Where did Conventional 80W-90 Limited Slip Gear Oils Go?

Joined
Jun 21, 2018
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71
Location
CO
Again, I'm stunned by how little attention is put toward oils (especially in stores like Napa, etc.) I have been using Valvoline High Performance Gear Oil 80W-90 for a long time, and all of a sudden they are gone. I found a random case for sale on Amazon, but generally speaking...they are extinct from the market.

I have been using this oil in all my Nissan Xterra/Frontier 4WD front and rear differentials, where the rears all have LSD. There may have been some occasions when I opted for an 80W-90 cponventional without the LAD additives in it for the front, but it's been a number of years now since I had to replace these axle fluids. I plan to be building a lot more of these vehicles over the years, and I'm looking for a good solution, without purchasing synthetic fluids (cost).

I called Valvoline and asked the tech about this...he said they just stopped putting the additive in it. [censored]?! He said I might find some old stock somewhere, but generally, it was gone. I don't think they even changed the product/part number, they just simply stopped putting the additives in it. ?? To get LSD additives, you have to buy synthetic or add the additive separately. I asked him how much additive was in the synthetic oils? He said the concentration was 4oz of additives per quart!!! Could that be right?! The 4 oz bottles of LSD additive I've seen say they are either good for an entire axle, up to 4 quarts in volume, or the 4 oz bottle is good for about 2 quarts. Either way, the concentration of the additive in the synthetic oil is a huge amount.

I also asked about their Valvoline LSD additive and he said they only sell it to "trained" shops. They don't sell it to the general public. I had seen a post here on this site of someone showing a picture of the additive bottle sitting on a shelf, in a store in Canada. Perhaps they only sell it to the public in Canada. ??
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For grins, I went to O'Reillys and Advanced Auto. They carry the new formulation of Valvoline High Performance Gear Oil 80W-90 conventional WITHOUT LSD. The back of the bottle even suggests "Limited slip differentials top-off only". Clearly indicating it's safe to use this product to add a little bit to a low DIFF, but it doesn't contain the limited slip additives (at least not in any significant concentration).
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I went to Napa looming for old stock in a 5 gallon bucket and they said they hadn't ever heard of 80W-90 conventional WITH LSD. In fact, they said they are having such bad luck with Synthetics with LSD, that they are recommending their customers buy the extra additive and add it...eve to the synthetics! Wow!

After hearing all of this, I came back to my shop and dug around in some old bottles of partially used oils and found the Limited Slip version of the 80W-90 that I knew I had been using for a long time. It's conventional and it has the LSD additives in it...and it's 80W-90.
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The backside of the label confirms the product/part number. VV831.
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Anyway, I'll probably have to look at the route of adding a $10 bottle of additive to my LSD's, rather than purchase synthetic to best manage my LSD's. I have two different LSD's (early and late model Nissan Xterra /Frontier) and each has a very different break-away-torque, so I want to put much less additive in one than the other. Perhaps its best I start with an oil that does NOT have any LSD additive in it at all. Then, I can best add it to achieve me desired driving experience.
 
Your money do as you wish, but you say you are going to be "building" or putting work into them, if you are going to be putting time and money into building them, why would you not put a few extra dollars into buying synthetic diff oil with the additive already in it. it's not like it needs to be changed every few thousand K.
 
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Ford diff fluid does not come with the additive. There are certain differentials, like the Torsen in my Mustang, where the additive supposedly causes issues with its operation. Plus why put an additive in a fluid when it is going into a conventional differential?
 
Don't know the auto parts guys - but synthetic gear oil was recommended by OEM's before synthetic motor oil was
 
Originally Posted by bdcardinal
Ford diff fluid does not come with the additive. There are certain differentials, like the Torsen in my Mustang, where the additive supposedly causes issues with its operation. Plus why put an additive in a fluid when it is going into a conventional differential?


I've heard that LS additive can lead to increased oxidation in conventional where it's not needed. Have you ever heard or seen evidence of this?
 
Originally Posted by kstanf150
Originally Posted by bdcardinal
Ford diff fluid does not come with the additive. There are certain differentials, like the Torsen in my Mustang, where the additive supposedly causes issues with its operation. Plus why put an additive in a fluid when it is going into a conventional differential?


I've heard that LS additive can lead to increased oxidation in conventional where it's not needed. Have you ever heard or seen evidence of this?


Firsthand no, but there was a GM engineer on here, Whitewolf, who said they did that for a reason but most people ignored him or discredited him.

With my Mustang its just easier to not need it since I have the Torsen and skip getting the friction modifier smell all over.
 
Originally Posted by domer10
Your money do as you wish, but you say you are going to be "building" or putting work into them, if you are going to be putting time and money into building them, why would you not put a few extra dollars into buying synthetic diff oil with the additive already in it. it's not like it needs to be changed every few thousand K.

Yeah, except I'm hoping to build 2-5 per month, so I need to be able to buy something in bulk to keep costs down. Some of these synthetics don't come in bulk (ST Synthetic 75W-90). Also, there seems to be a lot of confusion about LSD additives in these oils. If they have the, how much (concentration)? This affects the different LSD DIFF's I have differently. Some of the DIFFs have much larger break-away-torque designs, and some are very weak.

Recently, Valvoline told me they add 4 oz of LSD additive to their synthetic 80W-90. That's a lot! However, it's also confusing as the guys at Napa are suggesting to their customers to add even more, since many of the customers are complaining they are getting a lot of chatter in the DIFFs with LSD. That could be further confused by the fact that Valvoline just changed the formula from their conventional products and removed all LSD additives, without any communicating any formulation changes and using the same product part number. Which could be why some of Napa's customer base are complaining about chatter, if they were using the conventional oil instead of the synthetic. Also, it might further explain why people are complaining their LSD's are worn out, when really they simply have too much additive in the DIFF (depending on the LSD design, of course).

Anyway, I'm trying to wade my through, yet another automotive product change mess over these past couple years.
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Originally Posted by 4WD
Don't know the auto parts guys - but synthetic gear oil was recommended by OEM's before synthetic motor oil was

I'd be happy to look into the synthetics, if I can find a good price on 5 gallons or more.
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Originally Posted by Rand
Originally Posted by Spddm0n
Originally Posted by Rand
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Amalie-1...L-5-Gear-Oil-80W-44-Case-of-12/163176758

case of 12 for $68

Thanks for the link! Interesting....
I found their website. I've never heard of this brand, but they do publish their datasheets too. I'll look further into this!


Its a well known brand. I'd buy with confidence.

I found a local oil company that sells some of their product (only place in CO that sells it). I'm going to have a look on Monday.
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Thanks!!
 
Originally Posted by krismoriah72
Supertech 80w90

"Recommended for limited slip positive traction rear axles"

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Super-Tech-Gear-Lubricant-SAE-80W-90-1-Gallon/16795067

Yeah! This is actually pretty interesting...I'm going to contact WPP on Monday and see of they will tell me the concentration of the LSD additive in this oil. It might actually work for my needs. The kinematic viscosity and index look really good on this oil, especially for the price.
 
Originally Posted by rubberchicken
LSD Additive from Amsoil -
https://www.amsoil.com/shop/by-product/gear-lube/slip-lock/?code=ADATB-EA

"NOTE: AMSOIL synthetic gear lubes do not require this additive. However, not all differentials respond the same and the addition of AMSOIL Slip Lock will eliminate chatter in mechanically sound differentials.".

Yeah, this seems to be the norm now...synthetics have the LSD additive in them. I'm going to make a round of calls to about 10 manufacturers and see if any of them will tell me the concentration of LSD additive to oil; in each quart.
 
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