Do any of you guys know how many quarts of oil to put in a T18? I've got 3 for now - not sure...

 

T-18 takes 6 1/2 PINTS of oil. Not gear weight, but 50W engine oil (or 50w tranny oil if you can find it). 30w if you are in the northern wastes.

 

T-18 takes 6 1/2 PINTS of oil. Not gear weight, but 50W engine oil (or 50w tranny oil if you can find it). 30w if you are in the northern wastes.>>>>>>>>>>>

You sure about that? I've got multi weight gear oil in mine...Maybe I better change to something lighter if you are correct. But I thought only the newer manuals used the light oil? Never have heard this about the old T-18...We need a poll here... T-18 users? What oil do you use? MK

 

NM5K, my dad said to get muli weight gear oil like you have. That's what I put in. Inside the tranny smells like it had gear oil in it before as well.

 

My new 74 with the NO trans had a placard that said to use 50w oil in the tranny and T-case and 30w in the winter. However your T-18 will exist quite happily on the 80-90w gearlube so don't freak out if that is what you put in. However in extreme cold I have seen some damage because the gear kube gets too thick and the gears juast take a swipe out of it. Also you need to park in nuetral because when it is 30 below you can't get it into nuetral. Even at that the gear lube has the tranny so stiff that it will kill the engine when you let the clutch out.

 

Thanks, willowbilly, I shoulda known to ask you first

 

I just read the shop manual with Ford specifications as my source. Ford manual says what I posted above. I did a similar poll a few months ago. There is a consensus that 75-90 gear lube is OK, but you may have harder shifts in cold weather -- synchonizers may not work right.

The T-18 and NP 435 are very heavy trannies for F100 and 250 pickups. They are hard to damage. Just becuase you have been putting gear lube in them all these years doesn't make it right. Those trannies could run on bannana peels and do OK!!!

I think the very best solution would be the synthetic 50w gear oil used in big rigs -- but it cost $20 a gallon and I can't find it locally in anything less than 2.5 gallon jugs. Bit of an overkill for 6 1/2 pints.

 

Wow, I need to proof read my posts more thoroughly. I'm not really ignorant, I just can't type.lol. I agree that the T-18 and NP 435 aer tough. I have almost 200,000 miles in my T-18 and it still works just as good as ever.

 

I may change then. I never knew they recommended a lighter oil. I notice mine seems noisier in the winter until it warms up. The heavy oil I'm using is probably why. MK

 

I notice that too. In the cold weather I get a bit of a whine for the first couple miles.