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80W90 oil..What is that smell???


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I got a chance to change the oil in the transmission and diff. this weekend.

 

My question is:

 

Why does the gear oil smell so bad? It is way worse than regular oil. I am thinking that it must have sulfur or something like that in it, or maybe other smelly anti-wear additives.

 

My wife wouldn't even let me back in the house because I spilled some on my hands and shirt...

 

Eventually, I convinced her to let me in.:)

 

Matt D

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Yep 90w stinks bad, one of the worst automotive smells, right up there with smoked clutch and burnt ATF.

 

Gary

 

my bf managed to shatter his clutch (not even a week old!) while racing, I remember he hit 2nd gear, then a HUGE cloud of smoke came flying out from under the hood and within the car itself. I was SO happy I wasnt in there. The car reeked of burned clutch right up til he wrecked it a few months later.

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It seems that every leak in a EA Sube makes its way to the exhaust... oil, 90w, ATF, CV boot, all of them. I think the general rule is if the car stops smoking/smelling you better check the fluid levels... you out of something. :-p

 

 

Gary

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I love the smell of automotive fluids, with the exception of antifreeze, that smell brings back bad memories of a horrific head gasket failure.

 

Little trick for ya, when draining fluids and there is something underneath the drain that you want to keep clean, drape a plastic grocery bag over it and then throw it away when you are done. Of course the exhaust would have to be relatively cool for that to work, but you get the idea.

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Actually, I have to admit that I kind of like the unusual smell of the gear oil.

 

 

I caught myself sniffing the rag I used to clean it up yesterday.

 

Don't worry, I wasn't "huffing" the fumes. I think it just reminded me of a fun day working on the car....

 

Matt

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The smell is the sulfur/phosphorus extreme pressure additive (EP). Not all synthetic gear oils smell of sulfur/phosphorus additives.

 

 

Some manual transmissions prefer GL-4 80-W90 gear oils. The synchronizers like GL-4 better than GL-5.

 

The additive that smells the worst is the additive for limited slip differentials....it is derived from whale oil.

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