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Final Drive Oil ?


Slainte

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Recently, I’ve read much-heated debate regarding the correct final drive lube. My question: Is BMWs Super Synthetic SAE 75W140 Gear Oil acceptable for the final drive. I’ve been using this product in both the final drive and transmission for several years without any problems. Your thoughts and insights please.

 

Slainte

 

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Recently, I’ve read much-heated debate regarding the correct final drive lube. My question: Is BMWs Super Synthetic SAE 75W140 Gear Oil acceptable for the final drive. I’ve been using this product in both the final drive and transmission for several years without any problems. Your thoughts and insights please.

 

Slainte

 

Slainte, seeing as you didn’t tell us what motorcycle you are using it in & you didn’t fill out your profile we have no way of judging if is acceptable or not..

 

Twisty

 

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Twisty 1

I have been using the 75W140 in the final drive(s) of

my R1150RT and my R1150R.

 

I will fill out my profile ASAP.

 

Thanks,

 

Slainte.

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Slainte-

The consensus as I understand it is that no factory literature anywhere specifies anything except SAE 90 or 80W/90 grade fluid in the Final Drive. Paul Glaves had an article saying the same in ON not too long ago.

 

Yet, my nearby dealer uses Shell 80W/140 exclusively, and some others swear that it's OK. Personally, I'm sticking with the factory literature and use commonly available 80W/90, until I see something other than that approved in writing.

 

-MKL

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Slainte, OK now we know the bike(s) involved..

 

Now to try to evade your question..

 

Is 75W140 gear oil acceptable for the final drive? The answer has to be yes as an awful lot of BMW owners use it.. Some BMW shops recommend it.. & Most BMW shops carry it for use in final drives..

 

OK, now comes the speculation,, hearsay,, limited experience disclaimer..

 

The BMW manual calls for a Brand Name 90 weight GL-5 gear oil.. Nothing mentioned about 75W140 or synthetic gear oil..

 

Will 75W140 kill your final drive? Probably not but a lot of somewhat educated people speculate it will.. Will using a Brand Name 90 weight GL-5 gear oil keep your final drive from failing? No way to know without a lot more credible data taken under controlled testing..

 

My own (personal) take on what gear oil to use.. At one time I used a very high quality 75W140 synthetic gear oil in both my 1100(s) & 1150.. The more final drive failures I came across the more I paid attention to what gear oil they used & what the manual recommended.. In my personal ring of friends, co-workers, & acquaintances I can’t name a single final drive failure that was using 90 weight Dino GL-5 gear oil.. I can name a few failures that were using 75W140 but can also name a few that used 75W140 with no issues..

 

I switched back to the Dino 80W90 weight GL-5 in my 1100(s) & used the same 80W90 weight GL-5 in my 1150RT with no final drive issues in any of my bikes.. Is that conclusive? Not on your life.. Just coincidence? Very possibly..

 

If you are happy with your 75W140 so far then at least you have some history with using that.. No matter what gear oil you use watch the drain plug magnet for signs of metal particles & if any found probably pop the deep groove bearing out & take a look at it for signs of pitting..

 

One habit I got into was changing the final drive gear oil at every oil change.. Not to simply install fresh gear oil (that stuff has a long operation life cycle) but just to look at the drain plug magnet for signs of internal problems.. It (the final drive) holds such a small amount of oil & is so easy to change that I though it was cheap insurance & a quick look into the future..

 

Twisty

 

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Thanks folks,

 

Your comprehensive response(s) sheds light on all my questions. I was disturbed that BMWs recommendatins do not mention the 75W140.

I may , or may not change to the 80w90 at the next gear oil change.

 

Thanks a million.

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