I'm thinking of giving the Rover LT77 gearbox in my car an oil change as it's probably never had one and can occasionally be a little "notchy" between some gear shifts. Does anyone have any recommendations for a good quality oil? I read somewhere about certain oils that improve the gearshifts immensely, but I'm unable to find the article or the type of oil they specified.
Thanks in advance
Nige
Rover LT77 gearbox oil
Re: Rover LT77 gearbox oil
Morning- I found Difflock Evolution 1 fully synthetic made a positive difference - from Difflock.com.
Overcomes the the perennial problem of being thin enough not to gum up the synchromesh while still protecting the bearings - it's horrendously expensive.
Best Wishes DavidA
Overcomes the the perennial problem of being thin enough not to gum up the synchromesh while still protecting the bearings - it's horrendously expensive.
Best Wishes DavidA
Re: Rover LT77 gearbox oil
Nige,
I started a posting on LT77 gearbox oil back in Feb this year. Suggest that you give it a read.
Findings as follows.
Castrol technical recommended the fully synthetic Syntrans Multivehicle 75-90 as being that bit thinner to match the old SMX-S as the LT77 had gear change issues when cold.
Being too conservative I refilled with Castrol semi synthetic 75-90 and the gear change has become fickle again and notchy particularly 2nd to 3rd. With that in mind I would either use the Syntrans they recommended or try to find a SAE 75 oil.
Castrol advise that there is no problem mixing synthetic with the older non synthetic oil so no need to wash out the old gearbox oil that someone suggested would be trapped in its internal pump.
It's only the vegetable oils that won't mix with the mineral type.
Some people have even recommended using Mobil 1 engine oil but personally I can't see how an engine oil can protect the meshing of gears. The contact pressure of gears is the whole reason you need heavier duty oils for gearboxes and diffs.
Peter C
I started a posting on LT77 gearbox oil back in Feb this year. Suggest that you give it a read.
Findings as follows.
Castrol technical recommended the fully synthetic Syntrans Multivehicle 75-90 as being that bit thinner to match the old SMX-S as the LT77 had gear change issues when cold.
Being too conservative I refilled with Castrol semi synthetic 75-90 and the gear change has become fickle again and notchy particularly 2nd to 3rd. With that in mind I would either use the Syntrans they recommended or try to find a SAE 75 oil.
Castrol advise that there is no problem mixing synthetic with the older non synthetic oil so no need to wash out the old gearbox oil that someone suggested would be trapped in its internal pump.
It's only the vegetable oils that won't mix with the mineral type.
Some people have even recommended using Mobil 1 engine oil but personally I can't see how an engine oil can protect the meshing of gears. The contact pressure of gears is the whole reason you need heavier duty oils for gearboxes and diffs.
Peter C
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Re: Rover LT77 gearbox oil
I'm running Red Line MT90 in mine, it shifts quite well, although occasionally a bit 'syrupy' into 2nd & 4th, but I suspect that's more to do with the remote than the 'box itself.
Hawk 289 FiA...AT LAST!!!
Re: Rover LT77 gearbox oil
As a matter of interest I have previously made a cut out opposite the gear change detent mechanism and then added a cover. This is to provide more clearance when the engine and gearbox move slightly during a change. This to improve the change out of 2nd when pushing on!
I have also reset the mechanism as per the maintenance manual to ensure it should work correctly. Of course there is still the potential fault of the nut behind the wheel and being a bit too quick to drop the clutch before the change it properly completed.
I wouldn't go back to using the ATF auto transmission oil which was recommended by Rover at one point. It's a shame they don't still make the Castrol SMX semi synthectic as that worked quite well.
I can't remember what oil Ford recommended for their 5 speed boxes but that was also red and I think I used that in the early days.
I now intend to check out Amazon for a good deal on the Castrol Syntrans Multivehicle 75-90 and see if the change out of 2nd to 3rd gets better.
If you haven't already got one use a 500ml syringe ( Sealy do a cheap plastic one ) to inject the new oil - so much easier.
Peter C
I have also reset the mechanism as per the maintenance manual to ensure it should work correctly. Of course there is still the potential fault of the nut behind the wheel and being a bit too quick to drop the clutch before the change it properly completed.
I wouldn't go back to using the ATF auto transmission oil which was recommended by Rover at one point. It's a shame they don't still make the Castrol SMX semi synthectic as that worked quite well.
I can't remember what oil Ford recommended for their 5 speed boxes but that was also red and I think I used that in the early days.
I now intend to check out Amazon for a good deal on the Castrol Syntrans Multivehicle 75-90 and see if the change out of 2nd to 3rd gets better.
If you haven't already got one use a 500ml syringe ( Sealy do a cheap plastic one ) to inject the new oil - so much easier.
Peter C