Any reason why I shouldn't use this lower unit oil?

[thegipper]

The star brite type C specifically says its for "electric shift gear cases used on Johnson and Evinrude outboards (1962-?72), OMC sterndrives (1977 & earlier) and other Type C applications".

I will check my local dealer but they tend to be pretty pricey.

 

[racerone]

????---If the lower unit is properly sealed the oil can be in there for multiple seasons.----Lower unit oil will be the cheapest thing on your list of expenses.

 

[thegipper]

Trust me Racer, I get it. I'll be buying the correct fluid, I'm just saying that it is like 3x as expensive as conventional lower unit oil which is annoying.

No way in hell I'll risk blowing up my lower unit because I tried to save a few bucks. I more or less posted this because I was confused originally since I did find a lower unit oil that says it works for Type C. Little did I know, it needs to be Type C that specifically states it works with electric shift.

Thanks for the help

 

[racerone]

Fact-----You just have to be careful with labels on after market stuff.----They are looking at sales volume and they are saying it is all the same.------Some sales folks sitting at the desks just do not know the simple facts.

 

[thegipper]

You would think they would be extra certain that it does in fact with all of the listed oil types, especially because of a potential law suit. Apparently not.

Thanks again

 

[racerone]

Also looked at a little 1965 model 6 hp today.---The near pristine instruction label says to use type C oil in the gearcase.------Not electric shift either

 

[jimmbo]

In the 1960s OMC only marked one oil, so the direction from OMC was Type C. In a 1958 35 hp owners manual is says Hypoid 90 oil , and a 1957 35 hp owners manual says a quality automotive 90 weight hypoid oil, and in an Emergency 30 weight motor could be used. I always wondered what constituted an Emergency?

 

[oldboat1]

I'm not sure what an emergency would be either, but hypoid oil really means only oil for hypoid gears. It's another bit of equivocation, imo -- or at least imprecision. Both mechanical and electric cases have hypoid gears, but the pumps/friction clutches/seals in an electric case need something akin to 10 wt oil, not the 85-90 wt of typical "hypoid" oil. Type C was presumably too light for mechanical cases, so HiVis was developed and marketed. The lighter Type C was rebadged Premium Blend and reserved for electric gear cases (by SB recommendation). Aftermarket naming is all over the place, although "hypoid" seems to pretty consistently mean heavier wt lube. Type C, on the other hand, doesn't necessarily mean low viscosity equivalent to OMC Premium Blend -- not reliably so, anyway, for somebody running one of the old '62-'72 electric cases.

(btw gipper, think I confused Sierra with Star Brite in an earlier post -- latter has a product said to be for your '72 electric shift, as you suggest.)

 

[jimmbo]

. Both mechanical and electric cases have hypoid gears,

Actually they don't. They may have spiral gears but not Hypoid.

 

[oldboat1]

Thanks, Jimmbo. Agree.

 

[jimmbo]

There is one other tidbit about 'Type C' oil. As well as having a thinner viscosity than other oils, it might be a better chemical match for some of the metals used in the Electric Shift gear cases. Just like regular gears oil are rated GL-1, GL-2, GL-3, GL-4, and GL-5. Some of these are not interchangeable, use the wrong one and it will eat the bearings, if it is not compatible with bearing material.

 

[interalian]

Hypoid gear oil has additives that help in high shear applications. Spiral bevel gears still have a lot of shear compared to a regular bevel gear. Also, viscosity is not an indicator of lubricity but is a factor. If you want to get lost in details, check out Bob Is The Oil Guy and be prepared to lose a few hours of your life.

I once had the manual transmission oil on my old BMW 2002 changed by one of those quickie lube places and they put GL5 in it. The synchros didn't work for beans and I had to flush it with diesel and put GL4 back in before it would shift properly.

 

[thatone123]

This Mystic is a good oil at a lower price point than the dealer stuff. Use it when I can get it! It has a blue color which is easy to see.