Jcorstorphine
Well-Known Member
I am sorry to bring up this old chestnut but within the collective wisdom of hundreds of years of experience written down in these hallowed volumes, there is still confusion over the correct type of oil to be used in these mechanical gearboxes.
In the past the argument has been “Engine Oil” or “Automatic Transmission Fluid”. Having read through all the links I can find, I think there has been some misinformation derived from individuals own experience / views such as categorically stating “use engine oil” when the manufactures of the gearbox have (in the past) stated use only ATF oil.
Adding to the general confusion, certain engine companies such as Bukh and Volvo have got their knickers in a twist as they have stated the use of engine oil in their badged ZF gearboxes and then retracted that when owners have questioned the advice given in the manuals .
In my case, the instructions with the gearbox which I purchased new back in 1998 state, and I quote exactly “For HURTH HSW Marine Transmissions, Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF) must be used as a lubricant. In the past I have used an Esso type A which is no longer available.
Ok, so far so good I will be using ATF but when I go to Halfords I am met with a bewildering array of ATF products which range from synthetic to semi-synthetic to mineral and so on. Now I know there can be issue with seals by not using the correct formulation of oil an example being mineral oil will destroy brake cylinder seals and other seals may tend to swell if synthetic oil is used an example being that it may not be wise to use synthetic oil in an old engine so I am led to believe.
After much soul searching, I purchased the more expensive Halfords Transmission and Power Steering Fluid which covers Dexron II and III as well as Ford, Kia Mitsubishi, VW specs But, there is no mention as to if it is synthetic, semi-synthetic or mineral. There was an alternative brand available and that was Comma and it did specify the type of ATF formulation.
So my question is what is the present day direct equivalent of Esso Type A. Was the old type A, a vegetable type oil similar to brake fluid. I do know that at one time the old A type ATF had whale oil in it as a friction modifier but at the moment I am still researching the topic but at the moment I am on information overload reading through Wikipedia etc.
Can anyone tell me what they have bought in the way of ATF products from Halfords and put it in a ZF / Hurth Gearbox.
In the past the argument has been “Engine Oil” or “Automatic Transmission Fluid”. Having read through all the links I can find, I think there has been some misinformation derived from individuals own experience / views such as categorically stating “use engine oil” when the manufactures of the gearbox have (in the past) stated use only ATF oil.
Adding to the general confusion, certain engine companies such as Bukh and Volvo have got their knickers in a twist as they have stated the use of engine oil in their badged ZF gearboxes and then retracted that when owners have questioned the advice given in the manuals .
In my case, the instructions with the gearbox which I purchased new back in 1998 state, and I quote exactly “For HURTH HSW Marine Transmissions, Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF) must be used as a lubricant. In the past I have used an Esso type A which is no longer available.
Ok, so far so good I will be using ATF but when I go to Halfords I am met with a bewildering array of ATF products which range from synthetic to semi-synthetic to mineral and so on. Now I know there can be issue with seals by not using the correct formulation of oil an example being mineral oil will destroy brake cylinder seals and other seals may tend to swell if synthetic oil is used an example being that it may not be wise to use synthetic oil in an old engine so I am led to believe.
After much soul searching, I purchased the more expensive Halfords Transmission and Power Steering Fluid which covers Dexron II and III as well as Ford, Kia Mitsubishi, VW specs But, there is no mention as to if it is synthetic, semi-synthetic or mineral. There was an alternative brand available and that was Comma and it did specify the type of ATF formulation.
So my question is what is the present day direct equivalent of Esso Type A. Was the old type A, a vegetable type oil similar to brake fluid. I do know that at one time the old A type ATF had whale oil in it as a friction modifier but at the moment I am still researching the topic but at the moment I am on information overload reading through Wikipedia etc.
Can anyone tell me what they have bought in the way of ATF products from Halfords and put it in a ZF / Hurth Gearbox.
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