Gear box lube

[MontanaWDX]

The WDX transmission is non synchro and is not easy to downshift. I heard that a Molybdenum Disulfide gear lube helps out.

Anyone have a brand, weight and source?

Thanks,

MontanaWDX

[dodgenut78]

Downshifting a WDX transmission requires a mental mind-shift & double clutching, putting /fancy expensive gear lube in your tranny may only make puddles on your garage floor. Stick with the plain 'ol 80/90W and remember down shifting a WDX goes like this : Press clutch pedal , take a breath - let it out , shift to neutral , release pedal , take another breath - let it out , depress clutch pedal again ,take a breath - let it out, then ease in to the next lower gear , release pedal. With no synchro it does take several seconds for those gears to spin down to a speed that they can mesh without clashing & grinding.

Jens

[Tom Petroff]

Downshifting a WDX transmission requires a mental mind-shift & double clutching, putting /fancy expensive gear lube in your tranny may only make puddles on your garage floor. Stick with the plain 'ol 80/90W and remember down shifting a WDX goes like this : Press clutch pedal , take a breath - let it out , shift to neutral , release pedal , take another breath - let it out , depress clutch pedal again ,take a breath - let it out, then ease in to the next lower gear , release pedal. With no synchro it does take several seconds for those gears to spin down to a speed that they can mesh without clashing & grinding.

Jens

Mostly agree here except you need to rev. the engine while clutch is out to help match RPM with road speed for that gear selection,when downshifting. Otherwise patience is needed for up shifting.
Practice here is what it takes.
80/140 lube works best for me here in the Midwest.
TGP

[MontanaWDX]

Down shifting

Downshifting a WDX transmission requires a mental mind-shift & double clutching, putting /fancy expensive gear lube in your tranny may only make puddles on your garage floor. Stick with the plain 'ol 80/90W and remember down shifting a WDX goes like this : Press clutch pedal , take a breath - let it out , shift to neutral , release pedal , take another breath - let it out , depress clutch pedal again ,take a breath - let it out, then ease in to the next lower gear , release pedal. With no synchro it does take several seconds for those gears to spin down to a speed that they can mesh without clashing & grinding.

Jens

Thanks Jens. Once I get the WDX back on the road I'll try your patient approach to downshifting. My double clutching experience was in a much different vehicle going much faster. The WDX is more fun than anything I've driven. Even the "puddles" on the garage floor are kind of charming.

G

[maineSS]

Downshifting is much harder than upshifting, especially going uphill. Your clutch has to be working right, and you'd best not have any acceleration hesitation. I've very rarely accomplished a soundless shift, more often it's coast to the side and start off in 1st.

[Kevin Mienke]

80/140 lube works best for me here in the Midwest.
TGP

Tom makes a good point. Climate is a factor when choosing your gear oil.

The Dodge Truck Shop Manual states: If the anticipated atmospheric temperature will be
Above 32 degrees........SAE 140
As low as 10 below.........SAE 90
Less than 10 below.......SAE 90 blended with 20% 10W Engine oil or SAE 80 Gear lube.

It seems that the multi grade gear oil is the best option. But I never considered it until Tom mentioned it. My truck has SAE 90 in it. I experienced severe problems at 28 below this winter.

And, as Tom said, make sure you goose the throttle while you are in neutral. You will be able to feel when the gears are ready to slide.

[Charles Talbert]

Gear oils have been discussed numerous times of late on several sites. The fact is that the gear lubes, such as straight 80, 80-90, straight 90, or 85-90-140 depending on your climate is what should be in your axles. Transmission and transfer case oils are quite another story these days, with newer oils that are designed and blended especially for transmission and transfer use. We have been running either 30, 40, or 50 weight straight grade oil, (depending on ambient temps) in our rebuilt units for years. The units run cooler in hot temps, shift much easier in cold temps, and better lubrication of the unit is obvious as these oils flow much easier than the heavier oils that are designed for ring and pinion type gear sets. You will also appreciate better fuel economy as drag is less with free flowing oil. Differential type gear lubes are from the dark ages when it comes to transmissions these days. Your gear box will not receive the best protection or perform at its best if you are using axle gear lube oil, just a fact, those days are gone, better products exist for the application.

As far as puddles of oil on your garage floor, that only happens when your gear box is not built properly using quality components.

[MontanaWDX]

Non synchro gear box lube

Charles,

My original question had to do with whether or not molybdenum disulphide in gear box lube was desirable or not in a non synchro transmission. I was not asking about differentials or using that type lube in the tranni.

What I take from your post then is; rebuild the components precisely and use lighter weight lube than originally used (based on technological advances for lubrication chemistry). I have been told not to expect a clean garage floor with a PW but it makes sense that if you rebuild correctly using good seals, the floor and truck will remain cleaner.

So, back to my original post:

For an above 32 deg F climate, could you please advise on a weight and brand for the non synchro transmission and the transfer case.

Also a weight and brand for the differentials in the same climate.

Thanks again for your technical advice.

[Charles Talbert]

Charles,

My original question had to do with whether or not molybdenum disulphide in gear box lube was desirable or not in a non synchro transmission. I was not asking about differentials or using that type lube in the tranni.

What I take from your post then is; rebuild the components precisely and use lighter weight lube than originally used (based on technological advances for lubrication chemistry). I have been told not to expect a clean garage floor with a PW but it makes sense that if you rebuild correctly using good seals, the floor and truck will remain cleaner.

So, back to my original post:

For an above 32 deg F climate, could you please advise on a weight and brand for the non synchro transmission and the transfer case.

Also a weight and brand for the differentials in the same climate.

Thanks again for your technical advice.

I would have to research the additive you speak of to check out whether its use would be advisable. A non snychroized trans is just that, you will have to learn special operating techniques to operate it successfully like was mentioned.

My recommendations are as follows; If I were building these components for you here, first off they would not leak when returned to you, I don't call a build a success until leak free operation is accomplished, it's just the way we do it here. The oil I would install would be synergen 50 weight transmission oil, in both the transmission and transfer case. I would install synergen 80-90 gear lube in the differentials. This is based on the information you provided.

[PWFFnut]

downshifting it not that hard

Downshifting is much harder than upshifting, especially going uphill. Your clutch has to be working right, and you'd best not have any acceleration hesitation. I've very rarely accomplished a soundless shift, more often it's coast to the side and start off in 1st.

I have been trying to tech My friend how to down shift He needs more patience and so do you try ajuting your engine speed on the same hill repetedly and try not to over rev the engine the is what My friend is doing
hope that helps

[MontanaWDX]

Additional lube question

Charles,

Thanks for your post - reply in regards weight of gear lube.


On another subject, what wheel bearing grease do you recommend? Would Valvoline Crimson be OK? I've used it before and not had problems.

Could I use the Crimson in the Ujoints also?

Regards,

George

[Charles Talbert]

Charles,

Thanks for your post - reply in regards weight of gear lube.


On another subject, what wheel bearing grease do you recommend? Would Valvoline Crimson be OK? I've used it before and not had problems.

Could I use the Crimson in the Ujoints also?

Regards,

George

I'm not familiar with this grease, you would have to study the spec sheet on that product to be sure. What we use is Synergen DY100 in wheel bearings and chassis points. It has proven out well over years of use for us. When we use up the stock we have on hand, we will be changing to the Royal Purple product line completely except for break-in purposes, a proven track record, extremely high end products, and the price is actually less than the Synergen line because of the way Synergen products are marketed. They are sold only through a dealer rep network which drives up cost. It has gotten to the point of extreme in my opinion.

[MontanaWDX]

Royal Purple

Charles,

Thanks for telling me about the Royal Purple products. I have heard about them and they are very good.

Here are the choices:

Engine: straight grades 30, 40, 50 then multi grades. Also an extreme oil; XPR but only in multi grades

Transmission and TFC : Max Gear 75W90 or Synchro Max

Differentials: Max Gear 75W90, 75W140, 85W140

Wheel Bearings & Ujonts: Ultra Performance Grease

Not sure how this stacks up with what you are using now or will use in the future.

Thanks for your ideas and insight.

[Charles Talbert]

Charles,

Thanks for telling me about the Royal Purple products. I have heard about them and they are very good.

Here are the choices:

Engine: straight grades 30, 40, 50 then multi grades. Also an extreme oil; XPR but only in multi grades

Transmission and TFC : Max Gear 75W90 or Synchro Max

Differentials: Max Gear 75W90, 75W140, 85W140

Wheel Bearings & Ujonts: Ultra Performance Grease

Not sure how this stacks up with what you are using now or will use in the future.

Thanks for your ideas and insight.

We are using Royal Purple 15/40 engine oil, I never use a straight grade in an engine. Do not use it in a new rebuild or a brand new engine, you must use a typical petroleum oil during initial break-in periods. Royal Purple is so slick, the rings will never seat. They offer a specific break-in oil now, have not studied up on that as yet. I typically use Rotella 15/40 initially in rebuilds and our new Cummins engines. We can't run the RP in the Cummins until after they log 10,000 miles because of proper break-in.

Use the straight grade engine oil in the trans and transfer. We are assembling a test vehicle now that is getting 40 in the trans and transfer. Have a cooling system in place on the transfer along with gauges to monitor oil temp in the case. If you are in a warm climate, I'd recommend the 50 in these units, we are in between, so I chose 40 as a test lube, cooler climates such as northern and northwestern states would be better served with the 30 weight most likely. Oils have improved so much, what the key is now, chose the lightest, easiest flowing product that will meet the viscosity and temp guidelines specific to you. We have a chart that gives us that information over a broad range of temps. I can e-mail a copy if you would like one.

Gear lube will be 75-90 for us, hotter climates, and or sustained long distance driving may want to use 75-140.

The grease you chose sounds suitable, however I have not had time to study all the Royal Purple grease options as we still have a case or 2 of the Synergen products left.