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Thread: Toploader oil rating?

  1. #1
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    Toploader oil rating?

    I have done some searching around for the correct Top loader oil to use. I have seen on multiple occasions warnings about only using GL-4!
    Do not use GL-5 or multiple rating oil


    All I seem to find at the local stores, Advance auto or NAPA are the dual ratings and GL-5...cant find just GL-4

    Anybody have thoughts on this?
    Thanks...Dave
    Dave
    93 Unique Motorcars 427 SC, 428PI with CJ heads, toploader 4 spd,jag rear with 354 gears, Red with white stripes.

  2. #2
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    You might consider Chevron Delo ESI gear oil, 80W-90. It is rated both GL-4 and GL-5.

    I have owned a Toploader for about a year now and have used Mobil 1 75W-90, which is GL-5 and synthetic. If there is an authoritative source out there which suggests this is wrong, I'm all ears.

    Cheers,
    Mark

  3. #3
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    I spent a lot of time researching engine and trans oils and ended up using Schaeffers 293 Supreme Gear Lube, Synthetic Plus Gear Lube 75W-90. Manual transmissions like toploaders require some form of zinc base protection. Some people will recommend a paraffin base oil. Schaeffers oils were originaly made for farm tractors and equipment that sit outside year round and needs quick protection when starting up and operating. That's my 2 cents and someone will suggest calling Butch Capps who re-builds them.
    Bob

  4. #4
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    Gl-5

    I went through this a few years ago with the daughters sand rail. From what I understand the GL-5 is harmful to all yellow metals. Don't know what if any yellow metals are used in a T-loader but if any I would be sure before using.

    Maybe Butch will chime in.

  5. #5
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    I believe Bob the oil guy was one of the sources that said not to use dual rating or GL5....GL5 supposedly is NG for the Toploader
    Dave
    93 Unique Motorcars 427 SC, 428PI with CJ heads, toploader 4 spd,jag rear with 354 gears, Red with white stripes.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by diegokid View Post
    I went through this a few years ago with the daughters sand rail. From what I understand the GL-5 is harmful to all yellow metals. Don't know what if any yellow metals are used in a T-loader but if any I would be sure before using.

    Maybe Butch will chime in.
    I presume that brass would be a yellow metal and seems to me that the syncro rings are brass
    Rod
    Roseville, Ca.
    289 FIA #9152 "The Flintstone Cobra"

  7. #7
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    Spoke to Capps about this a couple years ago and he suggested Valvoline 80W90 because there is less foaming than some other brands. David Kee (davidkeetoploaders.com) has a section on lubricants on his site and says it depends on how you drive....if you shift fast and aggressively, non-synthetic will probably work better for you, but if you drive like a normal street driver (do any of us really do that??) then you can use synthetic. I've been using standard 80w90 (NAPA or Valvoline) and they both work fine in my close ratio toploader.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by 289/271 View Post
    Spoke to Capps about this a couple years ago and he suggested Valvoline 80W90 because there is less foaming than some other brands. David Kee (davidkeetoploaders.com) has a section on lubricants on his site and says it depends on how you drive....if you shift fast and aggressively, non-synthetic will probably work better for you, but if you drive like a normal street driver (do any of us really do that??) then you can use synthetic. I've been using standard 80w90 (NAPA or Valvoline) and they both work fine in my close ratio toploader.
    That is about where I am at....only issue left for me is the GL-4 exclusive issue
    Dave
    93 Unique Motorcars 427 SC, 428PI with CJ heads, toploader 4 spd,jag rear with 354 gears, Red with white stripes.

  9. #9
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    I sent David Kee an email this weekend asking whether he recommends GL-4 or GL-5 or does it matter. Also asked him about "yellow metals" in the Toploader and does that matter . If he answers, I'll be back. . . .

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by marco246 View Post
    I sent David Kee an email this weekend asking whether he recommends GL-4 or GL-5 or does it matter. Also asked him about "yellow metals" in the Toploader and does that matter . If he answers, I'll be back. . . .
    excellent...thanks
    Dave
    93 Unique Motorcars 427 SC, 428PI with CJ heads, toploader 4 spd,jag rear with 354 gears, Red with white stripes.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by marco246 View Post
    I sent David Kee an email this weekend asking whether he recommends GL-4 or GL-5 or does it matter. Also asked him about "yellow metals" in the Toploader and does that matter . If he answers, I'll be back. . . .
    Did he ever answer?
    Dave
    93 Unique Motorcars 427 SC, 428PI with CJ heads, toploader 4 spd,jag rear with 354 gears, Red with white stripes.

  12. #12
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    Nope. I've had nothing from David Kee. I went to his website and found that the Toploader does have some "yellow metal"--four bronze synchro blocker rings. BITOG (Bob is the Oil Guy) has a short discussion or two, with the claim that GL-5 gear oils, which have more sulfur than GL-4s, can attack the yellow metals, and also that GL-5s are somehow too "slippery" for the Toploader.

    I don't consider any of this "authoritative". However, I do know that the gear oil I mentioned earlier, Chevron Delo ESI, has no sulfur at all. Here's a blurb from their Product Salesfax Digest: "They are formulated with ISOSYN base stocks and compounded with a unique extreme pressure additive utilizing an inorganic borate compound. . . . [They] provide a wear protection film three to five times thicker than the conventional sulfur-phosphorus antiwear film. The inorganic borate film is composed of compounds that do not react with metal."

    The gear oil is both GL-4 and GL-5 rated and comes in SAE grades 80W-90 and 85W-140. Chevron product is not available in many places, so I don't know if it's a realistic option for you. (Disclosure: I own a few shares of Chevron).

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by marco246 View Post
    I sent David Kee an email this weekend asking whether he recommends GL-4 or GL-5 or does it matter. Also asked him about "yellow metals" in the Toploader and does that matter . If he answers, I'll be back. . . .
    I left a message on his voice mail yesterday!
    Dave
    93 Unique Motorcars 427 SC, 428PI with CJ heads, toploader 4 spd,jag rear with 354 gears, Red with white stripes.

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