Ex Member Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 I would not purposely choose the MTF-94 as it is one of the lower quality lubes around these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweetyduck Posted July 9, 2020 Author Share Posted July 9, 2020 17 minutes ago, Red90 said: I would not purposely choose the MTF-94 as it is one of the lower quality lubes around these days. There are fully synthetic versions but question is what to use instead......also what change interval ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex Member Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 18 hours ago, tweetyduck said: There are fully synthetic versions but question is what to use instead......also what change interval ? I covered change interval earlier. It is not a fixed thing. The world is not black and white. In the end, the specific choice of fluid does not matter much for Africa use. Anything with a similar viscosity to MTF-94 will shift the same. These boxes do not fail from wear. Better fluids will handle heat better, but that depends on how hot your boxes run. Heat is the killer. A cooler and a gauge are the best things to have in a hot climate. For the fluid, I would get whatever is available in Africa and, as already stated, you are asking on the wrong forum. You need to ask Africans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweetyduck Posted July 10, 2020 Author Share Posted July 10, 2020 45 minutes ago, Red90 said: I covered change interval earlier. It is not a fixed thing. The world is not black and white. In the end, the specific choice of fluid does not matter much for Africa use. Anything with a similar viscosity to MTF-94 will shift the same. These boxes do not fail from wear. Better fluids will handle heat better, but that depends on how hot your boxes run. Heat is the killer. A cooler and a gauge are the best things to have in a hot climate. For the fluid, I would get whatever is available in Africa and, as already stated, you are asking on the wrong forum. You need to ask Africans. Its not always hot in Africa you know.....it snowed in March quite a bit. Now i'm just singing the Band Aid song in my head. I have a cooler and a gauge and i have asked the Africans and get no good coherent answers. Indeed i'm not sure many of them know anything about Land Rovers at all! Other than they take it to a garage. There are a couple of good knowledgeable guys but to be honest I still know more than they do on most stuff. There is an oil on one of the garages/oil companies oil finders i wouldn't put in a transfer box let alone my gearbox. Even Castrol says refer to technical and many people put in Bot402 which is completely the wrong measured viscosity.The main importers or the entire country (all vendors) in Dakar offered to import me 20 liters and had only one brand they could see on their system as comparable. We are spoiled rotten in the UK with options. Many of the oils are not available in SA as they've not been certified by SABS. Recently i went to a specialist land rover garage (one of the biggest independants) and said i need my boost pressure measuring and he went and got the diagnostic PC expecting to plug in. This is their head guy who's been there 20 odd years ! I got myself a gauge off Ebay after I re-educated them and borrowed one of theirs they had in the cupboard and found it did the trick. My electronic pressure gauge measures oil pressure. They weren't even sure where to connect the boost gauge ! Anyhoo.....oils is no oils as you say (thats a thread on another group). With MTF i get a notchy second on cold mornings which is normal as its thicker than it should be in the cold. I always pre warm/mix the Gearbox and Trans (in neutral on trans) if its -5c or below. Not for long just to get some of the oil over everything. The pump in a R380 is **** as you know. This thread actually asked what people thought of the MOD change interval but seems to be focused on the lack of oil in Africa which is fine by me but I've still not found any that's suitable unless its in a 20 liter can. Not forgetting i've been puzzled by this issue since 2011 when i first arrived.I've been to 76 countries on only found MTF94 in like 4 of them. There is only one oil on Texaco's compatibility matrix and that's Morris Lodexol MTF however that list is 2007 IIRC. We also need to remember the MTF94 specification was amended in January this year. Nobody has asked why but i'm pretty sure It was to improve notchy gear on cold mornings. I'll take some of that. I think i will be putting 3litres of fully synthetic in my suitcase and hope nobody barks at me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweetyduck Posted July 10, 2020 Author Share Posted July 10, 2020 19 hours ago, Red90 said: I would not purposely choose the MTF-94 as it is one of the lower quality lubes around these days. what you using Redline MTL.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vogler Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 A local club member I talked to a couple of years ago spoke highly about Castrol Transmax Z (Td5, R380). I see it being referred to in African context (SA) too. He used it during a Morocco trip and gave feedback after 5k miles. Cold nights, hot desert days, steep climbing, and long distance highway traffic. He said the gearchange was like butter, and the box was more silent and significantly cooler. To be honest I would be reluctant to chanhe from MTF based on this info only, but who knows it might help... Joris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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