[fish]

Can anyone tell me, from their experience if 100% synthetic gearbox oil, like Evolution 1 really does improve gearbox operation in a disco 1?

 

[Quicksilva]

I'm running Redline synth in ,my tranny t-case and diffs....no issues to speak of...which is how I like it....Mobil one in the motor...Castrol LMA in the brakes...Cheapo power steering fluid with Lucas additive...Redline "water wetter" in the coolant system...florida has a tendancy to get warm from time to time...

M,

 

[texasrover]

I am running Amsoil from head to toe. If they made brake fluid and coolant, I would run that as well.

No problems, with 150K miles.

 

[Hailsharky]

I am running Amsoil from head to toe. If they made brake fluid and coolant, I would run that as well.

No problems, with 150K miles.

Tex,

I used to run Amzoil everything until my LAnd Rover mechanic in Riverside CA said it was a big no no.
HMM,
I debated with heem, but I was at a loss since I was only going off teh data from my Amzoil connect.

Basicly he said that Amzoil coulnt take the temp beating from a land rover and could EFF up my engine and transfer case in so many words.

I will ask heem about it next time im in there.

For now, how many miles of the 130k have been Amzoil miles brutha??

I had it in for maybe the last 50K of my 120K miles.
Now its all back to reg stock oils and lubricants.. :dunno:

 

[Adam in NYC USA]

If I was going to test motor oil, how would I do it?

Tex,

I used to run Amzoil everything until my LAnd Rover mechanic in Riverside CA said it was a big no no.
HMM,
I debated with heem, but I was at a loss since I was only going off teh data from my Amzoil connect.

Basicly he said that Amzoil coulnt take the temp beating from a land rover and could EFF up my engine and transfer case in so many words.

I will ask heem about it next time im in there.

For now, how many miles of the 130k have been Amzoil miles brutha??

I had it in for maybe the last 50K of my 120K miles.
Now its all back to reg stock oils and lubricants.. :dunno:

I think you have to quiz your mechanic. A lot of them are old-school and believe in maintaince first and miracle synethic fluids later.

I believe that motor oil is pretty important and if anything can help, get it.

But I don't know your mechanic and I don't know his expierence, wisdom, and pearls of wisdom rolling around in his head. However, his opinions are going to be based on what he has seen and not necessarily on what he learned in technical school or the university of hard knocks.

Most engines are abused. Nothing wrong with that. Religious oil changes will take take of your valuable investment. If there is a drop, address it.

As for the rest like the transaxles, I am of the belief that as long you don't push it to the limit, you go in check as long as you keep your ride on the maintance sked. You run long from the skid and it will bite you.

Keep it real, stay on top and take care of it, and you gotta go to the boundary, it will do it.

Just me.

And to answer my own question, buy or borrow two skillets and a stove with two identical burners, pour your target motor oils into the skillets and have a meat thermometer handy. Whip out the timer and Cook until hard. Longest is the winner.

Adam in NYC

 

[texasrover]

The initial break in period was with what ever the dealer put in there. I would say more than 120,000 miles is amsoil.

I had used Amsoil in a Powerstroke Diesel for about 170,000 miles before the Rover. I could be lucky but I have not had any problems.

My Rover at 150K still does not burn more than 1/2 quart of oil after 5000 miles. Actually, I think that 1/2 quart is along the undercarriage. No drips but plenty of seeps (sp?). I find that normal for Land Rovers.

Now, I do have one story where I was told not to use Synthetics. My Bass boat was a big no-no. The mechanic told me to run conventional oil since I use it so little. He said Synthetic would be perfectly fine if I ran the motor daily but with long sit ups it will drain down ??? and I would have real dry starts. He liked Amsoil but the frequency of use was not high enough to be of any benefit for me... Told me Amsoil Lube and lower unit would be okay but the 2 cycle would be better use regular QuickSilver oil or something similiar.

What I took from this is a motor used frequently, synthetic is okay but a motor that sits... should stay with conventional. Maybe?

 

[Adam in NYC USA]

Rebuttal

The initial break in period was with what ever the dealer put in there. I would say more than 120,000 miles is amsoil.

I can not speak for initial break-in period for Land Rovers but on some other vehicles that oil is different than the usual oil to ensure proper breakin. During dealer servicing, it is then inspected for metal debris and other surprises and then swapped with conventional oil.

Now, I do have one story where I was told not to use Synthetics. My Bass boat was a big no-no. The mechanic told me to run conventional oil since I use it so little. He said Synthetic would be perfectly fine if I ran the motor daily but with long sit ups it will drain down ??? and I would have real dry starts. He liked Amsoil but the frequency of use was not high enough to be of any benefit for me... Told me Amsoil Lube and lower unit would be okay but the 2 cycle would be better use regular QuickSilver oil or something similiar.

What I took from this is a motor used frequently, synthetic is okay but a motor that sits... should stay with conventional. Maybe?

He is basing on the pearls of wisdom that came out the first generation of synethic motor oils. When the oil manufacturers ramped out first full out production, they discovered that some of the additives came out of solution and precipated out when the oil was sitting.

Their new ones don't but do have to be activated by heat. That means run the engine after the oil change.

It is your choice what you want to do with the marine motor: put the sitting oil in there or call the oil manufacturer and see if it will sit with it.

I would go with the boat engine maker says. They know their engines best, better than the oil guys. Heck, they are the ones who run them with salt water and salt inside to see how the engines do.

Adam in NYC

 

[Disco]

I'm a firm believer in getting the best oil that you can afford, and change it more regularily than the service manual suggests, although some people may disagree. Besides water, oil the next cheapest fluid you can add to your truck, so why scrimp.

 

[Hailsharky]

I change my oil as soon as it loses it's honey color.

I drive very little these days and so It takes forever to get the miles required to constitute the 3k interval.

Im lucky, with 129k mile son the clock, I have no leaks yet.
Sweet!!

BTW, I do still do the Amzoil engine flushes every 6-8 months depending on the miles....

That stuff makes my honey colored oil look like I never changed it. The mechanics always say, bring it in sooner man, yer oil was black as midnight!

LOL
LOL
I dont tell them its because of the engine flush, they will probably charge extra if they knew.. :beer:

 

[Funrover]

I am a Mobil 1 fan.. It is all i run, no problems @ 165,000 miles.. When i switched out the diff oil from the non-syn i noticed a little help on the extreme angles 39 -more.. I have always used synthetic due to the fact heat is less of a problem with synthetics, they last longer, lube better. There is my 2 cents

 

[02RhinoRange]

Tranny oil, syn or non-syn?

I'm looking into the Amsoil synthetic products.
I'm definately going to purchase Amsoil oil for the diffs (75W 90R as per the manual).
But I've heard a couple of stories arguing both sides of whether syn, or non-syn is appropriate/good for the transfer box/tranny.
I've got an '02 P38 and just curious about members thoughts on this...
If it's fine I would like to run Amsoil in the tranny also.
For engine oil, I'm running a syn/non-syn blend (Mobil 1 Clean 7500).
I didn't wanna go fully syn, but thought this would be better than conventional.
I won't be waiting the 7500 miles to change it though, I'll stick to the 3000-3500 mile range.

 

[Brutus]

As a Land Rover technician I will say this and you can take it how you want. It doesn't seem to matter what oil you use when they all recomend changing the oil every 3000 miles anyway. If you are changing the oil that often it is kind of a waste to spend the extra money on synthetic. Now if the factory requires synthetic that is one thing. The old pushrod motors that Land Rover has used for forever don't need synthetic. Now Land Rover uses synthetic gear oil in the t-case and diffs but not for the trans or engine. I only use conventional oil in my engine (121000 miles) and I have no problems and mine is off road almost once a week. And I live in the deep south. Now I will not tell anyone not to use synthetic but I just don't think it is necessary when you perform regular maintenance. But that is just my two cents and now I am broke.

 

[01001010]

Awsome thread...losts of useful info here. Brutus...thank you for your input.

 

[02RhinoRange]

Transfer case vs. Transmission...

So Brutus, what's the difference in the transfer case vs. the transmission?
I mean when I get ready to do my transmission service (drain, replace transmission filter, fill), should I be using synthetic or non? I want to use fully syn, but don't wanna mess up... and put the wrong thing in..... Thanks for the info.

If there is a different place for drain fill of the transfer case, then I've got some more learning to do, I kinda thought the transfer case/transmission oils were one in the same....

 

[Disco]

What oil you decide to use in your engine, Synthetic or natural is a personal preferance. Synthetic does have some advantages, and as Brutus said, if you are going to change your oil on a regular basis, the added cost of using synthetic is a waste of money. Synthetic in your transmission is another matter. There have been some reports (BMW forums) that the use of synthetic oil in the ZF transmission has lead to minor problems, mainly, sudden jerk when down shifting to a stop. This does not apply to all ZF transmissions that have used synthetic oil. Personally, I just use what LR recommends.

 

[me.guevara]

Food for thought:

My undergraduate degree is Enginerding (U Wisconsin - Madison), and I seem to recall that one of my professors stated that internal combustion engine oil needs a "little" carbon residue to really lubricate properly. It turns out that, like its cousin graphite, loose carbon deposits actually help build the thin barriers between the metal to metal contact. Thus, he concluded, an engine that always operates with fresh oil will last less than one that uses the same oil for while (he had some lab research results to back up his claim, too). The maintenance cycle is dictated by the breakdown of the oil (loss of lubricating properties) and the buildup of larger particles (increased abrasion). Then again, that was 1991, maybe things have changed.

I know absolutely nothing about how synth oil performs, but I recall that in the first versions of the stuff, you couldn't mix it with traditional oil - I'm sure that has changed.

Cheers,

 

[Brutus]

I don't think that using synthetic in the trans is a big deal but still do not think it is necessary. The transfer case is seperate from the transmission. The drain is on the bottom of the flat surface of the transfer case and the fill is behind the brake drum. I doubt that you will mess anything up in the trans if you use synthetic. Many of the transmission additives that you can buy at your local parts house will have some synthetic properties. I just personally feel that synthetic transmission fluid is better left to the non-servicable transmissions.

Hey, this is fun :wave:

 

[Brutus]

Let me say one more thing. The 95 to 02 Range Rover (P38) uses transmission fluid, not gear oil, in the transfer case. I was thinking this morning that I may have been too general on my previous posts.

 

[FlyWheel]

Food for thought:

My undergraduate degree is Enginerding (U Wisconsin - Madison), and I seem to recall that one of my professors stated that internal combustion engine oil needs a "little" carbon residue to really lubricate properly. It turns out that, like its cousin graphite, loose carbon deposits actually help build the thin barriers between the metal to metal contact. Thus, he concluded, an engine that always operates with fresh oil will last less than one that uses the same oil for while (he had some lab research results to back up his claim, too). The maintenance cycle is dictated by the breakdown of the oil (loss of lubricating properties) and the buildup of larger particles (increased abrasion). Then again, that was 1991, maybe things have changed.

I know absolutely nothing about how synth oil performs, but I recall that in the first versions of the stuff, you couldn't mix it with traditional oil - I'm sure that has changed.

Cheers,

Me.guevara,
I am with you on this 100%. I dont have an engineering degree however oil has detergents...if you keep cleaning a clean engine, how can the viscous molecules (which is necessary for protection) stick to the cylnder walls?

One update: you can now mix synthetic with regular engine oils...at least AMSOIL approves it.
I swear by AMSOIL. My first BMW was a 74 Bavaria 3.0s. I drove it from New York To Houston on a knocking engine. When I arrived I was introduced to AMSOIL. After using it the knock stopped and I had more power (rebuilt engine 20,000 miles later).
I have used it in my M5 for the past 130,000 miles with no problems. (changed every 10,000 miles..yes 10,000 miles)
AMSOIL is currently used in my 2001 Disco wall to wall...i.e engine, trans, difs, transfer case...and when I finally locate the greasing points...AMSOIL will be there. I also use in in my wheel bearings. A very English service rep at the local dealer advised against Synthetic in the tranny. However after talking to my AMSOIL distributor who races at Daytona (Bob Speed..hell of a name for a race car driver), he indicated that if AMSOIL can take the abuse of Daytona Beach it should be ok in a Land Rover. I think he has a valid point. He also indicated that the REP was only stating/repeating what Land Rover stated. After spending $7.80 per quart on AMSOIL, I have no plan of a 3K interval oil change..more like 7K. Of course its still a personal choice. The key to any oil is it breakdown point.
A good oil will not form bubbles in any condition..if it bubbles its not protecting your engine.

Tex are you out there?
What kind of performance are you getting from AMSOIL in the Tranny and what year is your Disco? Mine is the '01 with the BMW ZF tranny.
Does anyone have any technical data on why Land Rover has issues with Synthetics in the Tranny? Please post.

 

[imag]

What kind of AMSOIL in Transfer case

Hi FlyWheel,
Can you tell me what AMSOIL (part#, spec's) are you using in your Disco's transfer case ?