Go Back   The Ford Barn > General Discussion > Model A (1928-31)

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 11-18-2019, 05:36 PM   #21
duke36
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 1,414
Default Re: I am so happy......With my 1500W gear oil...

I've tried the vendors' 600 in the rear end which looks and feels like modern Chevron SAE 140 I have in a pail. Am now trying 1500w (modern non synthetic SAE 250) from Summit racing which doesn't foam as much as the 140. Non stock tranny so no 250wt. there.
duke36 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-18-2019, 06:49 PM   #22
Forddan
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2019
Location: Westford, MA
Posts: 195
Default Re: I am so happy......With my 1500W gear oil...

Quote:
Originally Posted by mike657894 View Post
Forddan Im thinking of following your lead here. I have a few questions. Did you have good 600w from the suppliers before the 1500? I just put macs 600 in trans and rear. less than 100 miles yet. I can get some silent shifts if I hit my double shift well enough. In your original post you make it sound like your trans now shifts like a syncro unit because of this oil. Is it that good? Im leery as I put standard modern rear end oil in my axle when I got it and developed a slight low speed noise back there.
First, thank you all for your comments!!!

Mike659874. Let me clarify some points.

I am a newbie concerning Model A. This is my first season with one. So, I do not know yet if my issues shifting were due to my lack of experience or due to the gear oil.

Now, with that clarify I will answer your questions.

I tried 3 different 600W from Model A vendors. With all of them I was not able to shift without having some grinding. After reading many threads, I arrived to the conclusion that I will look to test a thicker gear oil. Could be it will help me on my learning curve. I thought about using STP. But many suggested not to use it and others to use it. At the end, because of the Zinc content and the yellow metals issue, I decided not to use it. If you search "gear oil" you will find many references to Meropa 680W as one of the modern gear oils with viscosity similar to the Henry Ford 600W. But I wanted something more like a Molasse ( like the STP). Then I found that Restoration Supplies was selling Meropa 1500W in small bottles with the legend "good for yellow metals ". My car is a January 1929 Tudor. It was fully restored and gear box done too, all in 2005. I do not know with certainty if I have yellow metals in my gear box. So I was afraid of using an oil that could bring future issues. Meropa 680W is widely used, based on my searches, and it has the same copper oxidation test of 1B, as the 1500W. Plus Restoration Supplies stated online "no issues with yellow metals:.

I ordered 2 bottles, change the oil and drove the car all Massachusetts summer with the 1500W. It wasn't a "WOW, what a change". But definitely I was shifting better. There was a difference for good.

The other big discussion was "in winter you will not be able to shift". Due to snow and salt I will not be driving my A in Winter. But I wanted to see what will be happening in November/December before the town spread salt in the streets.

My first test is related in my first posting. Temperatures are detailed. YES, sifting with the car cold, before starting the car felt harder, BUT the gears moved without any problem.

Started the car, waited a few minutes to warm the engine and when I shifted from first to 2nd..... WOW. It was smooth and no grinding at all. Same from 2nd to 3er. After 10+ miles the feeling was the same. Still I can feel that shifting was slower than in summer. Probably the gear oil, thicker due to the low temp. But it felt SO GOOD.

I got for the first time the "YES, I can do it without grinding". I did several double clutching, but they were unnecessary. I was trying all the options in my testing.

So this is my experience. I hope this helps.

Best Daniel
ps: all other places in my car have 600W from vendors

Last edited by Forddan; 11-18-2019 at 07:25 PM.
Forddan is offline   Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)
Old 11-23-2019, 10:56 AM   #23
Bill Pursel
Member
 
Bill Pursel's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Terre Haute, Indiana
Posts: 90
Default Re: I am so happy......With my 1500W gear oil...

This hub oil I bought at Rural King work great too , make trans smooth as butter.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg zz-chain-lube__96706.1525717039.jpg (18.0 KB, 48 views)
Bill Pursel is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-23-2019, 12:40 PM   #24
Clem Clement
Senior Member
 
Clem Clement's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Fairfax, VA
Posts: 3,391
Default Re: I am so happy......With my 1500W gear oil...

What kind of tool are you using to get the thick oil in the tranny? I tried the rubber bulb but the thick oil causes the end to pop off.
Clem Clement is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-23-2019, 01:39 PM   #25
Forddan
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2019
Location: Westford, MA
Posts: 195
Default Re: I am so happy......With my 1500W gear oil...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Clem Clement View Post
What kind of tool are you using to get the thick oil in the tranny? I tried the rubber bulb but the thick oil causes the end to pop off.
The 600W oil that is being sell by the Model A shops (also other oils), come in bottles with a tip that you can use to pour the thicker oil. I did a bigger cut to the bottle tip. Then by hand, lying over the floor, slowly poured the 1500W oil. When the oil started to drip I stopped, waited a minute and continued. There was a point that doesn't matter how much I waited the oil dripped. Gear box was filled.

I hope this helps.
Daniel
Forddan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-23-2019, 01:49 PM   #26
Jerry in Shasta
Senior Member
 
Jerry in Shasta's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: (Old)Shasta (Redding) CA
Posts: 385
Default Re: I am so happy......With my 1500W gear oil...

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)
Where does John Deere Gear Head 1200 "grease" fit into this discussion?
__________________
Connoisseur of Rust
Jerry in Shasta is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-23-2019, 08:13 PM   #27
Clem Clement
Senior Member
 
Clem Clement's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Fairfax, VA
Posts: 3,391
Default Re: I am so happy......With my 1500W gear oil...

thanks. Good idea. I use a drip tray and old clothes. I'm hoping the tranny back end won't leack as much
Clem Clement is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-23-2019, 08:32 PM   #28
mike657894
Senior Member
 
mike657894's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Bay City Michigan
Posts: 1,050
Default Re: I am so happy......With my 1500W gear oil...

I will give it a try. I saved the link. My car takes a methodical three count double clutch for smooth operation and sometimes seems even that isnt enough. So im up for some improvement.
mike657894 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-24-2019, 11:20 AM   #29
rotorwrench
Senior Member
 
rotorwrench's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Posts: 16,369
Default Re: I am so happy......With my 1500W gear oil...

When I first started driving on the farm, my pop had a 1952 F3 with the 4-speed T8 transmission and 11-inch clutch. I was determined to shift that thing with minimal gear clash. I eventually did by carefully listening to engine rpm during shifting. It's an art to match engine rpm to output speed but a person can get a feel for it over time. Double clutching helps but I found that I really only had to do that during down shifting after you get good at anticipating proper engine rpms to output speeds.

The thicker oil helps the countershaft cluster gear to slow down more quickly when the clutch is disengaged. I use SAE 85W/90 GL4 in my 29 model A and have no problem shifting it. I avoid downshifting down to low gear since it is generally only needed when stopping the car. I'll get a click now and then but I don't always concentrate as well as I probably should. When you get used to a car, it starts to become second nature. The car seeps a bit but no worse than any of the other old fords I've had over the years. They like to mark their spot.
rotorwrench is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-24-2019, 12:06 PM   #30
History
Senior Member
 
History's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: NC Mountains
Posts: 689
Default Re: I am so happy......With my 1500W gear oil...

This covers it pretty well in my opinion. You can drive a vehicle that's hard for others to drive "UNTIL" they get used to it. You have to become intimate with whatever you are using to truly use it with no abuse. I drove a truck coast to coast back in the eigthies and had a WW2 vet as a partner for awhile. He was a super nice fellow and I wanted to impress him but also make his time in the sleeper as good as I could. I tried to not jerk any,, I shifted as smooth as I possibly could and I didn't slam on the brakes. The owner of the company told me the WW2 vet told him I was the smoothest driver he'd ever ridden with. . I never told him I was deliberately trying to be smooth. I could change gears without using a clutch at all, upshift and downshift. Don't take this as me bragging as I'm not. It was just effort and repetition. I tell people if you do something enough you get good at it unless you're lazy. I broke my right wrist one time and I'm right handed. Before long I was ok at wiping my butt left handed .

Quote:
Originally Posted by rotorwrench View Post
When I first started driving on the farm, my pop had a 1952 F3 with the 4-speed T8 transmission and 11-inch clutch. I was determined to shift that thing with minimal gear clash. I eventually did by carefully listening to engine rpm during shifting. It's an art to match engine rpm to output speed but a person can get a feel for it over time. Double clutching helps but I found that I really only had to do that during down shifting after you get good at anticipating proper engine rpms to output speeds.

The thicker oil helps the countershaft cluster gear to slow down more quickly when the clutch is disengaged. I use SAE 85W/90 GL4 in my 29 model A and have no problem shifting it. I avoid downshifting down to low gear since it is generally only needed when stopping the car. I'll get a click now and then but I don't always concentrate as well as I probably should. When you get used to a car, it starts to become second nature. The car seeps a bit but no worse than any of the other old fords I've had over the years. They like to mark their spot.
History is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:25 PM.