Mix 30ND with 30wt HD for rear diff?

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Question for the gurus here..

I have an EzGo golf cart that specs 30wt Non-detergent oil for the rear transaxle. I drained and dumped in a quart of NAPA 30ND. But it looks like I'm 8 or so Oz short of a fill. Van I use some 30HD oil I have for my other OPE? Or should I go get another quart of the Non-detergent?
 
It's a such a Low-RPM and Low-HP application, you can use just about any oil & you won't wear it out.
 
Thats sort of what I figured, but I try to use whats spec'd when I can. I figure a little detergent oil in the rear end wont hurt it, especially since the changer interval is 5 years, and it probably went much longer than that previously.
 
I'm curious why they spec'd a non-detergent oil in the first place. Detergents probably won't be very useful but I don't think they will do any harm. Plus, detergent oils have anti-wear additives that aren't found in non-detergent oil. If it was mine I'd call the factory and ask why they spec non-detergent. Maybe they have a good reason.
 
Your diff is probably better off than 99.9% of all other golf cart's out there.
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Clarkbug
I figure a little detergent oil in the rear end wont hurt it, especially since the changer interval is 5 years, and it probably went much longer than that previously.

You're spot on.
The 'concern' that detergent oils dislodge old sludge/dirt resulting in components longevity decrease is ,IMHO, based on invalid speculation/extra-polation.
OTOH, the little additives in detergent oils provides the much needed anti-wear performance in the rear end.
 
Much-needed?
If it was designed for ND30 then those anti-wear additives aren't "needed".
 
How is a rear differential/transaxle being designed for ND30 ?
Read rolling and sliding relative motion between two surfaces.
Go read up on gear designs!

Edit:add notes.
 
Last edited:
My thought was that the lack of detergent would cause any wear particles to fall out of suspension. Detergent oils keep the particles in suspension so they can be filtered. Since this is a differential, they assume the wear bits will settle on the bottom of the housing, so want no detergent.
 
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Your diff is probably better off than 99.9% of all other golf cart's out there.
smile.gif



I've never heard of anyone changing that oil until now!

Again:
It's a such a Low-RPM
and Low-HP application,
you can use just about any oil & you won't wear it out.

They are VERY overbuilt for the task.
 
Originally Posted By: Linctex
Originally Posted By: dlundblad
Your diff is probably better off than 99.9% of all other golf cart's out there.
smile.gif



I've never heard of anyone changing that oil until now!

Again:
It's a such a Low-RPM
and Low-HP application,
you can use just about any oil & you won't wear it out.

They are VERY overbuilt for the task.


This is BITOG.... Of course it has to be changed!
 
Originally Posted By: Clarkbug
My thought was that the lack of detergent would cause any wear particles to fall out of suspension. Detergent oils keep the particles in suspension so they can be filtered. Since this is a differential, they assume the wear bits will settle on the bottom of the housing, so want no detergent.


Pretty sure the detergents are intended to keep combustion by-products (which you of course don't have in your differential) in suspension so they don't form sludge. I don't think they are able to keep metallic particles in suspension. I could be wrong and I'd appreciate a clarification if anyone has one.

I'm curiuous about this, if you don't mind posting the model of your cart I'll call the factory and see if they can explain the advantage of the ND oil.
 
Sure, I have an EZGO GXT804D, or a Tuff1. The rear diff is the same off of an EZGO Marathon I believe.

My thought on that was based on also having an old Farmall M and H that used oil in the air cleaner cup. I believe that also called for non-detergent oil, but then again it was built back in the 1940's, so the engine often used it too!
 
Well, I tried alling the factory. The closest I could get to anyone who might have an explanation was the parts department. They said that they have a policy against direct communication between their engineers and end users. I would have to be a dealer to get any info. They recommended that I call a dealer. Don't have much faith that I'll get any valid info from a dealer but I called one and just got their voicemail system.

Guess my curiosity got me down a deadend road.
 
From what I've heard from my old Vespa sources, ND oil is recommended/used in gearboxes (like my old P200E's separate gearbox), rather than detergent motor oil, because the detergents, unless blended with other agents to prevent foaming (as is done in motorcycle oils that lube both the engines, transmission gears, and wet clutches), can lather up just enough between gears to allow metal to metal contact. That's why "motor oil" and "gear oil" are different products. There's no need to brew up something different than the manufacturer recommended, but if you want something "better", I'd think any 75w-90 gear oil would be fine/better in the golf cart's differential. Gear oil and engine oil use different viscosity scales, and 75w gear oil is similar in viscosity to a 30w engine oil.
 
Originally Posted By: Langanobob
Well, I tried alling the factory. The closest I could get to anyone who might have an explanation was the parts department. They said that they have a policy against direct communication between their engineers and end users. I would have to be a dealer to get any info. They recommended that I call a dealer. Don't have much faith that I'll get any valid info from a dealer but I called one and just got their voicemail system.

Guess my curiosity got me down a deadend road.


Engineers didn't had their way vis-a-vis marketing/finance/admin guys........ generally.
 
Originally Posted By: Langanobob
Well, I tried alling the factory. The closest I could get to anyone who might have an explanation was the parts department. They said that they have a policy against direct communication between their engineers and end users. I would have to be a dealer to get any info. They recommended that I call a dealer. Don't have much faith that I'll get any valid info from a dealer but I called one and just got their voicemail system.

Guess my curiosity got me down a deadend road.



Well thanks for trying!
 
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