I have an 06 Honda Pilot EX-L with AWD. The transfer case oil spec says to use hypoid gear oil SAE 90 above 0 degrees F and 80W-90 below 0 F. I can't seem to find any 90 weight oils anywhere. There are plenty of 80W-90's, but the Pilot will spend only a few days a year below zero.
So the questions are these:
1. Is it OK to use an 80W-90 gear oil, considering also that I will be towing a 2100 pound camper several thousand miles this summer?
2. Would synthetics be a good choice for this application, even if there are only 80W-90 choices? I've heard about chatter problems with synthetic gear oils, but I don't know if this applies to hypoid gears or transfer cases. I've only heard of this in differentials.
3. If a synthetic is OK, should a differential slip lock additive be used? If so, how are you supposed to do that if you've already filled the transfer case and then realize you have a chatter problem? Change it again and put the additive in first?
I bought this car with 23K miles and it seems like they had not done the differential fluid changes on it, so I did that already using the required Honda VTM-4 fluid, but I can't seem to locate any SAE 90 oils to use for the transfer case. Hypoid gears would seem to rub more than ring gears or bevel gears, so I would assume a good hypoid gear oil would perform well under high pressure and keep friction very low. But I don't know much about this kind of thing. (thus the post!)
Are ISO 220 or ISO 320 gear oils the same thing as SAE 90? I've seen ISO 220 called an SAE 80 and an SAE 90 but ISO 320 seems to always be called a 90. The fluid capacity is only 0.45 quart, so we're not talking about a giant purchase here and the few SAE 90's I've seen are in 5 gallon quantities. Far more than I will ever use. Just want to keep the Pilot in good shape for lots of camping trips.
Many thanks in advance!
So the questions are these:
1. Is it OK to use an 80W-90 gear oil, considering also that I will be towing a 2100 pound camper several thousand miles this summer?
2. Would synthetics be a good choice for this application, even if there are only 80W-90 choices? I've heard about chatter problems with synthetic gear oils, but I don't know if this applies to hypoid gears or transfer cases. I've only heard of this in differentials.
3. If a synthetic is OK, should a differential slip lock additive be used? If so, how are you supposed to do that if you've already filled the transfer case and then realize you have a chatter problem? Change it again and put the additive in first?
I bought this car with 23K miles and it seems like they had not done the differential fluid changes on it, so I did that already using the required Honda VTM-4 fluid, but I can't seem to locate any SAE 90 oils to use for the transfer case. Hypoid gears would seem to rub more than ring gears or bevel gears, so I would assume a good hypoid gear oil would perform well under high pressure and keep friction very low. But I don't know much about this kind of thing. (thus the post!)
Are ISO 220 or ISO 320 gear oils the same thing as SAE 90? I've seen ISO 220 called an SAE 80 and an SAE 90 but ISO 320 seems to always be called a 90. The fluid capacity is only 0.45 quart, so we're not talking about a giant purchase here and the few SAE 90's I've seen are in 5 gallon quantities. Far more than I will ever use. Just want to keep the Pilot in good shape for lots of camping trips.
Many thanks in advance!
