Topic: Found fork oil per Honda recommendation SAE 10W-30 - NOT engine oil

[dave500]

i think up untill the late 60s or 70s,,the GM automatic dexron spec oil contained whale oil for its anti rusting properties,,ive never seen a rusty whale so it must be true?

[brewsky]

GM used it in anti-slip rear ends for clutch chatter elimination in the 80's.
 
They must have forgot to put it in my new 85 Trans Am, cause every time it rounded a curve, it sounded like the rear diff was coming apart.

The fix was an ounce or so of "whale sperm" as the tech called it. He said it had been banned and once it was used up there would be no more!

I didn't ask any more questions!

[dave500]

a bit off topic but still honda and oil,,my mate has an early 2000 honda cr-v car,,it had a funny noise in the rear end only when turning,,hes mechanic said it needed new oil specific to these units,,we couldnt get it anywhere,,no where supplied this oil or its equivelent,so he bit the bullet and bought the bloody expensive correct oil from honda,its like water its that thin,,the stuff that came out wasnt smelly and was clear,,the stuff that went in wasnt smelly and also was clear,,the noise went away??i was amazed!

[chewbacca5000]

i think up untill the late 60s or 70s,,the GM automatic dexron spec oil contained whale oil for its anti rusting properties,,ive never seen a rusty whale so it must be true?

I guess you see the friendliest people driving a honda unless you are a whale.

[Muckinfuss]

I've been using ATF not only in forks, but in bikes I've owned with wet primary case/clutch designs.  Never, ever had a problem with either.  Fork oil viscosity is primary in managing the damping characteristics designed into the fork.  Of consideration is the weight being carried by the bike.  Heavy means different damping is necessary than light.  Anti-foaming and shear are also considerations, but almost any ATF is over engineered in those...so not to worry.

Not all ATF is the same viscosity.  Perhaps this will help:

VI is viscosity index and speaks to viscosity stability as temperatures change. Higher is more resistant to change with temperature.

Transmission fluid viscosity is normally rated at 40C, while engine oils are rated at 100C. And, as already pointed out, the viscosity scales for gear oil and engine oils are different.

Viscosities are in cSt - centistokes - and are essentially a timed flow thru a cup with a hole in it, just like paint.

VI Vis@40C Vis@100C
.............8.3 = Honda CVT Fluid
.............7.6 = Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF

198 33.5 7.5 = Redline D4 ATF Dexron III / Mercon / API GL-4
.............7.4 = Mobil 1 Synthetic Dexron/Mercon
197 32.5 7.2 = Redline Synthetic ATF Dexron II / Mercon
.............7.1 = Mobil 1 Synthetic Multi-vehicle ATF
138 40.5 7.1 = AMSOIL Ford type F auto trans fluid
168 37.4 6.8 = AMSOIL Automatic Transmission Fluid ATF
..........5.5-6 = Ford Mercon SP

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

I'm thinking along 2 lines here. Anti-foaming and better sealing through slight rubber expansion with ATF or fork oil.