From This Thread - Post #13
-
https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=296151
Quote:
... transmissions ran smoothly and reliably using whale oil in lubricating fluids, as long as engine coolant temperatures ran below 173 degrees F. Fortunately for the whales, by the 1970s engines became subject to tighter emissions regulations and engineers had to design them to run hotter.
Other demands such as front-wheel-drive and ever-increased emissions limits boosted the operating temperatures of engines to well over 200 degrees F, forcing research efforts into synthetic lubricants and rendering the use of whale oil (really an ester, not an oil) obsolete.
The Endangered Species Act of 1972, followed by an "indefinite moratorium" set in 1986 protects those whales remaining. Only the Japanese and Norwegians still kill whales for meat. While our society now looks at this senseless killing as; well, senseless and selfish, think of how you might have felt about driving a 50s or 60s-era car with an automatic transmission or locking differential if you had known that large numbers of whales had to die for your convenience. It isn't a pretty story, is it?
|
INFO SOURCE -
http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/725.cfm
So whale oil (or lack thereof) is not a factor in modern lubricant. Whale oil was used for it's anti-corrosive properties.