moly, moly, atf and jeep 231 trans case?

[97TJ]

hi i am running a jeep transcase np 231 and went to replace fluid, found out it uses ATF. well i had bought a gear oil with moly not knowing it used atf?
well my question is this i want to use ATF? with moly in it? what can i use?.................any info greatly appreciated.......

 

[unDummy]

Use the ATF. Another option is manual transmission fluids. There are plenty of MTF's in the ATF viscosity range that might work better.
Whether the fluid has moly or not isn't worth worrying about.

Some will argue that thicker is better. I too agree that it is for ends and xcases. But, fluid flow is important. Thick fluid might not flow everywhere as well as the thinner fluid.

 

[MolaKule]

A lot depends on the "gear oil" which I assume you meant a "differential" lubricant.

Differential lubricants, TC lubricants, and MT lubricants are different formulations. Now if the lubricant specified is an ATF, then just about any ATF will work.

In differential lubricants, the moly is used as an EP additive usually at a level above 350 ppm.

If the differential lube contains more than 100 ppm of moly, if might interferre with the clutches in a TC assembly by coating the faces of the clutches.

If the Transfer Case doesn't use any clutches (as in fully electronically controlled TC's), then you're ok.

If this is a total mechanically controlled TC, then consider our MTFGlide fluid.

What year is the Jeep and what size engine? Those two pieces of info will help our mechanics.

 

[TheLoneRanger]

Yep, you can use Mercon/Dexron III or MTF in it. The MTF really isn't needed since there's no syncros in the NP231, but it'll work fine.

A good choice would be an M/D III in synthetic. The NP231 holds 3 pints.

TLR

 

[MolaKule]

The MTFGlide replaces ATF with a higher level of Anti-Wear additives and a higher tbn than you get in an ATF.

 

[Gary Allan]

Mola - the 231 is a chain driven tc. It has a pump driven off of the tailshaft/main shaft (first I've seen outside of some Brit/Euro trannies). No helical gears involved. Nothing fancy as far as full time viscous couplings or torque biasing mechanisms.

If that gives you anything more to digest there

 

[MolaKule]

Thanks Gary.

 

[97TJ]

sorry for long delay, the jeep np231 is chain driven, unit atached to my 30rh 3 speeed auto, with open diff front dana 30 and open diff rear dana 35, what i wanted to do was use moly in oil to promote a little beter wear and less friction ie slightly better gas mileage among other things, though with jeep it is so so, any 4wd vehicle is like this........have never done any fliuds other then engine oil or coolant, so i wanted to to do top to bottom all fliuds over summer, even brakes and trans, but that is not the moly part as i can only use atf 4 in trans...........any ideas greatly appreciated...............

ps mostly stock jeep

!!!!!

 

[Gary Allan]

97 - let me first state that getting gas mileage out of the 2.5/4.0 in this chassis is somewhat futile. I don't even think that the engine(s) themselves are at all economical ..being that I think they develop most of their power (and hence comsume most of their fuel) at lower engine speeds.

You can surely reduce friction/drag. My wife's 99 4.0 5 speed was the first vehicle that I can ever say that actually slowed going down hill in neutral. I had a 15 year commute over the same road. Driving it mostly in my minivan and a Tempo. Same hill approached at the same speeds ..coasting to the bottom. Any other vehicle required brakes to not exceed my max over speed limit limits.

Anyway ...installed synthetics throughout the jeep ...M1 ATF ...M1 diff lube ..and, temporarily M1 lube in the trans (found to be unacceptable shortly there after - misprint in the owners manual) ...and voila~! this "hill test" showed that rolling resistance was reduced.


It didn't do squat for gas mileage. Nor did my $1000 lock out conversion kit from WARN. It did give you "less taxed power that was already being produced anyway" performance/drivability.

With all my efforts, I think that I pushed an almost constant 17.5 mpg for her to an inconsistant 18-19.

Tractor engines - there's just not much you can do with them

That being said, I would do it anyway just for the apparent gains and potential wear reductions.

For your 30RH (aka 904/909/999) I would recommend seeing if you can locate a MOPAR 2 quart deeper pan. I would then get Mola to sell you some +3/+4 spec semisynthetic ATF ...add auxillary cooling and filtration. This is about the last automatic that is simple and can last a lifetime, even under heavy use, if properly cared for. This is what I did on my 02 SE auto. I'm pleased with the performance of Mola's +4 equivalent.

I'd do the diffs with some synthetic offering.

 

[99]

The 231 can only use ATF. ATF+3 or ATF+4 is fine. I'd fill it with ATF and run it for a week or so and then drain it and refill with ATF again to flush out the gear lube you put in.

You can get the Mopar Performance deep trans pan for the TF904 from www.jegs.com. That's where I got mine. You can also buy this pan right from any Jeep or Dodge dealer as well. Jegs is cheaper. If you are wondering why we are mentioning the TF904, it's because the TF904, for the sake of argument here, is the same trans as the newer TF999s and 30/32RHs. The pan and filter assy are identical. The TF904 is just the granddaddy of the 3spds Jeep used up to 2002. The TF904 pan will fit and function just fine. Assuming you just drop the pan and change the filter, you will have to add about 5.5-6.0 quarts of ATF. That's a 1.5-2.0 quart increase over the stock pan. For some reason, my trans is full with 5.5 quarts...so yours may be more or the same. The only prob with the pan is that you will have to drop the transfer case skid to install it. The required filter spacer drops the filter down low enough so that the pan will not fit between it and the skid as you try to put the pan up to the trans, so hence having to drop the skid. Also the Mopar pan comes unpainted/uncoated, so you will want to spray paint it to keep it from rusting. The Skyjacker version of this pan is Zinc coated but the price is nearly double that of the Mopar pan. Not worth it considering a can of spray paint is less than $10. Check out your trans mount while you have the skid down. The mount is notorious for failing and seeing yours is a 97, it is likely bad.