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MG MGB Technical - gear oil vs motor oil in 1500 transmission

OK, this is not a new topic by any means, but I feel the need to dredge it up. It's time to replace the oil in the trans of my 1500 ('78), and I have been getting conflicting ideas about what to put into it. All the manuals call for 80 wt gear oil, but below is a post from what I consider a knowledgeable owner. Does anyone here have any opinions on this ---

"...Now, as for the oil, I have to disagree. I am about to open another shop with a partner. The partner is the guy who rebuilds gearboxes and supplies most of the parts suppliers in this country (Moss, Vicky Brit, Northwest Imported Parts, etc). I was having this exact discussion with him just last week and he was saying that really, just 30 or 40 weight motor oil should go into the boxes. That's what he does and that's what he advises. Sure, the bearings will like the slippier stuff, but the synchros which depend on a certain amount of friction don't like it as much. So, instead of putting the gear oil in there, especially if you're going to change it frequently, just put some straight 30 weight or something similar in there..."
SM Steven Michelsen

Steven - Are you refering to a 1500 midget? If so, you might get a more reliable answer on the Midget BBS rather than one for MGBs. Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

Damn. Sorry about that...
Steven Michelsen

This thread was discussed on 01/07/2006

MG MGB Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGB Technical BBS is active now.