Corn Head Grease in Model A trans?

[Burgie]

Has anyone had successful experience using John Deere Corn Head Grease in a Model A transmission?

[JoeCB]

Good for the steering box but not the trans. Although a "flowable grease" still way to thick for the trans.... My $0.02 worth
Joe B

[California Travieso]

It might work in Death Valley where it was 139 degrees this summer or Palm Springs where it was 118 degrees a few days ago but I doubt it would work anywhere else except maybe Saudi Arabia. The Saudis don’t change the oil and transmission fluids, they change cars every 5,000 miles.

David Serrano

[nkaminar]

It is going to be hard to beat modern 85W-140 G5 gear oil. The oil has an additive that attaches to the surface of the parts, gears and bearings, and wears without allowing the underlying material to wear. If you buy the end seal parts with the tubes, the steering box will not leak so the modern gear oil can be used there too.

Here is an old story that some of you may have heard. It is from the 50's and 60's. I don't know how true it is. The story goes that unscrupulous sellers of Model A's would put sawdust in the worn out transmissions to quiet them down. Anyone else heard this?

[Tom Endy]

I heard that story back in the 50's. They would also put sawdust in a noisy rear end. I also heard they used banana peels.

Tom Endy

[JayJay]

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Heard also that a quick fix was to add a handful of oats into the radiator to stop leaks.

[rotorwrench]

All true but none worth a darn. John Deere helped to develope their thixotropic corn header gearbox grease to add life to the header gearbox. That gearbox is a very complicated unit. It has one input and multiple output shafts. None turn at real high rpm. Seepage can kill a unit like that unless operators check it for fluid level on a regular schedule. A lot of them didn't and they would fail. The new lubricant didn't totally foolproof the unit but it would get it out of warranty.

Steering gears and torque tube U-joints benefit from using it but I wouldn't recommend it for spur or helical gears.

[Terry, NJ]

My rule is; If power runs through it, it wants thinner oil! The exception being a Model A transmission.The model A transmission has to be shifted and thick oil helps with the shifting and the sealing, aside from lubrication. I have tried Lucas Hub Oil, STP, and various concoctions, and like the engine, the model A is so forgiving and they all seem to work fine. While, I use a thinner rear end lube, too thick a lube kills HP. I tend to default to the heavier oils where shifting is involved.
Terry

[rotorwrench]

I agree with the previous post. The spur gear transmissions needed thicker lube to aid in rpm control for shifting. When the semi synchronized transmissions showed up in 1932, it allowed for less viscosity since most folks wouldn't downshift to low gear. The big truck transmissions were an exception since they kept spur gear transmissions till well after the war.

[spdway1]

Don't tell my wife about the Banana Peel method because I fart a lot. Or do you mean a Model A rear end because that hole is pretty small too!