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Gearbox Oil

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 3:39 pm
by guttix
Got a '96 Defender with the R380 gearbox...just wondering what oil people have tried in it. MTF94 is what is recommended, but buggered if I can find that. On the aussie forums they recommend castrol syntrans, which costs a hell of a lot.

So...anyone got any suggestions?

Re: Gearbox Oil

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 4:59 pm
by UBZ
this is one of those debates that you will find multiple conflicting opions on .
As the original Rover specification is for Dextron III ATF .
which was specified by rover after multiple complaints about hard shifting using standard 80w/90

I run Redline MTL in my LT77 gearbox with good results.

recently we have a found a nulon 75w/90 semi synthetic that says it is an oem replacement for Dextron III .

but the I have found that if you treat it as a truck gearbox and do controlled shifting ( ie move to nuetral , then move into gear ) you don't get the sticking gears and crunching renowned from these boxes .

Re: Gearbox Oil

Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 6:54 pm
by slide
Be wary of 80w90 oils as most of these are gl-5 quality. Use a gl-4 for gearboxs with bronze synchos (sorry, I don't have a clue about R380s) as gl-5 can damage the synchro leading to graunchy changes

Re: Gearbox Oil

Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 7:34 am
by Rossoh
You can try Penrite Trans Gear 75w-80
See here: http://www.penriteoil.com.au/products.p ... oducts=379
Which you can get from Repco and meets the MTF 94 Spec..

I had it in my 200tdi Defender LT77 Box and it was perhaps a we bit thick when cold but great when warmed up. But it will be better suited to your R380.

Re: Gearbox Oil

Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 7:21 pm
by Dr_PC
slide wrote:Be wary of 80w90 oils as most of these are gl-5 quality. Use a gl-4 for gearboxs with bronze synchos (sorry, I don't have a clue about R380s) as gl-5 can damage the synchro leading to graunchy changes

If it's a synchro box use GL4 oil, if its not then use GL5, they have an additive that keeps oil on the gear set, deffinitley NOT what you want on a synchro box

Re: Gearbox Oil

Posted: Sat Feb 02, 2013 9:22 pm
by guttix
awesome, cheers fellas