question Austin Champ oils

[simondema]

Hi all

I have been doing some research on the modern day version of oils used in the Champ, and there seem to be differing opinions on the various types.

I have on the original documentation the following that was written by the previous owner:

 

H.D S.A.E. 30 - ENGINE OIL, GEARBOX, AIR CLEANER, OIL FILTER AND DISTRIBUTOR

E.P 50 - FRONT AXLE, REAR AXLE AND ROAD WHEEL HUBS

 

Can anyone verify the above is correct, and what is the modern equivalent (whether BP, Shell or Castrol or any other make) that could be used and not be detrimental to the old girl!

Thanks

 

Simon

[simondema]

Hi all

Just found the answers on another part of this forum, back in 2009.

Thanks

 

Simon

[Rover8FFR]

Hi all

Just found the answers on another part of this forum, back in 2009.

Thanks

 

Simon

 

Simpn this was again topic recently in Rampant Rivets thread on oil application.

 

Mr Elliott kindly linked a document in PDF format that is very useful and will help no end.

 

It may be the same doscument you found?????

 

Cheers

[simondema]

Yes, I believe that was the exact article. Very informative.

I also emailed the technical department at Castrol Australia and received a phone call yesterday from one of the technos in Melbourne who spent the better part of 40 minutes on the phone explaining the intricacies of matching old military spec oils to the new formulas. Very knowledgeable guy. I will post his reply but his basic premise was he preferred to start with a modern oil which was as close as possible to the original spec, then fine tune it according to the performance the vehicle showed. Told me to keep a "diary" to see how the engine/gearbox/diffs etc performed. Here is something of what he said:

 

Engine: Castrol 'GTX 20W50' - there's actually 2 versions of this product, one in a white pack and a slightly higher spec version in a grey pack. Both are mineral-based oil and I would expect quite suitable for the application below. We do have a slightly heavier grade oil called Castrol 'Edge 25W50' that may also be worth considering

 

Gearbox: The original spec appeared to be calling for a SAE 90 grade, non-EP (non-extreme pressure) automotive gear oil Most modern gear oils would be unsuitable, what you are trying to target here is something like a SAE 90 gear oil meeting API GL 1 (non-EP type designation) If you can find an SAE 50 engine oil then this should perform a very similar job to the SAE 90, API GL 1 type oil. These oils aren't common in retail outlets but they do exist (many trucks run them in certain manual transmissions) It didn't occur to me during our discussion but I would consider running the Castrol 'Edge 25W50' in this gearbox Edge 25W50 is a multigrade, but a very shear stable one and should work quite well.

 

Differential: Castrol 'EPX 80W90' - this is very common. We could probably even go heavier 'EPX 85W140' but I would start with the EPX 80W90 and see how that works for you.

 

I haven't even started on the different types of grease!

 

Simon