mobil 1 synthetic gear oil 75w-90 ls in open diff?

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Picked up 2 quarts of Mobil 1 75w-90 synthetic from Advanced Auto this afternoon, just wondering if it would be alright to use this in the rear differential (C200) on my Nissan Frontier (which calls for that same viscosity and type). The reason I'm wondering is because of the LS on the bottle for "limited slip", and my differential is an open differential. Will this still work without hurting my differential with the LS additives in a non-LS rear end? They didn't carry the regular type of Mobil 1 synthetic anymore, and it isn't even listed on Mobil 1's website.
 
I've had some Mobil 1 75w-140 "LS" in my rear diff for a few thousand miles now. Mine is a limited-slip diff but it's a sealed viscous coupling so I don't have to use any sort of special fluid.

No problems so far as I can tell.

Essentially: your rear diff. and my rear diff. are very similar, and I've noticed no difference. The "LS" simply means it contains friction modifiers necessary for some limited-slip diffs to work.
 
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I am running the Mobil 1 in my 2007 Frontier with the same rear end and have for several years. Runs great, behaves very nicely on cold mornings. I drained the FF at about 1000 miles and could not believe how bad that oil looked! Black, smelly and just not what I expected to find. Filled with Mobil 1 and then changed it at about 25,000 miles using more Mobil 1 to refill. The drained oil was still basically clear, the magnet had very little "fur" and it smelled like the new stuff.
 
good to know...thanks guys for the input...

I guess that's just what they put on the bottle now, it's probably the same stuff as before with more additives to cover all types of differentials. So you think those additives won't hurt anything in a regular differential?
 
I've been using it in a car that doesn't call for the LS additive, and it's been working well, for what that's worth. It met the spec called for by the OEM, so I used it.

That said, you can get it without any friction modifier, sold as Mobil Delvac Synthetic 75W90. Grainger sells it in gallon jugs for $50.00. That's the only place I've seen it.
 
M1 gear lube is my favorite, after having used a cpl other synthetics. the LS formula will be fine in the open diff.
 
It may be, as with other synthetics, that a friction modifier has not actually been "added" but that the oil itself meets the necessary friction characteristics called for by the LS unit. That's the ideal setup because the added FMsin a bottle are not the greatest, tending to increase the oxidative characteristics of the oil and may reduce viscosity.
 
That may be very true about the modifiers, as the information about it on the site says that additional additives might be necessary in some LS diffs. Now that I think about over on the Club Frontier forums I'm a member of, a lot of the guys seems to favor Amsoil Severe Gear and Royal Purple Max Gear, and those both claim they are formulated for conventional and LS applications too. That LS on the bottle just threw me, as I've never used a gear oil with that designation before and I didn't want to hurt anything when there are other options out there. Almost bought the Royal Purple, but I didn't think it was that much better for the price difference. Would like to try the Amsoil, but they don't have a dealer around here that sells it, would have to order it and wait to get it shipped.
 
Originally Posted By: Jim Allen
...the added FMsin a bottle are not the greatest, tending to increase the oxidative characteristics of the oil and may reduce viscosity.


Is probably one of the reasons why you don't see LSD additives in 500k OTR gear oils.

But, those of us that maintain vehicles usually don't worry since our shorter time/mileage intervals more than make up for it by changing it out 'before' those negative characteristics are excessive.

Redline's take on LSD additive during break-in: Red Line Limited-Slip Differential Friction-Modifier / Break-In Additive will significantly reduce the friction during break-in of differentials. High temperatures encountered in break-in
can destroy the hardening of the gear teeth causing rapid wear of the softened gears. This additive can reduce the break-in temperatures by as much as 50°F, improving break-in conditions...


I would also want to assume that the 'same' benefit is there with a heavy load or shock too.

M1 75w90LS is a great choice for open diffs, transfer cases.... and other non-LSD gear boxes.
 
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