G56 gear fluid

[RVTRKN]

Pennzoil sycromesh

 

[mfurrh55]

Ok, got it, Thanks, what weight is this?, What kind of oil is it, Not auto tran fluid i take it?

 

[RVTRKN]

http://www.pennzoil.com/other-car-p...luids-and-gear-oil/manual-transmission-fluid/ here's a link

 

[LNaugle]

I use Gorrilla juice and atf +4 mix at about 70%-30%.....

 

[RVTRKN]

Just had my 04. 5 with 75000 miles NV5600 rebuilt/power lube package by Standard Tran. in Tucson. Richard replaced the sincros,bearings,supplied the new clutchpac, and flywheel ! Jeff, Gallo transmission in Tucson removed and reinsalled the trans, clutch pac and flywheel. Gallo is about 3 blocks from Standard. Standard went over and picked up my transmission. Richard recommends Amsoil, and thats whats in there. I know its not a G56, but thought I'd put my 2 cents in . I think they did a good job. Trans shifts a lot better, more like a car. Don't know if this helps or not.

Thanks for the info, called Gallo yesterday and will have them do the conversion, however I have to supply them the SBC DD 3250 clutch setup, otherwise he said he has to go with the DMF, he said I should go with the OEM DMF. I gave my reasons for the SBC clutch and he was OK with my logic, but I have to supply the clutch and flywheel. Kind of makes me wonder about the shop.

 

[Regcabguy]

Thanks for the info, called Gallo yesterday and will have them do the conversion, however I have to supply them the SBC DD 3250 clutch setup, otherwise he said he has to go with the DMF, he said I should go with the OEM DMF. I gave my reasons for the SBC clutch and he was OK with my logic, but I have to supply the clutch and flywheel. Kind of makes me wonder about the shop.

Southbend has a good install writeup by a member of CF with photos for that exact conversion. This should help him.

 

[RVTRKN]

CF = Cummins Forum?

 

[Regcabguy]

CF = Cummins Forum?

The author is a member. The write up is posted on the SBC site under G-56 3250 DD install. I wish I could remember how to copy and paste. idiot.

 

[RVTRKN]

OK thanks, I'll search for it.

 

[RVTRKN]

I'm a couple of months away of pulling my G56 and having it gone through and inspected by Standard Transmission. (the expanded shop in Arizona) The recommended fluid is Pennzoil synchromesh. The trany only has 48K on it, and because the DMF/clutch is prematurely failing due to the updated programing, I'm going to have a SBC DD 3250 system installed and I'm going one step farther and will install a girdle on the G56 for added strength. I CAN'T WAIT

The Girdle is an external brace that wraps around the aluminum case to help in preventing the two piece case from flexing. That helps the gears to stay in alignment and mesh properly.

Don't know about that, but will supply the installer of the trany with the girdle. I have not worked out the logistics of it yet, but I know I will have Standard Transmission go through the trany, and if I can't find a local shop in Tucson AZ, I'll do it myself. I'll deliver the trans and pick it up as well as the SBC DD 3250 at that time. So if anyone here can recommend a shop that knows the DMF swap to the solid flywheel, your PM is welcome.

They just recently expanded there and the gentleman thats running it is retired from the Texas shop, so he will more than likely be the rebuilder. Because they are new there, he couldn't recommend a local shop. So if anyone can recommend... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Do you have a link to the oil?

No thank you amsoilman, I won't be using ATF for my G56, nothing personal, just don't believe in ATF for a standard trans.

Trans still has the original fluid and I won't be using ATF when changed. But I doubt that it will have over 50K on it in May. I had a conversation with Richard in January and I talked about the Pennzoil synchromesh he said that is an acceptable oil. I got the info from the Texas shop and relayed that to Richard. I will call Gallo transmission in the morning. But I have the DMF conversion to a solid flywheel, which is a little different and issues that might come up latter will be hard to take back under warranty when I'm in Ca.

Yup, its a stupid idea, Mercedes seems to think its OK, but remember their trucks are geared higher when it comes to the medium duties they were installed in, which has less stress on the trans. Also the original G56 was geared higher as well.

http://www.carbonitecummins.com/Documents/Trans Oil Comparison.pdf



Hey G56 owners check out this link and get a preview of whats to be published here on TDR, per the writer of the comparison. This is by far the best comparison with the evidence to back up all criteria.

 

[mfurrh55]

So, where do you buy the other mobil delvac synthetic transmission fluid 50, can you get it locally?, Monte

 

[RVTRKN]

I bought the Mercedes approved, Mobil trans SHC DC from EMAC, but you can buy the Mobil Delvac from Graingers. I'm willing to pay the price for the approved oil, and at $85. 00 a gallon, its expensive. mfurrh55, what's your opinion of the comparisons and the other oils tested?

 

[mfurrh55]

Man,that was some article and a Big eye opener, Makes you wonder about Chrysler,seems they would want you to have the best in your transmission, especially if they have to replace a bunch of them under warranty, Say i read something about the drain/refill plug not being high enough to put enough fluid in the g-56 too, how much fluid is the g-56 suppose to hold and not what the fill hole says, I don't understand why they would put the fill plug lower than what the recommended fill is suppose to be, anyway does anyone know what the recommended fill in Qts. is suppose to be, Thanks, Monte

 

[Regcabguy]

I just jack up the passenger side axle a bit. This will enable you to pump in 1 additional qt.

 

[Flopster843]

Hey guys, I'm "the other guy" that did the fluid analysis. I figured I'd jump in and see if I could clarify a few questions about what's going on. I apologize for the long reply, but I like to cover all the bases.

First off, let me specify that I am in no way, shape, or form trying to make any money off of my site or the information I document. I'm not going to sell you anything, or try to point you to any specific retailer for any sort of under the table "kick back" due to business. I enjoy doing these technical things and enjoy maintaining the information online for others to benefit from. It's simply a hobby of mine.

Second, I was contacted by TDR magazine and they requested permission to post the oil analysis information in the next printed issue. What has been linked to in this thread is the total, uncut version that I posted on my site. What you will see in the magazine will be a stream-lined version to save space in the magazine.

Ok, about the information posted. This all started with a goal of reducing the "gear rollover" noise that the G56 inherents when swapping to a single mass flywheel. After doing lots of digging and relying on information some other people have found, I have pieced together the article that I wrote. It was discovered, that the G56 when utilized by Mercedes, does in fact spec a much thicker gear lube than the ATF that Chrysler supplies. The best reason for the change that I could find was cost. ATF is simply much cheaper and was deemed "good enough" by our friends at Chrysler. I linked to the spec sheets in my article.

MobilTrans SHC DC is fairly hard to come by in the United States. It can be special ordered by almost any dealer that carries Mobil oils, but it must be ordered by the 5 gallon pail. There are no smaller quantities around. I discovered that the company EMAC2.org will sell the MobilTrans by the gallon instead of the 5 gallons that must be ordered. At this time, they are the only retailer that I know of where you can buy MobilTrans in anything less than 5 gallons. EMAC2 buys a large quantity of MobilTrans, splits it into 1 gallon jugs, and then distributes it to anybody who orders it. If anybody knows of any other retailer that sells it by the gallon, please let me know.

The G56 specifies a 6 quart fill. There is no "need" to overfill the transmission by 1 quart. The overfill rule came from older transmission that didn't properly lube themselves unless they were over full. However, it doesn't hurt to add the extra quart.

Mobil Delvac 50 is a VERY close second place to the MobilTrans SHC DC. It can be ordered by the gallon from many industrial supply companies, such as Grainger, as well as other retailers. They're close in price, plus the MobilTrans is slightly better, so I went with the MobilTrans in my truck. If I couldn't acquire the MobilTrans, I would be perfectly comfortable putting the Delvac 50 in my truck.

The oils tested were simply suggestions by other people I know that seem to be possible substitutes for the ATF that was currently in the transmission. Obviously I was going to test the ATF and MobilTrans anyway, but it was discovered that Delvac 50 might be similar. Coming directly from Mobil Oil Company, the Delvac 50 is NOT a substitute for the MobilTrans. However the tests prove otherwise. The Synchromesh and Gorilla Juice were two other oils that were commonly recommend to put in a G56. I requested samples from anybody who had some, and I received what I tested. If I would have received some Redline, or Amsoil, or anything else, it would have been included as well.

As stated in the article, the ONLY thing that steered me away from the Synchromesh is it's low viscosity. It's not much thicker than the ATF, so I felt like it wouldn't reduce the gear rollover noise as well as either of the Mobil oils. The Gorilla Juice is WAY over spec in the viscosity department, plus it's lacking many critical additives that would make it acceptable for use in this transmission. I would not recommend it to anybody.

Shifting with the MobilTrans is slower than it is with the ATF. I would put it close to most of the NV5600 trucks that I have drove. The coldest I have had it has been a chilly North-Texas 25 degrees F. It was slow shifting for the first couple miles, but quickly warmed up to an acceptable level. The trans can be pre-warmed by placing the transfer case in neutral and putting the transmission in 6th gear. After a few minutes of idleing like that, the fluid is plenty warm. I haven't found any reason to do that around here, but if you live somewhere really cold it could be an option.

I have done a video comparison of the ATF vs the MobilTrans as far as noise is concerned. I had the center console and shifter boots removed and had the trailer behind the truck to make the noise as bad as possible. While the noise isn't eliminated, it is significantly reduced. With the shifter boots in place, it's almost impossible to hear. It's posted on youtube if you want to have a watch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3DN1ZiG7rk

On a side note for the guy asking about the SDD3250 clutch install, I wrote the G56 instructions that are posted on South Bend's website. http://southbendclutch.com/dodge.html I tried to be as detailed as possible that way anybody could do the clutch install themselves. That article is also on my site if you guys want to give it a read.

If you guys have any questions about any of the information I have provided, please feel free to send me an e-mail. I don't troll the forums all the time so I might not see a question posted in the forum. It's my username (at) gmail.com.

 

[seafish]

Flopster843...



WELCOME to TDR!!!!



Back in October, I wrote to Robert Patton, a TDR editor, and encouraged him to read the G56 lube analysis article you published on your website. It is an excellent article and I am excited to be able have a "hard copy" available to review in the next TDR issue. That being said, I like the attention to detail and clarity and photographs that you give in ALL of the write-ups on your website. THANKS!!!

 

[Regcabguy]

Good job John!

 

[SierraRam]

I just ordered the Mobil Delvac 50 from Graingers, they come in one gallon containers and at a fair price.

Thank you John for the excellent testing and write up. Made my decision on changing from ATF-4+ easy.

 

[RVTRKN]

Thank you Flopster843, for giving me permission to link your comparison to TDR. I would also like to welcome you to TDR as well, I look forward to your future threads/posts and thought out research.



BTW, I couldn't have found your comparison at a better time than now, my transmission is scheduled to be inspected in May by Richard at Standard Transmission at the Tucson AZ branch. I wanted an approved oil to replace the crappy ATF+4 after the trans had been cleaned to eliminate the residual ATF that would have been there otherwise.



I would also like to give a big "Thank You" to the CUMMINS FORUM were I found your link.

 

[Regcabguy]

RVTRKN,
I recently spoke to one of the guys at the Texas headquarters. They said Richard in Tucson knows his stuff.