000 miles just to clear out any left over break-in materials.

ARB has some recommendations for certain climate types and driving conditions. See attached pic. I spend most my time driving mixed mountain and desert terrain in Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and Arizona which doesn't really fit the ARB chart. HOT 110 F summers to cold below 0 F winter ice and snow. Probably 75% asphalt and 25% dusty dirt two-track dirt roads.

My van weighs 6,500 lbs empty and usually about 8,000 lbs loaded with gear and passengers.

Mercedes-Benz specs 235.8 75W-85 in stock differential.

Anyone have some insight/opinions on what gear oils work good with my setup? Gear oil change intervals? I am not apposed to seasonal fluid changes.

 

[97prizm]

Do you have a differential cooler or planning on installing one? I've had good luck with Royal Purple in my racecar. A little different but still severe service I think.

 

[johan4]

Do you have a differential cooler or planning on installing one? I've had good luck with Royal Purple in my racecar. A little different but still severe service I think.

Not sure about a differential cooler. Is that a Mercedes thing? I’ve never seen or heard of one.

 

[CleverUserName]

Delvac 1 synthetic 75w90 or 80w140 gear oil with liquimoly dry mos2 added. 1 or 2 tubes per gallon.

 

[97prizm]

Not sure about a differential cooler. Is that a Mercedes thing? I’ve never seen or heard of one.

Differential cooler kitLike one of these. Highly recommended if towing or loaded up.

 

[Egg_Head]

I'd stay with what ARB recommends with the Lucas 85W-140. I never had an ARB, however I had a PowerTrax in my CJ. You defiantly got different "feedback" from running 75W-90 vs. 75W-140, with the latter helping keep things quite. ARB is a premiere product and no doubt the engagement is much quieter. You could drop down to M1 75W-140 but I doubt you could tell any difference. As for change interval, I'd go 60k. If you get bored you can drop it to 30-45K miles. Your rig sounds sweet, post a picture for us.

 

[johan4]

I'd stay with what ARB recommends with the Lucas 85W-140. I never had an ARB, however I had a PowerTrax in my CJ. You defiantly got different "feedback" from running 75W-90 vs. 75W-140, with the latter helping keep things quite. ARB is a premiere product and no doubt the engagement is much quieter. You could drop down to M1 75W-140 but I doubt you could tell any difference. As for change interval, I'd go 60k. If you get bored you can drop it to 30-45K miles. Your rig sounds sweet, post a picture for

I'm not sure ARB does recommend Lucas Conventional 85W-140. That's just what the shop that did the install used for "Breaking-In" the gears. The shop is located in the sunny warm San Diego California area. They probably never see freezing cold or 100f heat. Their location probably falls into the "Subtropical" climate on the ARB gear oil chart. It looks like ARB recommends using a synthetic for all but the lightest duty use. I can see using conventional for the "Break-in" of the gears, but I think I'll switch to something synthetic for regular use. I'd say my vehicle falls into the "Recreational Enthusiast" intended use. But ARB does not include a high mountain desert climate on their chart.

I had a Detroit Locker in my 1984 Jeep CJ8 rock-crawler. The shop that built my Jeep’s axles recommended running 80W-90 gear oil in my axles. They said that high quality oils and the tight tolerances of modern gears and bearings make thicker weight gear oils unnecessary. Use thick weight oils in poorly machined or worn out assemblies or for heavy loads.

I'm probably overthinking things