Just about 500 miles since my axle rebuild and time to drain break-in fluid. What's forum consensus on oil for OEM Rubicon carriers?
Recommendations for Dana 44 Rubicon differential fluid?
- Thread starter sierradmax
- Start date
The gears care more about the oil than the carrier does. Just go with what you gear manufacturer recommends. I used gears from Revolution, which recommend 85w140 non-synthetic GL5.
Conventional GL-5 rated gear oil of any major brand.
I use Valvoline conventional 75W-90 in the front Dana 30 and 75W-140 in the rear Dana 44.
I use Valvoline conventional 75W-90 in the front Dana 30 and 75W-140 in the rear Dana 44.
keep in mind the rubicon Dana 44 rear is aTorsen LSD.. I recently swapped truetrac's in my JK and Eaton told me to run Lucas gear oil and NOT valvoline.
The common wisdom on the Jeep forums is to use conventional, non-synthetic gear oil after a re-gear. Many gear manufacturers and gear resellers recommend the same and some void their warranties if synthetic gear oil is used. The theory is that synthetic gear oil is not as good at transferring heat away from the gears as conventional gear oil.
The factory service manual calls for synthetic gear oil for the Dana 44 Rubicon rear axle and conventional gear oil for the standard rear Dana 44 under "non-towing" conditions. The FSM calls for synthetic gear oil for all axles when trailer towing.
During gear break-in I would use conventional gear oil only. I don't think you will go wrong with following the FSM recommendation for synthetic gear oil after the initial gear break-in and heat cycling although my personal preference is to use conventional gear oil both during break-in and thereafter.
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Whoever you talked to at Eaton didn't know WTF he's talking about. Just because someone happens to work for a well-known company doesn't mean he's an expert or even knows what he's talking about. Gear based Torsen LSDs like the Truetrac and what's inside the rear Rubicon locker don't care about the gear lube, but the gears do... you just need a GL-5. And more astute axle and gear manufacturers like Revolution Gear, Currie, Dynatrac, etc. recommend conventional gear lubes. Not to mention it's well known that the axle's ring & pinion gears run cooler when lubed with a conventional gear lube... which is why the above manufacturers either recommend or require a conventional gear lube.
For just one example from Revolution Gear at https://www.revolutiongear.com/ring_and_pinion_break_procedure
"Recommended gear oil is an 85-140W, Non-Synthetic, GL5 grade or Higher, Name Brand Oil. "
Currie will void the warranty on an axle you buy if you fill it with a synthetic. They were having numerous gear failures in axles they built for people and it took them a while to track down the cause... that some of their customers were filling them with synthetic gear lubes. Once they started requiring conventional gear lubes their failure rate pretty much went to near zero.
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Here's what Eaton recommended. It IS NOT synthetic.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000IG5QPK/?tag=wranglerorg-20
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000IG5QPK/?tag=wranglerorg-20
The FSM specifies synthetic gear oil for the Rubicon rear Dana 44.
Apparently Eaton recommends conventional gear oil for that application.
You now have third party support for both choices. I don't think you will go wrong with either.
Good, Lucas is widely known for pushing synthetic. I didn't even know Lucas sold conventional gear lubes. Where this subject is concerned it's best to know if it is a synthetic or conventional that is being recommended.
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