H tranny oil

I know the manual calls for 90w gear oil. But I want to ask... to prevent leaks for a non-working show tractor, would a heavier oil be smart to use? If so, what would you suggest?

What got me to thinking about this was that when I put my front end back together, I tried oil in the steering gear on top of the bolster, and it leaked all over the place. So someone suggested JG corn head grease. So I got some, and voila! I was wondering if the same concept would apply for the tranny? Not neccesarily grease, but a thicker oil.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

(quoted from post at 00:25:19 09/18/09) I know the manual calls for 90w gear oil. But I want to ask... to prevent leaks for a non-working show tractor, would a heavier oil be smart to use? If so, what would you suggest?

What got me to thinking about this was that when I put my front end back together, I tried oil in the steering gear on top of the bolster, and it leaked all over the place. So someone suggested JG corn head grease. So I got some, and voila! I was wondering if the same concept would apply for the tranny? Not neccesarily grease, but a thicker oil.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

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Corn head grease is too thick to properly lube your transmission do not use it.

mike, i run 85w140 in a few of mine,(it was on sale at the farm store) no problems. that is about the heaviest you can easily find. there was a 600wt grease years back, kind of a heavy snotty stringy oil, but havent seen it in quite a while.

The corn head grease is NOT suitable for the trans/rear end. DO NOT use it.

i use 140 weight gear oil in these old tractors. it won't leak out as easy as ninety weight. in a cold climate it will be a little stiff, but usually the old tar like stuff you drain out of an old tractor rearend is thicker yet.

:lol:

I hate it when I'm not clear. I'm [u:bb30ea07b3][b:bb30ea07b3]not[/b:bb30ea07b3][/u:bb30ea07b3] thinking of using corn head grease. It was just a thought along those lines, that a thicker lubricant could prevent little leaks.

So, what weight of oil would be thick enough to do that, but still properly run the trasmission? If any?

They came out using 90 weight oil. I would think you could find 120 weight and it would still be fine given the increased tolerances after 50 years of wear and use.

If you have leaks I think you'll find that 120 leaks almost as easily as 90 though.

My 41 H operators manual lists with the temp always above 90 use SAE 250. 50 to 90 (probably the temp for you) use SAE 140 0r 160. 20 to 50 use SAE 90. Below 20 - 4 parts SAE 90 and 1 part kerosene. Probably outdated but most weights could still be used.

Is corn head grease a fluid or solid? I use 140 in my M and it still leaks. Added some Lucus to it and still leaks a little. Mostly after I run it back and forth to town and get it warmed up. Stops after a day or two. Henry

Just curious why a couple of you stated to not use corn head grease in a tranny. My ZTR mower (Grazer) had a problem with gear oil blowing out the vent on the gearbox. And it wasn"t overfull, it would just completely blow the gear box dry. Local dealer suggested JD corn head grease will liquify when warm, but return to a grease when cooler. Seems to work fine in the gear box and curious the difference between a gear box and tranny and if I can expect problems in the future. BTW, I still get a little bit of grease/oil coming out the vent/relief, but it is significantly reduced from the gear oil. Thanks

I bought my 400 from a guy who got it an estate
sale to resell it. I am the third owner. The
original owner must have been superannuated (old)
because the tractor had antique tranny oil in it.
Similar to the rear end in oil in my '24 Graham
Bros Truck that was speced for 600W. This oil is
so thick that it won't drain below freezing. I
had to heat my shop to 90 degrees and place four
infrared heating lamps around the rear frame to
remove it. I couldn't get it all out because the
Hy-Tran in it now is very dark.

Although it is a low hour tractor, it spent most
of its working life running with a tar like oil.

The original owner never used the TA because it
wouldn't work with the owner supplied oil. The Hy-
Tran fixed that problem.

I'll bet that the first thing the owner did to the
tractor was to get rid of that "cheap" factory
oil. The next thing he did was to buy an Electrall
kit. He must have been a character.

I doubt if that oil is still available.

The gear box on your ZTR is a totally different set-up than what a Farmall tractor uses. The two should not even be compared.

For what it's worth, I have had riding lawnmower transmissions that would not hold the proper gear oil because of leaking/missing seals, so I packed them full of gun grease and got along just fine.

I found 85w140 at WalMart for $12 a gallon. With 6 gallons, along with tax, that's roughly $75 in oil. :shock:

I'm wondering if there is a cheaper source.

I use the 85W-90 in my H. It makes shifting the tractor easier in cold weather. I also think that the thinner oil will lubricate better when it is cold.

I had to replace the seals, but might have had to do that with thicker oil anyway.

(quoted from post at 13:07:05 09/18/09) Just curious why a couple of you stated to not use corn head grease in a tranny. My ZTR mower (Grazer) had a problem with gear oil blowing out the vent on the gearbox. And it wasn"t overfull, it would just completely blow the gear box dry. Local dealer suggested JD corn head grease will liquify when warm, but return to a grease when cooler. Seems to work fine in the gear box and curious the difference between a gear box and tranny and if I can expect problems in the future. BTW, I still get a little bit of grease/oil coming out the vent/relief, but it is significantly reduced from the gear oil. Thanks

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The transmission/ rearend relies on in part a splash system, kinda hard to rely on corn head grease being carried and slung by the gears.