Ford Friction Modifier

[dfarr67]

Question:
Had a higher mileage front diff installed into my 1989 K1500 Chev and it had a little bearing noise- nothing to worry about, read somewhere about putting a little of Ford`s FM in to quiet it down- it worked, 25% bottle, put a little into a slightly noisy Toyota power steering pump- it worked again, tried it in Chevy`s transfer case just because....I`m wondering if it is interfering with any syncro activity as shift on the fly will not engage although stopping and shifting into 4x4 works fine- using Mobil 1 synthetic here. Rear diff is Detroit TruTrac and has just straight synthetic oil.

 

[MolaKule]

Apparently you didn't see my comments on Friction modifiers.

Friction modifiers for differentials are not the same as motor oil friction modifiers are not the same as ATF friction modifiers are not the same as MT friction modifiers.

If you put a Limited Slip Differential friction modifier in any thing but a differential you are in for big trouble.

 

[bdcardinal]

Ford used to recommend using the XL-3 friction modifier with a full flush of Mercon V to quiet down power steering pumps. Our front end guy did it a bunch of times and it was about 95% successful.

 

[MolaKule]

Was there a Ford TSB or other document that recommended the use of a differential friction modifier for Power Steering Pumps?

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: MolaKule
Was there a Ford TSB or other document that recommended the use of a differential friction modifier for Power Steering Pumps?



I remember our tech, who has 30+ years Ford experiences as a chassis tech, said there was a TSB at one time, and it worked really well. In reality it probably just masked a problem long enough to get the vehicle out of warranty.

 

[MolaKule]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Originally Posted By: MolaKule
Was there a Ford TSB or other document that recommended the use of a differential friction modifier for Power Steering Pumps?



I remember our tech, who has 30+ years Ford experiences as a chassis tech, said there was a TSB at one time, and it worked really well. In reality it probably just masked a problem long enough to get the vehicle out of warranty.


That's what I was thinking.

I would be concerned that a differential friction modifier may mask a problem but have negative long term effects.

 

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: MolaKule
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Originally Posted By: MolaKule
Was there a Ford TSB or other document that recommended the use of a differential friction modifier for Power Steering Pumps?



I remember our tech, who has 30+ years Ford experiences as a chassis tech, said there was a TSB at one time, and it worked really well. In reality it probably just masked a problem long enough to get the vehicle out of warranty.


That's what I was thinking.

I would be concerned that a differential friction modifier may mask a problem but have negative long term effects.

An interesting point.
I remember a few years ago, Permatex introduced an improved RTV sealer for differential pan gaskets. Their reasons was that they said some friction modifiers were not compatible with some of their other RTV sealers that would get used on differential pan gaskets.

Does any part of a power steering system use RTV sealant? I can see where that could be a problem.

Still, what bothers me is that some people found that using Mobil 1 ATF often solved the noise. Using fluid that is too cheap makes no sense at all. They could have done what they do in Europe, use Pentosin CHF11S when power steering systems simply needed a higher grade of fluid.