85w140 in a 2.8!!!

[electrolover]

so a friend of mine recently started driving a 91 s10 with 2.8 v6. from what he tells me it uses 2 qts of oil a day. he came over to see if i would give him some oil but he wasnt happy when i didnt have anything thick like a 10/40 or above.
anyway first thing i did when he got here was pop the hood and check the oil level. it didnt show on the stick! so i talked him into draining the remaining oil and refilling with maxlife 10/30. i also noticed the transmission was covered in gunk from all the oil leaks. it had to be a inch of gunk!
i pulled the plug and about 1.5 qts came out, it was dark as night. so time to refill and i went inside to get the jug of maxlife when he sees a half gallon of supertech 85w140 sitting on the shelf from a gear oil change last year. he insisted on using it in his engine!! so i figured what the hay, its a completely wore out POS (anyone can see that from a mile away

)

so his fill was 2- 2.5 qts of gear oil and the rest was a mix of left overs from oil changes, mostly synthetics and mostly 5/30. i guess its better than his other idea of pumping out my used oil from the 55 gal barrel in the garage to use.

he started it up and drove home 40 miles home with out throwing a rod so i guess its ok. but it was very funny to say the least!! luckly i talked him into taking a jug of maxlife home so maybe with time and leaking his sump will have some motor oil in it again

 

[55Test]

If it uses 2 quarts a day, it's on borrowed time. Anything that the oil pump can push around will be alright for it.

 

[spasm3]

That chlorinated gear oil will be tough on the bearings!! Especially when it gets hot. But it might run longer with some kind of oil in it than when it runs out of oil! Let us know how this turns out!!1

 

[tinmanSC]

The additive packs are totally different and the flow rates of the oil are different. A 140 gear oil is wwaaaayyyy thicker than a 30 or 40 weight oil. I would think this would not be recommended, more because of the add pack than the viscosity.

 

[ls1mike]

I ran a combo of 10W-40 and 85W-140 (2 qts of the 40 and 3 of the 140) in an old 350 for 4 years and 23,000 miles, off roading and all. A 4.3 is a SBC with the first or last two pistons cut off, however you look at it. Stopped burning oil and ran very smooth. Finally replaced the motor when I went off roading and lost oil presure. A SBC or 4.3 will run as long as it has some type of oil.

 

[ls1mike]

Oh 2.8? Hmmmm, missed that I was thinking 4.3 for that year. I had a 91 with a 4.3. 2.8 will probably run also.

 

[Steve S]

Originally Posted By: spasm3
That chlorinated gear oil will be tough on the bearings!! Especially when it gets hot. But it might run longer with some kind of oil in it than when it runs out of oil! Let us know how this turns out!!1
what chlorinated gear oil?

 

[Steve S]

I had a work van that was worn out and I liked it and didn't want to switchout vans so I added a qt of 90wt gear oil and ran the van two yars till the company realized I didn't get a new van

 

[electrolover]

haha im going to stay on top of it and ill post any findings. it was so hard not to laugh watching that gear oil pour in!! it was even more funny with his girl friend watching and still not knowing what was happening. (it is her brother's truck on loan to my friend because the fuel pump went out in his mustang)

there was some talk about replacing the engine but i dont understand spending any money on a $400 truck. the thing is rusted threw and ragged out!! even with out the leaks its not going to live long, you can see an inch of sludge and carbon build up in the fill hole

 

[crazyoildude]

these engines have no distributor but the place on the engine where it would have a distributor if it had one is still there and it is soooooo common people bringing these engines for rebuilds because of leaks there...check to see if that is where it is leaking and replace the gasket, there is one bolt that comes out and this round part with a grar on the end inside the motor will pull out sometimes it can get stuck but it will come out,, That is probably your problem also make sure when you do it everything is clean...Also i have had used high mileage oil and that slowed it down in about a hundred miles or so..

 

[electrolover]

Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
these engines have no distributor but the place on the engine where it would have a distributor if it had one is still there and it is soooooo common people bringing these engines for rebuilds because of leaks there...check to see if that is where it is leaking and replace the gasket, there is one bolt that comes out and this round part with a grar on the end inside the motor will pull out sometimes it can get stuck but it will come out,, That is probably your problem also make sure when you do it everything is clean...Also i have had used high mileage oil and that slowed it down in about a hundred miles or so..


the old 2.8 has a distributor, its old school throttle body injected. maybe your thinking of the 2nd gen 60 deg v6, like the 3.1 that was cranktrigger, they had a dummy to drive the oil pump.

 

[chevrofreak]

An 85w-140 gear oil is roughly the same viscosity as a 25w-70 engine oil, which some in Australia use in their gasoline engines.

 

[uart]

Originally Posted By: chevrofreak
An 85w-140 gear oil is roughly the same viscosity as a 25w-70 engine oil, which some in Australia use in their gasoline engines.


Yep, my local parts store has 20W50, 20W60, 25W70 and even 40W70

There's absolutely heaps to choose from if you like the really thick stuff. If you like thin stuff however the choices are more sparse, 5W30 is the thinnest they carry and not an xW20 anywhere to be found. This is a pretty big store too.

See here for a typical Aussie parts store : http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/online-...s.aspx?id=10011

 

[fdcg27]

Wow, too bad AAP doesn't have such a fast site.
How good are the Ryco oil filters?
The one that would fit my Accords or Impreza was $9.95 AU, which would be equivalent to ~$10.70 US, according to the exchange rate published in the most recent issue of The Economist.
Oil prices were certainly higher than here as well, although probably no worse than those in Canada, and way lower than those in Europe.
Back on topic, FWIR, gear lube is biased toward TAN, while motor oil is biased toward TBN.
I wouldn't put gear lube in any engine I wasn't trying to destroy.
I have been tempted to dispose of the odds and ends of gear lube I have laying around by running it through my old Tecumseh powered mower, but have refrained from doing so simply because the thing is already nearing its last cutting, and I am not trying to hasten its demise.

 

[uart]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
How good are the Ryco oil filters?

They're not too bad. They're probably the most commonly used aftermarket filter here. They used to be made in Australia, but like just about everything else they come from China now. Parts prices are generally high here compared with the US. The Toyota dealer was charging me $22.00 for the Toyota OEM oil filter (2005 Prius) while some of the guys online say they pay about $5.00 for them over there. I've switched to the Ryco equivalent now and it is only $9.50. I cut one open to compare with the OEM (which is made in Thailand anyway) and the Ryco seemed to be at least as good a quality.

Quote:
Oil prices were certainly higher than here as well, although probably no worse than those in Canada, and way lower than those in Europe.

Yeah, on oil prices we usually fair about the same or just a bit worse than Canada, but a lot better than Europe. See that some of the top tier synthetics like Mobil One are around $20 per liter and the Shell Helix Ultra (PU equivalent) is about $16 per liter. That's why I don't use them. You can still get good quality oil at more like $8.00 per liter though, which is usually more the price range that I'm shopping. I'm using their "house brand" Calibre 5W30 synthetic at the moment. It's a re-badged Caltex (Havoline,Chevron) oil and is ACEA A3/B3/C4 rated so I think it's ok at about $40 per 5 liters.

 

[uart]

Whoops I better post something on topic. If it was a real old beater I might have been game to blend say one quart of that gear oil with 4 quarts of motor oil (and just be thinking of all those extra EP additives, all you'd need is a drop or two of purple dye and you just about have some Roy... ok I better not go there

).

I don't think I would have gone as far as the OP's friend did though.

 

[fdcg27]

Originally Posted By: uart
all you'd need is a drop or two of purple dye and you just about have some Roy... .



ROFL!

 

[mechtech2]

Gear oil is rated differently than motor oil.
It is measured at a colder temp, 150 deg F.
So it is not as thick as the numbers initially seem.

 

[chevrofreak]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
Gear oil is rated differently than motor oil.
It is measured at a colder temp, 150 deg F.
So it is not as thick as the numbers initially seem.


They still list the viscosity at 40C and 100C.

 

[FL_Rob]

Why dosen't he just fix the leaks? It's caked on the outside of the pan,so it's either pangasket or front/rear main seal.