Manual transmission Ford three speed

[Lon]

Hello Ive recently acquired a 1971 Ford F100 with a Warner T85N transmission three speed manual w/overdrive.And was thinking of doing a overhaul of all the old lubes can anyone recommend the correct transmission oil for this transmission.All ive found so far was a Ford spec out of an old manual online as ESW-M2C83-B which doesnt match up with my 1986 Ford light truck specification book for trans oils.

 

[Ken2]

I think it would be an 80W-90 GL-4 or dual-rated GL-4 & GL-5 gear oil. (Old GL-5 gear oils contained a sulfur additive that ate bronze transmission parts. Newer dual-rated GL-4/GL-5 gear oils don't have that problem.) What does the transmission gear oil look like and smell like? Rather thick and stinky?

A local auto parts store might have a lubes catalog that lists the oils by car type.

 

[tdi-rick]

Used to use 80W-90 in Warner T14a and T98a gearboxes in Jeeps, and I think one of Dad's Jeeps might have had a T85 or T90 which IIRC use 80W-90 too.

 

[brianl703]

I found this:

Quote:
The original Ford spec for the 3 & 4 speed toploaders was ESW-M2C83-B. This translates to a GL-4 75W90 gear lube. You can buy GL-4 from a Ford dealer under XT-75W90-QGL. Oil capacity is 3.5 pints, so you'd need two quart bottles from Ford.

Do not use a GL-5 spec gear lube unless you absolutely cannot find straight GL-4. GL-5 can cause shifting problems in a toploader, as the oil can be too slippery for the synchronizers to work properly.

 

[Lon]

TNX for info thus far.Was at the local shop looking at specs on the Schaeffers 293 gear lube today and would like to run a semi syn in it.But from what I seen there gear lubes are all GL5.

 

[VK56VD]

Try a synthetic like Amsoil to maybe smooth things out a bit.

 

[mechtech2]

I'd go with Redline MT90.