Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Hello, I have a 1996 GQ patrol LWB and want to replace the oil in the gearbox and transfer case, some oil suppliers specify the use of auto transmission oil in the transfer case, can anybody tell me if this was the original setup from nissan when new and are you running ATF in your transfer case, apparrently the transfer case had chain drive from 1992 onwards and it requires ATF, thank you.

Mine is a 1995 and I had the same drama.
The T-cases are all the same between models, so pretty much you can put whatever it suggests in.
Mine had ATF in it when I got it and it was black and stank when I drained it, so it didnt seem to be up to the task.

I then ran 80-90 gear oil and it drained out clean.

I now run Penrite 85-140 to try and quiet the crawler gears down a bit. Been in there for the last two changes and all is good.

Next, I am looking at running Redline Shockproof oil just to see if I can get those gears a bit quieter.

The Nissan T-cases are pretty tough,and given the amount used in comps etc, you rarely hear of any breaking

i would think atf would be different to running gear oil and shockproof as atf seems to be quiet thin and has different chemical properties to that of gear oil etc

Agreed, but my 1995 manual says I can run either.
The earlier manuals specify the 80-90
The later manuals specify the ATF

The t-cases are all the same between models and years so not sure why the Japs made the change in spec. Maybe fuel economy or cold climates?

yea its a bit strange ... but the reasons you say could be possible

coz i think about it this way, you would run atf in your normal gearbox
i know alot of transfer cases use atf though
i wouldnt be so worried bout the colour but more that it smelt burnt...

redline also make a high temp atf which i am considering using in the auto box
this could possibly be the go

it would be good to hear of more peoples experiences with gear oil or atf in the transfer

cheers

I have had mates run ATF in production car racing manual gearboxes to reduce the gearbox friction (any extra you can get is a good thing in racing), and these gearboxes OEM spec'd gearoil. They never suffered any failures from using the ATF either.

Also checked on the major oil manufacturers sites and they either is ok

Where are all the outer's oil chemistry guru's to help us out?
We need boffins

Thanks alot for the information, it has been must helpful, I would be interested to hear from anybody with technical ideas as to why ATF is recommended, all replies welcome, thank you.

Found this

http://www.gtfours.co.uk/what/atf/atf.htm

I dunno, that link seems a bit dodge e.g. saying you have to run GL-5 in a gearbox when you only really need GL-5 for hypoid type gears e.g. diffs. Manufacturers aren't stupid, if running ATF was going to cause premature wear in a transfer case they wouldn't specify it.

the reason for the change was the Auto locking hub version

Early Auto hub versions were locking in on their own in 2WD. It was found that the use of Gear oil in the transfer case was too thick and on the chain would cause it to slowly spin the front tailshaft, this would cause the CV's to spin up and bang at speed the auto hubs would lock in on you on the Freeway

ATF being thinner wouldn't do it

MyGQ wrote:the reason for the change was the Auto locking hub version

Early Auto hub versions were locking in on their own in 2WD. It was found that the use of Gear oil in the transfer case was too thick and on the chain would cause it to slowly spin the front tailshaft, this would cause the CV's to spin up and bang at speed the auto hubs would lock in on you on the Freeway

ATF being thinner wouldn't do it

genius reply!
thanks for that
i guess redline high temp atf is the way to go for me...doesnt break down as easy at high temps they reckon