Marine grade oil in diff?

[Sal69]

The title is pretty much all I want too ask.

Can I run marine grade 80-90 wieght in place of my current regular diff oil.

I've searched and havent come up with anything other then some guy saying you can run it on another site.

Also, would you advise packing ball joints with marine grease for a possible longer life since the grease would be washed out as often?

 

[chubbs1]

Why do you want to run marine grade? Do you think it will be better? I am sure it would be fine myself but if it isn't a common practice (which it isn't) just use a quality diff oil for vehicles and forget it. Try Amsoil gear oil if you want some great stuff.

 

[unDummy]

Some of the marine gear oils are GL4 and some are GL5. As long as it is GL5 80w90, and your vehicle requires GL5 80w90 and it is non-LSD, and you have a free supply, then use it.

 

[Cause4Alarm]

go for it, you really spending more money than you have to. marine grade gear oils won't give you more power, less wear, or better mileage. the just tolerate water better, thats all..so unless your fording streams just stick with whats recommended

 

[Ken2]

What's "marine grade" except the label and the price? I'm a retired chief engineer of steam and diesel ships...I've been on some up to 120,000 hp steam and 57,000 hp (singe engine) diesels. We used ordinary industrial lubes except for a few special circumstances that dealt with the fuel (3% sulfur black fuel oil), not the fact we were at sea.

About the marine grade grease...be sure it is lithium or lithium complex or aluminum complex base. If it is another base, it might not be compatible with the grease remaining in the ball joints, lubricate very poorly, and cause early failure. Bel-Ray waterproof motorcycle grease is a great waterproof aluminum complex base grease.

 

[Eddie]

I seem to remember that Marine oil for lower units used a different base stock. The base stock that allows any small amount of ingested water to become mixed with the oil to minimize rusting. The add pack of course only address the grade being a GL4 or 5. The result was a trade off of accepting slightly more wear for the possible ingestion of water. Maybe some real oil experts will chime in here.

 

[jstutz]

I have seen many people run it in there atvs that are introduced to water a lot. Not sure on the vehicle. I would think it would be fine.

 

[Johnny248]

From what I've read, as long as it meets your gear oil specs (i.e. GL-4 or GL-5) it should be fine. Plenty of people use automotive gear oils in marine gear cases, and I know that people have run marine oil in automotive differentials. It might be a decent choice if you are using a vehicle that tows a boat and is in the water a lot, or if you have a truck that sees a lot of train and water use. It definitely will not hurt anything.

 

[sierra1194]

I'm in the Los Angeles area and looking to change the differential oil in my 300D 1981 and from a spec chart, I should be using SAE 90 but can't seem to locate it. This will be the first time this is getting changed. Will 85w90 be okay? I understand SAE 90 is a heavier weight. I don't want any synthetic. Any idea where I can get this stuff in my area. I've called a few chains but can't seem to locate it short of maybe going to the dealer parts department. Thanks

 

[unDummy]

85w90 will be OK if it is a GL5 gear oil. I would not use a GL4 gear oil in a vehicle differential.

All 90 weights fall into the range set by SAE J306. SAE90 does not have to be heavier at operating temperature. It just won't be thinner when cold since there isn't a prefix(75w or 80w or 85w). Waste of energy with poor flowing straight weight snot. Straight weight is boring and borderline obsolete in a vehicle.

http://www.lubrizol.com/DrivelineAdditives/AutomotiveGearOil/J306Specifications.html

Whether its synthetic or not is irrelevant. I don't understand why anyone would not want to use a synthetic.

A superb mineral gear oil is Chevron Delo ESI 80w90. Find it at your local truck stops or truck service centers.

 

[Ken2]

Originally Posted By: Eddie
I seem to remember that Marine oil for lower units used a different base stock. The base stock that allows any small amount of ingested water to become mixed with the oil to minimize rusting. The add pack of course only address the grade being a GL4 or 5. The result was a trade off of accepting slightly more wear for the possible ingestion of water.
Gear oil (and detergent motor oil) emulsify easily and don't allow the water to settle out much. I've seen standard industrial gear oil that looks almost like orange juice it has so much water in it, and very little settles out. The emulsification would be mainly due to the additive package. Most mineral gear oils are Group I base oil. Of course the emulsified oil has much lower film strength than clean oil, so it won't protect as well in a high power situation.

 

[Sal69]

Originally Posted By: unDummy
Some of the marine gear oils are GL4 and some are GL5. As long as it is GL5 80w90, and your vehicle requires GL5 80w90 and it is non-LSD, and you have a free supply, then use it.




Yes, this was what I was looking for. I do have a half dozen bottles laying around for the last year.

And yes this vechical is a non-lsd and has been known to ford a stream or too and changing the rear diff oil has gotten too be a choir really quickly.

As far as more wear, I'm not really troubled by that in this truck, since the axles are plenty if the diff desides too explode.