Gary Lewis Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 Guys - Scott Ringler, whom several of you met last weekend, asked me a question about what lube his NP435 tranny, D44 and 9" diffs, and NP203 transfer case takes. He'd spent quite a bit of time Googling it and found quite a few hits about it on "the other forum", but then realized that most of what is out there is personal opinion, speculation, and guessing. That got me to thinking about a resource we need - a table of what lubes the various things on these trucks take, to include the transmissions and differentials we frequently swap in. But, before setting about to create it, do any of you know where something like that is? Or a portion thereof? I don't want to take some undocumented source's word for it as I'd like whatever we have to be "for sure". So I was thinking I'd pull info out of the owner's and shop manuals that I have as well as the catalogs. But, I know the NP203 wasn't used in our trucks so would have to find a manual for the few previous years where they were used. Also, there are a few other bits of info that I think would be helpful for people. One is the comparison of "weights" for engine oils vs gear oils, as they aren't tested in the same way and the scales overlap. Another is a description of what the various ratings are, like GL-4 or GL-5 - and GL-5 doesn't truly superseded GL-4 in all applications. And I'm sure there are other things we might want to document as well. However, I don't want to recreate anything. So if we can find good sources for things then we should use them. Given that, I'll kick some sources in here and hope y'all will do the same so we can start trying to use them to create a good resource. The Difference between GL-4 and GL-5 Gear Oils by Richard WidmanDecent discussion of what GL-4 is vs GL-5 and why gear lube (GL) isn't necessarily what you want in your manual tranny. Similar, but shorter, document by Daniel Shi on LinkedIn. Redline MT-90 75W90 GL-4 Gear Oil page which says "Safe for brass synchros, as it lacks the reactive sulfurs found in most GL-5 oils that cause damage" Anyway, what do you'se guys know of? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford F834 Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 Gary, is this info in the shop manuals? Somewhere I've got a couple of glove box owner manuals that should at least give what Ford was recommending at the time. A chart of capacities would also be nice to have, if you run across such a thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted September 25, 2017 Author Share Posted September 25, 2017 Gary, is this info in the shop manuals? Somewhere I've got a couple of glove box owner manuals that should at least give what Ford was recommending at the time. A chart of capacities would also be nice to have, if you run across such a thing. I don’t know if it is in the shop manuals, but probably. But it will be in the owners manuals. I have an 81, 85, and probably 86 owners manual. However, that won’t include the NP203 for Scott. Anyway, we should be able to buikd a table - if one doesnt already exist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford F834 Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 I don’t know if it is in the shop manuals, but probably. But it will be in the owners manuals. I have an 81, 85, and probably 86 owners manual. However, that won’t include the NP203 for Scott. Anyway, we should be able to buikd a table - if one doesnt already exist. What years did the NP203 come in? Scott's is a 1978? I have owner's manual for 1983 F series and 1982 Bronco I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted September 25, 2017 Author Share Posted September 25, 2017 What years did the NP203 come in? Scott's is a 1978? I have owner's manual for 1983 F series and 1982 Bronco I believe. Yes, Scott’s is that 1978 F150. But Pirate4x4 says the 203 was used from 1974 to 1979. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted September 25, 2017 Author Share Posted September 25, 2017 Yes, Scott’s is that 1978 F150. But Pirate4x4 says the 203 was used from 1974 to 1979. I've started on the page: Specifications/Lubricant Specifications. My process was to scan the 1985 manual's pages into a PDF and then OCR it so I had actual characters rather than pictures of characters. Then I created the table and copied/pasted the text into it. Hopefully I didn't make any errors. But, this way there are actual characters on the page, and Google can find those where it can't find "C6AZ-19580-E" in a picture. That way people searching for the info can find it. And, now to start on adding the ZF5 info as well as the NP203 info. Then to move on to writing up what you'll actually find on the shelf as many of the Ford spec's have been superseded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford F834 Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 I've started on the page: Specifications/Lubricant Specifications. My process was to scan the 1985 manual's pages into a PDF and then OCR it so I had actual characters rather than pictures of characters. Then I created the table and copied/pasted the text into it. Hopefully I didn't make any errors. But, this way there are actual characters on the page, and Google can find those where it can't find "C6AZ-19580-E" in a picture. That way people searching for the info can find it. And, now to start on adding the ZF5 info as well as the NP203 info. Then to move on to writing up what you'll actually find on the shelf as many of the Ford spec's have been superseded. Very impressive page Gary! Was all that in the shop manual? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted September 25, 2017 Author Share Posted September 25, 2017 Very impressive page Gary! Was all that in the shop manual? That’s from the ‘85 owner’s manual. Haven’t looked at the shop manual yet, but it occurred to me that the info in the shop manual is all split up and it wasn’t likely to have as much info in one place as the owner’s manual. Now to get some of the other bits sorted..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford F834 Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 That’s from the ‘85 owner’s manual. Haven’t looked at the shop manual yet, but it occurred to me that the info in the shop manual is all split up and it wasn’t likely to have as much info in one place as the owner’s manual. Now to get some of the other bits sorted..... Gary I will keep my eye out for earlier and later owner manuals. Bricknose era should be around in junkyard vehicles, 70's might be a little tougher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nothing Special Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 ....Also, there are a few other bits of info that I think would be helpful for people. One is the comparison of "weights" for engine oils vs gear oils, as they aren't tested in the same way and the scales overlap. Another is a description of what the various ratings are, like GL-4 or GL-5 - and GL-5 doesn't truly superseded GL-4 in all applications. And I'm sure there are other things we might want to document as well.... This risks getting into the realm of opinions, but Ford started recommending lighter lubes as time went on. Typically that wasn't because the new engines (or transfer cases, or transmissions or whatever) needed lighter lube, or that the older parts needed heavier lube, but that it gave better mileage. So if the old recommendation was 10W-40 (or 90W gear lube) and the new recommendation is 5W-20 (or ATF), what should we use now? Maybe that's a rabbit hole that's not worth exploring... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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