Need advice on Transmission Oil

[grnappliance]

Some may be aware of my attempts to find an oil for my vintage Champion (Parnall) washer on thread# 93978. In the service manual, the manufacturers recommended Shell Trochus, Shell J50, or Carnea 69 oils, all of which are no longer made.

I have searched high and low for a different alternative. I went to two different oil shops in town and even went as far as emailing Penrite and Shell for a recommendation, but I found nothing and have no clue where to look next.

The washer uses an agitator action with 52c.p.m through 180°. The machine also features bronze bushings, which I believe will affect what oil to use. Another thing to note is that the gearcase will move with the tub during spin.

I am no oil expert, but I believe the correct oil is probably nothing unique and can be easily located at my local oil store. I just need to be certain of the type of oil to put into my transmission. Does anyone have any good recommendations? If possible, a Penrite oil would work out nicely. Thanks!

 

[swestoyz]

That was a pretty cool video - thanks for taking the time to put that together!

The transmission looks almost identical to an early Norge/Borg Warner solid tub transmission. At this point, oils and lubricants today are far superior to what was available when these were designed, however, for this application I'd look for either an old school GL-1 90W gear oil or a more modern GL-4 non detergent oil. Both are compatible with brass/bronze bushings. The viscosity at this point won't be a huge deal - 60 vs 90 vs 150, ISO vs SAE, etc., but rather with the straight cut gears like a heavier gear oil will help keep the gear train noise down.

Check out reply number 8 in the thread below where I document discovering GL-1 rated gear oil.

Ben

A Royal Restoration - Summer of Love Speed Queens!

Evening, fellow AW collectors! I wanted to provide an update on a set that I had posted about back in 2021, shortly after they were delivered. The preliminary check of both looked promising, but after pulling the top off the washer the tales of a blown out balance ring were quickly discovered...

www.automaticwasher.org

 

[kenwashesmonday]

I found an equivalent for Shell Carnea 69 oil -- Shell Morlina S2 B 150

See link below.

Shell Carnea Oils

Shell Carnea are refined straight mineral oils for general lubrication by drip feed, wick feed, hand oiling etc.

www.lubefinder.com

 

[grnappliance]

Do you think that this oil will work?

 

[ragnboneman]

This is a specific example and I am not saying you need to use this brand.
However lots of outboard motors use simple SAE 90 gear oil that is compatible with hypoid, straight cut and spiral bevel gears ( both high pressure and sliding type lubrication requirements ) and have bronze parts inside.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say the specific marine formulations might offer some additives to deal with water infiltration...

https://www.wholesalemarine.com/quicksilver-high-performance-gear-lube/

A real good place to ask these kinds of questions might be Bob the oil guy where there are lubrication specific discussions and experts.
Maybe resurrect this old thread...
Link back to this discussion....

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/need-fluid-for-washing-machine-transmission.42509/

 

[qsd-dan]

Do you think that this oil will work?

That's a GL-5 oil which is not compatible with brass and bronze metals (bushings and spacers). You'll want a GL-1 or GL-4 oil as Sewstoyz mentioned in Reply #1. Not sure how much you need but that looks like it requires more than 1 quart. Might be better off purchasing a gallon.

https://www.amazon.com/1-90-Warren-...id=1715100997&sprefix=gl1+oil,aps,148&sr=8-14

 

[ragnboneman]

That's a GL-5 oil which is not compatible with brass and bronze metals (bushings and spacers).

Would appear I kinked the wrong product.
General purpose GL-4 gear lube

I used to use Castrol OR OMC oil but since there isn't any OMC you kinda have to look at Merc or Yamaha for what currently the most reliable blended products

https://www.wholesalemarine.com/quicksilver-high-performance-gear-lube/

This is the one I use in my Mercs as well as my Johnsons..

 

[qsd-dan]

Would appear I kinked the wrong product.

Kinky...

It claims to be a GL-4 lube. Not sure if there's anything added or taken out in the oil for marine use though. Perhaps someone here well versed in outboard equipment will respond.

 

[grnappliance]

It's tough for me because I live overseas and do not have most of the brands you guys are familiar with. Still, I am very pleased with everyone's suggestions, so I will take them down to my local Repco or Supercheap Auto for them to look at. They might have something that matches the specifications of NAPA GL-1 90W Gear Oil or GL-4 non-detergent oil. We'll see what happens!

 

[maytag85]

I used put motor oil in my Kenmore portable washer when I first got it back in 2017 since the transmission was locked up when I first got it. Still working nearly 7 years later. Not necessarily the correct oil, but better than no oil at all. Next, I plan on rebuilding another Whirlpool belt drive transmission and will pack it with corn head grease to see how it’ll do, basically a grease when it sits, turns into a heavy gear oil when mixed around.

 

[maytag85]

*I put motor oil in

 

[grnappliance]

My trip to Supercheap Auto

I spent almost an hour talking with the staff at Supercheap Auto who additionally called Penrite and Repco to try and help me. Long story short, I still left the shop empty-handed (I mentioned previously that I do not have the NAPA brand here in New Zealand). Despite this, I learned from my visit that GL-1 is a hard oil to find nowadays and that GL-4, the more modern alternative, "supersedes" it.

Originally, I showed them the GL-1 90W gear oil that Ben talked about, but they could never officially recommend a suitable alternative due to its low availability. They said that GL-4 might be a better oil for my situation, so we called Repco to try and find one. Unfortunately, they couldn't suggest much due to uncertainties in the specs. In the end, they told me to do more research on the GL-4 oil, as one of them would be best for my machine.

I posted pictures of some of the oils that we discussed.

 

[qsd-dan]

I'd be weary of the Castrol Universal oil. Any gear oil designed for hypoid differential gears will have a GL-5 fluid in it. The other 2 should be fine.

 

[swestoyz]

The Penrite looks like it should work just fine, being that it does specifically call out GL-1 90w. British made Miller's also has a straight 90w oil available, as well. Not sure if this is available in NZ, either.

https://www.amazon.com/Millers-Oils-7924-Green-non-additive/dp/B071RBQT3R?th=1

The old Norge transmissions take a fill of 3 quarts, hopefully this helps out when you decide it's time to pull the plug on buying something.

Ben

 

[grnappliance]

Here is what Repco says about the Transoil 90:

"Transoil 90 is premium Non EP, API GL-1 rated SAE 90 gear oil designed specifically for use in Veteran, Vintage and Edwardian gearbox, Transaxles and selected spur and bevel type rear axles. It does not contain any aggressive load carrying additives that may cause corrosion damage to ferrous and non ferrous metal types used in these types of vehicles."

It does sound very promising, but I'll have to wait for it to be restocked at the store. I'll get back when that happens.

 

[maytag85]

The oil I used for the rebuild in my Whirlpool over 3 years ago was Royal Purple 90 weight gear oil. Haven’t had a single issue since.

 

[jetcone]

Millers Oil

Which Ben pointed out has great qualities for vintage gearboxes ! I used in my Bendix restore this winter and the tranny is so quiet!

 

The thing is with bronze parts you need a non-detergent oil. It has to say non detergent.

 

 

 

[grnappliance]

Regarding Millers

I checked, and they do not ship Millers oils to New Zealand unfortunately. I'm pretty sure that the Transoil 90 will work for my gear case. Feel free to double-check while I wait for it to get restocked.

TRANSOIL SAE 90 | Penrite Oil

Transoil 90 is premium non EP, API GL-1 rated SAE 90 gear oil designed specifically for use in veteran, vintage and Edwardian gearbox, transaxles and selected spur and bevel type rear axles. It does not contain any aggressive load carrying additives that may cause corrosion damage to ferrous and...

penriteoil.com.au

 

[grnappliance]

Oil update

Good news! I was able to acquire three bottles of the Penrite Transoil 90 that we discussed. That should be plenty of oil to refill the transmission and finish rebuilding it. I have gone ahead and fitted the gearcase back onto the inner tub, and once it's back in the machine, I'll be able to fill it from inside the tub.

I'll be moving ahead with the reassembly of the machine on my old thread. Thank you for helping me Ben and others!