Valvoline gear oil
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I use royal purple. Valvoline aint bad but just have my preference
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50,187 Posts
Valvoline's Gear Lube (oil) is a superb GL-5 gear lube that is as good as any for our axles, it's what I run too. 70W-80, 80W-90, 75W-90, 80W-120, 85W-140 etc. would all be fine. Though go with the heavier 80W-120 or 85W-140 if you tow a trailer much. The exact viscosity of gear lube is not critical.
Don't let anyone convince you that you need some expensive synthetic "boutique" brand to do a good job at protecting your gears.
In fact, many custom axle builders like Currie and Dynatrac will void the warranty of their axles if the customer fills them with a synthetic gear lube. It has been shown that the gears run cooler when lubricated with a conventional gear lube than with a synthetic gear lube. Currie was actually the first to start requiring conventional gear lubes when they started having repeated ring & pinion gear failures on competition axles from their owners having switched to synthetic.
Their installation guides caution to use only conventional gear lubes and to avoid any synthetic gear lubes.
Of course that problem won't happen for Joe-average wheeler who doesn't wheel hard.... but it just goes to show that synthetic lubes aren't the perfect lubricant that some think they are.
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2,313 Posts
Negative. Valvoline high performance has friction modifier in it already and is LSD safe, unless it says otherwise on the bottle but I'm pretty sure that's regular Valvoline and not the "high performance".
I've been using it in the diffs on my old '99 and now my '06 for a few years. Works just fine. Mine wants it annually. Also, I bought lube locker gaskets and they are money very well spent!
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50,187 Posts
True, and most GL-5 axle gear lubes sold in the auto parts stores contain the additive. It's darned hard to find one that does not contain it.
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751 Posts
Don't use synthetic in your differential. I like synthetics elsewhere but not in the diff because it is an extreme pressure application and the sulfer in regular gear oil is needed to accept the friction/heat in the oil as opposed to the metal gears.
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55 Posts
When I regeared, they used Royal Purple and it was a complete waste considering I still needed to break in the new gears and replace the oil anyways. When I did replace the gear oil after the initial 500 mile break in, I went with Valvoline. I couldn't find anything showing me real evidence of any advantage to using synthetic oil in the differential, mostly just people stating personal preference. Valvoline has been around for a long time, I wouldn't hesitate at all!
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175 Posts
I found a box of the proper weight of gear oil but it says "Limited Slip" on them. Can I used this in my non LSD differentials? There are about 8 bottles and I would rather not have them sit.
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55 Posts
Most gear oils out there have the LSD additive but are made for use in a non LSD as well. I have a mechanical LSD in my Tacoma (newer models are the electronic limited slip), and even though there are LSD additives in the gear oil, it is still recommended to add an additional tube of friction modifier to the mix. Not sure why but all of the forums recommend it as well as the dealer.
But in short, those should be fine!
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50,187 Posts
Absolutely you can use it, the additive is compatible with all axles.
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125 Posts
I thought GL5 was bad due to it eating the yellow metals. A Google search provides a lot of info about this subject.
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50,187 Posts
The sulphur additive used in most GL-5 gear lubes is indeed bad for the yellow metal synchros in manual transmissions. But axles absolutely require a GL-5 to protect the ring & pinion gears where the sulphur based additive is very helpful.
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2,313 Posts
A thorough search provides even more.
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175 Posts
Thanks for replies. I thought I would top off my diffs since they both need pinion seals and have gunk all over them. They don't drip but when I went to fill them they both took about a half quart each so they're probably happy with what I did. I'm going to try and knock out the rear this week and the front next week.
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41 Posts
Is there any strong reason to stick with Mopar fluid for the differentials or is Valvoline ok?
Just acquired a TJ Sport and have no idea what's currently in them but want to start fresh and change both diff's this weekend so wondering what fluid to pick up.
Just acquired a TJ Sport and have no idea what's currently in them but want to start fresh and change both diff's this weekend so wondering what fluid to pick up.
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50,187 Posts
No need to use Mopar lubricants, they're just made for them by companies like Valvoline, Mobil, etc. Any GL-5 from a major brand like Valvoline, Castrol, Torco, Mobil, etc. will provide superb protection for your axles.
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