Every vehicle requires different types of lubricants and oils for the smooth functioning of the engine and other equally important components. One such critical element is the Gear oil. Gear oil is a lubricant engineered for use in multiple components like Transmissions, manual gearboxes, differentials, etc.
Gear oils keep your transmission running smoothly but also serve multiple purposes:
- Prevention of corrosion.
- Minimising wear and tear.
- Conduction of heat away from crucial components.
- Reduction in friction by complete lubrication.
Below are some important questions to ask before buying gear oil.
- Is it rated gear oil for your vehicle?
The owner’s manual or the manufacturer’s manual is the best place to look for the grade of gear oil used in your vehicle. Most older vehicles might be rated for a GL-4 Gear Oil, but almost all newer vehicles will be rated for a GL-5 Gear Oil. Some vehicles have a multigrade rating marked as GL-4/GL-5 Gear oil, but in fact, they are GL-5 rated gear oil products and might not be compatible with older vehicles.
- Does Gear oil include Anti-wear and tear additives?
Gears in a transmission box or differentials undergo enormous amounts of friction causing significant amounts of wear and tear, high operating temperatures, and many such challenging conditions. Specific additives are included in the gear oil to prevent corrosion, reduce wear and tear, and conduct heat away from the components. Thus increasing the life of the transmission and its internal parts.
- Is it the right type of Gear Oil or the Best Gear Oil?
Gear oil is made for multiple purposes across versatile industries. While gear oil is used in differentials and gearboxes of vehicles, it is also used in various industrial machinery. Owing to its various uses, there are numerous types of gear oil and they are not interchangeable. Different Gear Oils serve different purposes, some might reduce friction while others might keep lower temperatures. To determine which oil will best serve your purpose, look at the owner’s manual or consider the conditions of operations. Extreme pressure transmission oil is more suitable for conditions where the system operates at lower speeds and increases its pressure while lifting heavy loads whereas a compounded gear oil is more suitable for lubrication of a worm gear.
- What does the ‘Differential Gear Oil’ protect?
Gear Oil is often engineered to be open thicker in viscosity to ensure circulation and protection across the gearbox. It preserves internal essential parts such as transmissions, industrial gearboxes, drive axles as well as differentials.
- When do I need to change my Transmission Fluid?
A good and healthy gearbox is essential to a healthy vehicle/machine life. The Gearbox is often overlooked and requires simple maintenance. Most vehicles now need a gear oil change once in about 100,000-200,000 Kms which means, for people who don’t intend on keeping their vehicles for a very long time will never see the need for the transmission fluid to be replaced.
Changing Gear oil is an integral part of a healthy and long gearbox/transmission life irrespective of its cost. It will always be cheaper to change the transmission fluid than to change the whole gearbox because it was poorly maintained. If your vehicle’s transmission isn’t maintained, it may break down and cause large repair costs as well as seizing your vehicle.
