Redline ShockProof Gear Oil for Front Axle?

[Clipse3GT]

So I am relatively new to the tractor world with limited experience. But I have been in motorsports all my life working and racing cars in autocross and drag racing for the past 16 years. Having owned/own a number of high performance vehicles they all call for one thing; extreme duty fluids in any location where there is friction or metal on metal contact. No surprise that tractors and heavy equipment have same thing in common.

Recently, I purchased a Massey Ferguson GC1720 TLB for my property to do a majority of landscaping projects and do mowing (I know get a ZTR :dance1: ...lol). Well after putting some hours on the machine it will be coming up on 50 hours in a bit and all fluids have to be changed per owner manual. I assume early due to high probability of manufacturing contamination, casting, machining, and initial wear in of parts. Break-in period so to speak.

So looking into the owners manual. I noticed it calls for AGCO Permatran 821XL 10w-30 to be used in the front axle. After opening and looking inside the front axle it has hypoid gears. I found it very strange to use a rather thin lubricant in a front 4WD axle with hypoid gears where there is extreme pressures. So after a bit of research I found that 821XL is a petroleum based GL-4 fluid. Did a bit more digging and found that in the previous generations of MF GC2400 / 2600 it called for either Permatran III or SAE 80 Gear Oil. After some more reading people owning tractors from other manufacturers i.e. Kubota also had similar change in literature to go and use SUDT/UDT or SAW 80w-90 Gear Oil GL-4.

Now to me it would make sense to use something designed for extreme pressure in the front axle with hypoid gears like gear oil vs. something light like 821XL. The first line of protection in friction is always viscosity followed by additives. Pretty basic principle. Too much viscosity will not provide protection since it will not flow as quickly to certain components therefore there has to be a balance.

So it go me thinking with what fluid I can "upgrade" the front axle.

1) OEM AGCO Permatran 821XL. Call it a day.
2) Amsoil Synthetic Tractor Hydraulic/Transmission Oil SAE 5W-30. Same oil I will use for the hydraulic / HST transmission.
3) Redline/Amsoil 80w-90 Gear Oil (GL-5 rated, 821XL is GL-4 rated, however there is no brass components / synchros in front axle so it should not be a issue to use GL-5)
4) Redline ShockProof Lightweight / Heavyweight

Shockproof
Film thickness greater than an SAE 75W140, yet low fluid friction like 80W gear oil or 30W motor oil
Excellent low-temp flow, improved cold shifting
For racing differentials under moderate loads
Unique lubricant with solid microscopic particles offers low drag/high protection
Relatively low viscosity, yet cushions gear teeth under extreme pressure
Helps to prevent tooth breakage, resists throw-off
Avoid use with pumps, coolers, and filters as unique medium and affinity for metal can cause clogging
Designed for wet sump transmissions and differentials with splash lubrication

I am leaning towards Redline shockproof for a number of reasons. I used it extensively in differentials, rear axles, and transfer cases over the past 10 year or so. Never had a failure and have been extremely satisfied with noise reduction and overall smoothness of operation of components. Never noticed excessive wear particles during fluid changes. Therefore, I am leaning towards changing the front axle to shockproof based gear oil from the standard 821XL.

Again, I am well aware of the costs of synthetic fluids. It is not a concern in this discussion. I am just looking for the fluid with best protection for the front axle.

Here is a interesting article from Redline regarding benefits of shockproof.
http://www.redlineoil.com/content/files/tech/ShockProof Gear Oil Tech Info.pdf

Product Page
Red Line Synthetic Oil - ShockProof® Gear Oils




Discuss...

 

[90cummins]

I'm all for synthetic lubricants but I use Universal Tractor Hydraulic in my tractors axles & gear transmission which is a shared sump.
If using Redline in the front axle gives you peace of mind do it, but I doubt you would see any performance or life extension by doing so.
If you had cold weather operational issues synthetic would definitely be an advantage especially if it was Hydrostatic.
I do use synthetic in the engine of my Ford 1720 SSS as well as all my other vehicles and small engines.
Let us know if you notice any improvement.
90cummins

 

[Clipse3GT]

Thanks for the reply. I am debating still on using the Redline Shockproof or just a high quality synthetic gear oil in there. I am figuring with high loads using the FEL and being 4WD there would be more strain and friction on those front axle gears. Thus, using something like shock proof might get more life out of the axle. But, again that might be reaching at straws. I have 5 year warranty on the tractor so I might just stick to the normal high performance synthetic gear oil instead just incase there is a warranty case (looks same as OEM Permatran 821XL) and the inside of my transaxle looks like a smurf vomited inside since the shockproof is blue and sticks to all the metal components.

 

[big bubba]

" am figuring with high loads using the FEL and being 4WD there would be more strain and friction on those front axle gears." clipse 3gt

sounds like you are conscientious about maintenance, a good thing, more than most. i don't knowthe answer to the following question, so i throw it out to the forum. does the 4wd & fel really put high pressure conditions on the front axle as you suggest? what are the situations generally where this highor extreme pressure or strain as you suggest exist in drive train use? why do you feel you need to seek out expensive lubricants beyond what the manufacturer suggests (udt or GL5 80/90)? just asking, perhaps other members might shed some light. my own assumption is that red line products appeal to the high performance vehicle crowd where speed & heat build up. is this the case for a tractor?......btw i'm not questioning synthetics vs conventional, just high performance products as you suggest in a utility tractor.... not a challenge, just a question :thumbsup: best regards

 

[Clipse3GT]

" am figuring with high loads using the FEL and being 4WD there would be more strain and friction on those front axle gears." clipse 3gt

sounds like you are conscientious about maintenance, a good thing, more than most. i don't knowthe answer to the following question, so i throw it out to the forum. does the 4wd & fel really put high pressure conditions on the front axle as you suggest? what are the situations generally where this highor extreme pressure or strain as you suggest exist in drive train use? why do you feel you need to seek out expensive lubricants beyond what the manufacturer suggests (udt or GL5 80/90)? just asking, perhaps other members might shed some light. my own assumption is that red line products appeal to the high performance vehicle crowd where speed & heat build up. is this the case for a tractor?......btw i'm not questioning synthetics vs conventional, just high performance products as you suggest in a utility tractor.... not a challenge, just a question :thumbsup: best regards

I think in theory as you load the front axle with a large load on the FEL/Bucket. The front axle acts a fulcrum point and carries most of the load vs the rear of the tractor. Thus once you are loaded with heavy load and now need to move from location A to B. You will have increased friction due to the extra load not only on the front axle but also on the HST trans. So having a oil that carries more protection and enables less friction thus you will get less heat... it's not really the friction that's the killer but the heat that gets created as the byproduct. Also cast iron is a poor conductor of temperature, once it gets hot it takes a long time to cool down again. There is no auxiliary cooling system or fins to cool the front axle at that point. Once the gears and case get hot that heat is transferred to the outside of gear first and starts to make outside more brittle overtime at a molecular level thus further down the line increasing chance for failure or malfunction. Also running a fluid that produces less heat would make the rubber seals last longer in theory.

I know I am overthinking this a bit. But I have most of these fluids on my shelf most of the year since I use it my cars etc... So it would not be any different to get it for the tractor. I would also assume a longer operating life vs. regular fluids since there is a bit more cost associated with the extreme application fluids.

 

[Fallon]

Personally i just stick with the OEM fluid recomendations. Maybe go with a cheap to medium price standards compliant synthetic. I dont see the point of throwing piles of cash at snake oil. I dont think the fancy oils do much if any better than whaver the OEM recomends.

 

[big bubba]

Personally i just stick with the OEM fluid recomendations. Maybe go with a cheap to medium price standards compliant synthetic. I dont see the point of throwing piles of cash at snake oil. I dont think the fancy oils do much if any better than whaver the OEM recomends.

1st. just to say i'm way below a lube expert. but i feel the OP has a valid question here. and would also say red line products are not just snake oils like other hyped up lube products out there.... it's all about figuring out where the application applies as described by the OP. to me the real question is whether in tractor use, are high performance gear lube products applicable & justify higher price for utility tractor use or not? so far.....i've seen nothing to confirm one way or the other in this thread. that's all, just an observation from a non expert.

 

[Coyote machine]

Having a full load on a tractor FEL, and thus it's axle is not the same as racing a car/truck, motocross and other actual extreme operations. If there were an actual need for extreme fluids they would already be specified by the manufacturer. No harm in going beyond specified requirements, however most tractors aren't to my knowledge blowing up or wearing out front end axles prematurely.
The best practice would entail changing the fluid(s) as specified by the manufacturer, or more frequently if the tractor is used in very dusty conditions.

 

[Clipse3GT]

Personally i just stick with the OEM fluid recomendations. Maybe go with a cheap to medium price standards compliant synthetic. I dont see the point of throwing piles of cash at snake oil. I dont think the fancy oils do much if any better than whaver the OEM recomends.

I understand that most people feel pretty comfortable to use whatever the OEM specifies. That's okay and you can't be faulted for it. However, also note that there have been some recalls / tech advisories from most major car brands regarding fluids used in their products that were initially thought to work well or just good enough, which escalated into issues with engines, transmission, and differentials. Most recently that I remember was the VW oil issue on their 1.8T engines (pretty much a standard turbo engine that was in a number of VW's & Audi's was plauged by oil sludge and failure issues when using the recommended OEM oil) and I am not saying that tractors = cars = expensive race race cars = drag cars, etc...

I am just merely having a discussion IF there is other fluid that might work better THAN OEM fluid in the front axle. If I would be content with the OEM fluid, well I guess there would be no point to this thread.

 

[Clipse3GT]

Having a full load on a tractor FEL, and thus it's axle is not the same as racing a car/truck, motocross and other actual extreme operations. If there were an actual need for extreme fluids they would already be specified by the manufacturer. No harm in going beyond specified requirements, however most tractors aren't to my knowledge blowing up or wearing out front end axles prematurely.
The best practice would entail changing the fluid(s) as specified by the manufacturer, or more frequently if the tractor is used in very dusty conditions.

Yes, I agree for the most part with this statement. However, I am trying to determine if Redline Shockproof > Synthetic Gear Oil > OEM Hydraulic Fluid (conventional non-synethetic formulation).

The idea behind Redline Shockproof it's formula is extremely high in calcium it is designed so the particles of calcium take "shock load" between the gears. Thus forming a protection barrier between the gears. Most other oils use a ZDDP (Zinc dithiophosphate) package along with calcium, molybdenum, and phosphorus for a standard anti-wear additive package. This is where shockproof is different since it primarily relies on a "calcium slurry" to decrease wear and contact between gears.

Redline Heavy Shock Proof Virgin Oil Analysis

Blackstone Labs circa 2008

Aluminium 3ppm
Chromium 1ppm
Iron 18ppm
Copper 1ppm
Lead 3ppm
Tin 5ppm
Molybdenum 596ppm
Nickel 0ppm
Manganese 0ppm
Silver 0ppm
Titanium 0ppm
Potassium 5ppm
Boron 17ppm
Silicon 30ppm
Sodium 66ppm
Calcium 22980(and that is no misprint)
Magnesium 128ppm
Phophorous 1052ppm
Zinc 4ppm
Barium 0ppm
SUS Viscosity@210F 191.1
Flashpoint 410F
Insolubles 4