Weird lube in transmission

Zachary Hoyt · Dec 9, 2010

I am dismantling a Case VAC that I got that was in bad shape. The transmission and torque tube are partly full of some scary looking stuff. It's almost like tar except slightly less viscous. The only word I can really think of to describe the texture is guppy, which is unfortunately not an adjective. I normally would drain old gear lube into a bucket and take it to the waste oil collection but I don't think this stuff will flow into or out of a bucket. I would like to get the transmission gears cleaned up but I am not sure what to use. Any advice will be very much appreciated.
Zach

C.R. · Dec 9, 2010

can you hit it with a steam cleaner? if you can heat the old goo up maybe it will flow? good luck

BCnT · Dec 9, 2010

pour some diesel or mineral spirits in tranny and use a low pressure air nozzle to agitate gloop awhile...get it diluted enuff and it'll flow.

showcrop · Dec 9, 2010

I bet if you got it heated up it would flow. I would use a torch to warm up the casings. I know that you would not heat one part cherry red and leave another part cold, but you know that on here you have to put disclaimers like this in for some people.

Paul from MI · Dec 9, 2010

I have had pretty good luck getting old tarry lube out of transmissions using a putty knife on the heaviest of it. It will come out on the knife & you can scrape it off into a container for disposal. Then I use a parts washer pump in a pail with a few gallons of solvent(diesel, kero, or what ever you use in your parts washer, NOT GASOLINE.) I attach a hose to the pump, set the pail under the transmission drain. Direct the hose towards what ever part you want to clean and let it run for a day or two. Move the hose as needed. May take a month of moving the hose around if it's real bad but it's not much work.

glennster · Dec 9, 2010

if its black tar like, kind of smelly, its prolly the old 600wt gear lube. if the trans is still together dump a couple gallons of kerosene in there to thin it. you will need some way to agitate it so it thins out the lube. a heat lamp will help if you dont go the kerosene route, get the housing good and warm to get the stuff to flow a little.

Ray · Dec 9, 2010

The only reason to put that stuff in a transmission is,the tranny has bearing problems and there trying to hide the noise.It's
probably not worth fixing unless it's a family
tractor or something.

bison · Dec 9, 2010

I had a AC B one day with old gook in it like that(been sitting for many years),a cold engine would die just letting up the clutch in neutral,i chucked a couple gallons of diesel in the tranny,let it fast idle for a while,than drove around till the tranny was warmed up before draining.I had to do that a few times before most of that old lube was gone.

Nebraska Cowman · Dec 9, 2010

Oh yeah. it will flow. The old mechanic that taught me the trade always told this one on himself. He pulled a tractor in the shop late one cold winter afternoon and put a five gallon bucket under the rear end and removed the drain plug. It was so thick nothing much was coming out. 'Bought then it was quiting time so he went home. When he came back in the morning the bucket was full and about two more buckets full was spread on the floor. Now that is "goopy"

shaun wallace · Dec 9, 2010

Some oils turn to parafin after years and years.

Dutchman · Dec 9, 2010

if you have it in a shed .. put a heat lamp on the housing to warm it up .. that will warm the stuff up so maybe you can get some out ...
What I did on a tractor that had the heavy gunk in it .. after that I put desiel in it .. jack the rear tires up and run it ..{ becareful not to knock it off the blocks ... }i drain and had to do this more than 1 time ... it did clean the gears ..
Good luck and do this carefully ..
mark

Ralph wd45 · Dec 10, 2010

That discription of the old oil, sounds exactly simular to what I found in the gear cases of two P&H 15 ton cranes last winter. While the hourly people were out on strike, the salary people( supervision) had to fill in on the monthly PM's, and created the problem by mixing (topping off) the gear cases with new sinthetic oil, which mixed with the maropia 320 already in the cranes. I was supposed to submit used oil samples to the lab, each month, and after sampling the tarry oil, that was their conclusion. Some oils dont mix!

Weird lube in transmission

Zachary Hoyt

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C.R.

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BCnT

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showcrop

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Paul from MI

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glennster

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Ray

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bison

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Nebraska Cowman

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shaun wallace

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Dutchman

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Ralph wd45

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