Thread: Front Axle Oil

Lots of discussion threads on this one.

One-shot 'may' not get thrown up to the Railco bush so the general opinion is stick to oil.
The one-shot is usually a way of delaying replacing the swivel seals, if you've replaced them then why not use oil anyway.

You'll struggle to get straight 90 so you'll have to use EP75W90 or something similar.
Oil viscosity numbers are confusing, there is a wide range of viscosities for '90' and it may even overlap 140, problem is you may struggle to get the actual viscosity from the manufacturer.


Colin

Thanks Colin,

I was planning to use Penrite's Mild EP in pretty much everything that's originally EP90 specified, but I thought I'll get the question out there.

The other question I had was about assembling the bearing and bush. Do I grease them up like you would a wheel bearing or do you just give it a smear of EP to get it set up?

Cheers,

Lou

I personally use a paintbrush & gear oil when reassembling. Everything inside gets 'painted' in case it's some time before it gets filled & the vehicle seriously used.
There is a glass jar (with screw on lid) on my workbench with EP75W90 in it and also an oil can.

Colin

Bearing in mind as the oil has to lubricate the railcos and get into the unis it is best to stay with a thin an oil as possible ie ep90. The front diffs in a series do not run that hot really so 140 is not needed regardless of ambient. And the heavier oil unless it can get up to temp will sap HP to a certain degree. Of more importance is keep clean fresh oil in it, the old diffs seem to run dirty quicker I have noticed.
Cheers Scott

The type of oil is not very critical. The only place the "EP" property is needed is the actual diff, and as indicated, this is not in fact very severe duty as diffs go, since the front diff in particular is not heavily loaded and the diffs are not hypoid, which imposes high sliding loads. The swivels and bearings are again not highly loaded, but need to be kept lubricated, and the upper swivel bushes rely on oil being flung onto them - the biggest enemy of these bushes is lack of lubrication, due to the use of grease or the long term use of free wheel hubs.

The reason that EP90 is specified for everything except the engine in Series Landrovers is to keep the lubrication maintenance simple - the swivels, relay, and steering box would probably be just as happy with engine oil.

I suspect that for many owners, one of the "universal" agrigultural oils designed for use anywhere on a tractor would be good anywhere on a Series Landrover, although you would need to check the EP qualities before using it in diffs. The advantage of these is that they are designed to be used in tractor hydraulics and are designed to leave a persistent oil film on surfaces that are oiled in service, but are left exposed to the air for long periods, during which most oils will drain off or evaporate. Sounds like it would be an advantage for vehicles with loing periods of disuse, especially in a humid climate.

John