'22 Big Six Transmission Oil Brand and/or Type

[Kfigel]

Can anyone suggest a brand and/or type of transmission oil to use in my '22 Big Six?  Just drained the old oil, and the service manual just says to use a quality transmission oil as a replacement.  Is 600 w fluid that's available ok?Thanks  

Edited May 11, 2022 by Kfigel (see edit history)

[Linus Tremaine]

yes, 

just buy the 600w oil or steam cylinder oil. 

You can buy it in 5 gallon buckets. 

 

 

[Stude Light]

I started with 600W in my Light Six transmission and rear axle. I stuck with the 600W in the rear axle but switched to GL-1 90W in the transmission as it shifts a bit better with the lighter weight oil.

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NHF65201

Scott

[Kfigel]

23 hours ago, Linus Tremaine said:

yes, 

just buy the 600w oil or steam cylinder oil. 

You can buy it in 5 gallon buckets. 

 

 

Thanks

[Kfigel]

14 hours ago, Stude Light said:

I started with 600W in my Light Six transmission and rear axle. I stuck with the 600W in the rear axle but switched to GL-1 90W in the transmission as it shifts a bit better with the lighter weight oil.

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NHF65201

Scott

Thanks, Scott.

[Linus Tremaine]

I learned something interesting today about our gear boxes. 
the layshaft bearings are babbit. 
so, I am reconsidering what oil I want to run in my gear box. I am going to consider some more modern stuff like redline

 

my transmission layshaft bearings were not getting oiled well with 600. So I am wanting to find something thinner that can run into the bearing more easily.  
 

maybe we should ask some folks who have other cars with babbit in the rear ends?

 

what do you guys think 

 

 

[Kfigel]

2 hours ago, Linus Tremaine said:

I learned something interesting today about our gear boxes. 
the layshaft bearings are babbit. 
so, I am reconsidering what oil I want to run in my gear box. I am going to consider some more modern stuff like redline

 

my transmission layshaft bearings were not getting oiled well with 600. So I am wanting to find something thinner that can run into the bearing more easily.  
 

maybe we should ask some folks who have other cars with babbit in the rear ends?

 

what do you guys think 

 

 

Possibly that's why Stude Light switched from 600 to GL-1 90W in his transmission as he noted above?

[Linus Tremaine]

He switched because he likes the shifting better. I don’t think we can know if it’s oiling the layshaft bearings better or not without looking. The clearance on them may allow a lighter oil to flow more easily and provide better lubrication. That’s what I’m wondering.  

[Stude Light]

The countershaft gear cluster in the Light Six uses bronze bushings as does the reverse idler. Like the Big and Special Six, the mainshaft is supported with bearings. I really don't think it matters bronze vs babbitt for the oil weight for bushings. The clearances are similar and you are relying on the oil film to prevent metal to metal contact. The oil film is significantly thinner on the contact faces of a ball or tapered roller bearing (gets squeezed out) so I don't understand the concern for using a heavy weight oil on bushings that have a few thousandths clearance. Recall that the gearboxes and axles didn't have lip seals and relied on heavy lubes and felt to keep the oil from running out. I have some machinery that uses both bearings and bushing in the gearbox that uses a semi fluid grease. Lots of people running 600W in their transmissions and axles in cars from the 1890s - 1930s.

 

Why don't you think your bushings weren't getting oiled?

 

Edited May 16, 2022 by Stude Light (see edit history)

[Linus Tremaine]

I was concerned that it wasn’t oiling well because of its condition. It was galled. We had a spare trans and used the lay shaft from it and we were able to clean up the babbit well enough to not be a concern.  
 

but I wondered what caused it. It could be something unrelated to oiling. Maybe metal got in it, maybe it was run out of oil at some point. I just was looking for input. It sounds like I’m barking up the wrong tree. 😁

 

the good news is that it’s all fixed and it should actually be drivable now. the bearings were pretty bad and the lay shaft was very hard to turn making it miserable to shift. 
 

I have spare parts - the spare box I have is a 22 or 23 and I was able to use the lay shaft and some gears out of it. They were in excellent condition. The main shaft is different so if anyone needs parts let me know.