Tranny gear oil

[martyandcaryl@charter.net]

I had a conversation with Nick this morning about how we like using
Amsoil and then about our Spring Valley S/I with Mr. Wave, to make a
long story and question short, when I returned home and checked the
water tranny oil level, it was about ? inch low, and the land tranny
was more full than when I started. What's going on here, Nick thinks
there is a seal allowing passage of gear oil between the water tranny
to the land tranny while in use, Nick has seen this too.
Marty
BUOYANT '64 in WI

 

[David Chapman]

Yes there is a seal, it's around the main shaft and can fail, symptoms are
as you say. The good news is you don't need to remove the trannie to change
it, just drain the water box and you can then undo a bolt and remove a cog
on the end of the main driveshaft, the bad news is there are at least 2
different types, and one is an incredibly tight fit, broke a couple of my
pullers and in the end I had to grind it off. Best talk to Hugh, he knows
about this.

David Chapman

>to the land tranny while in use, Nick has seen this too.

 

[Marc Schlemmer]

I had the same problem with my tranny a couple years ago.....oil finding
it's way from the water side to the land side. The problem didn't show up
until I changed to Amsoil. It may just be a coincidence, but that is when I
noticed the problem.
I looked at it as proving that Amsoil got places the regular oil
didn't....and that the problem would have shown up soon anyway, so I didn't
care nor blame the Amsoil. The benefits of the Amsoil far outweighed having
to replace the seal (which obviously needed replacing anyway!) Since then,
Amphi has shifted easier and smoother...even in cold weather...than ever
before. Amphi shifts as good in January as he does in July.
As D.C. said....changing the seal in the car worked fine. The only problem
I had was getting the nut off the end of the main shaft - the whole car
wanted to roll instead of the nut coming loose. After about an hour of
trying, finally we used an electric impact wrench. The nut practically
jumped off! I guess the bang-bang-bang effect is far better than the steady
pressure of a breaker bar and socket.

All hail to Amsoil!
Marc Schlemmer.

 

[Bill Connelly]

I had a conversation with Nick this morning about how we like using
Amsoil and then about our Spring Valley S/I with Mr. Wave, to make a
long story and question short, when I returned home and checked the
water tranny oil level, it was about ? inch low, and the land tranny
was more full than when I started. What's going on here, Nick thinks
there is a seal allowing passage of gear oil between the water tranny
to the land tranny while in use, Nick has seen this too.
Marty
BUOYANT '64 in WI

=-=-=-=-=-=-

I also experienced something similar some years ago, particularly after
really long road trips, like of a few hundred miles or more, but with mine
it was of oil migrating from the land TO the water tranny instead of vice
versa. This has since all but ceased as far as I can tell from annual
tranny oil changes and spot checks after particularly long trips, like to
the Swim-Ins or to Billy and Randy Syx's place in Jersey from where I live,
in Virginia. Apart from a really faulty seal, one other likely reason for
this "lubricant nomadism" I heard from somewhere (Hugh?...at one of the
Swim-Ins?...I forget) is that it may have had something to do with the
orientation of the vanes on the filler caps, which would at certain speeds
direct a torrent of gear oil directly AT the seal. I suppose in my case it
is quite possible that a seal that otherwise does its job adequately under
little or no pressure might let a bit trickle past if the pressure of a
stream of oil were pointed directly at it by the filler cap vanes.
Nowadays, I always seat the vane flanges (the part that mates with the cap
top) to match the two grooves on the filler spout, and since then I've had
no problems, so I suppose I must be doing something right. I was also told
there were originally painted markings of some sort on the caps to help
orient them correctly, but any such markings, if they ever existed, are long
gone on my caps.

In short, before ripping apart your trannies, you might want to first check
or experiment with the positioning of the filler caps and, as they say,
"observe the effect on performance". As for AMSOIL, unlike many other
standard gear lubes, there's no chlorine in AMSOIL's offerings, so it should
actually be much kinder to your seals over the long haul.

~Bilgemaster~

 

[martyandcaryl@charter.net]

--- In amphicar-lovers@y..., "Bill Connelly" <billiam@e...> wrote:
> land tranny was more full than when I started. What's going on
here, Marty
>
> =-=-=-=-=-=-
>
> I also experienced something similar some years ago, particularly
after really long road trips, ~Bilgemaster~

Bill:
That's a good thought, I will be sure my cap is lined up with the
notches mating and recheck the oil levels after a few long swims.
We enjoy the difference Amsoil had made in our Amphi and will
continue using it here and other vehicles.
Marty