gear case oil ?

Application- 83 430 WR -

the Husky manual says to run 20 weight oil in the cases.....

What's the latest....you guys running 80-90 bel-ray gear oil or some 20 weight synthetic motor oil??

Motul 3000 20W-50 mineral oil, clutch works great with it.

I have the same question. Ive read people saying 20 weight, some say 40wt, and then others (incl. myself) who run 80w90 gear oil. There is a large difference between those. Does it mainly come down to preference? I have used 80w90 with no problems. I have tried 85w140 which worked okay but I noticed bad clutch drag. Also (strange problem) I would hit neutral alot when shifting with the thicker fluid. Im not sure if that was just me or if it was a side effect of the oil.

I run a TO-4 30wt, it is a tractor hydraulic oil, Cat and John Deere etc. use it. It is great oil for friction discs and has a shock additive for gear use. ATF is good with friction discs but is lacking in gear protection. Engine oil has poor shock resistance but works good with clutch discs, gear oil has good shock resistance but isn't good with clutch discs. Some engine oils are not compatible with the friction linings used on clutch discs, will break down the material. I figure if its good enough for the transmission,final drives, brakes on a D-10 it should be good for my bike. I went with it in my 39 Chevy Gasser's four speed, shifts better under full powershifts (displaces to stop syncro) and has good shock load cushions, less power to "stir" than 80-90wt. Something more to ponder.

Where can I snag this? Is TO-4 a specification like Dexron III is for ATF? I work at a parts store and probably have that kind of stuff; we have tractor fluid, power takeoff fluid and all that good stuff. If its a specification it might say on the bottles. Ill have to look, you've got me intrigued. If worst comes to worst Im sure I could find it at a tractor supply house or something to that effect. I personally havent noticed any problems with my clutch. It plants down good and it hasnt chunked out or broken down any at all. Of course I dont use cheapo gear oil either. I get either Pennzoil Synchromesh 80w90 or Castrol HyPoy-C 80w90. That may be a key also.

TO-4 is a classification, you can get it in 10W or 30W, tractor fluid is probably it but look at the API classification on it somewere, it should say what its approved use is. Scott

I know it sounds low tech and cheap but i run non detergent straight 30 WT. motor oil from walmart and change it often.The reason for non detergent is that it allows the contamination to fall out of suspension.
The dispersant package in oil is supposed to keep the contaminates suspended in the oil so the filter can take it out of circulation.

it has good resistance to shear because it is a single wt.(no viscosity improvers to get sheared by the gears) and is clutch friendly and very inexpensive!

I run $10 a qt. Amsoil in my premix so it`s not a cheap a## thing it is just clutch contamination and you need to get that abrasive stuff out so change after each weekend ride and keep your gears happy