• Don't miss out on all the fun! Register on our forums to post and have added features! Membership levels include a FREE membership tier.

diamond drive oil

snowblind

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Nov 26, 2007
503
85
28
los angeles
www.mtnX.com
what is it and what else can we use. I like to support Cat and Diamond Drive, but I am doing 20 drives a season and at $1 per once with most of them needing 15oz, I am spending 290 on fluid, that should las than a quart ofRoyal Pulple race oil in my head.

I have heard Hydraulic fluid, but I have trouble believing it

chris
 
S
Feb 21, 2009
810
91
28
56
believe it

The napa hydraulic tractor case oil works great. Somewhere someone had the arctic dd oil tested and it came back hydro oil. If catipillar uses it in there heavy equipment it works for me, the price is right, but I'm sure the others work to. check the msds sheets on it..
 

snowblind

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Nov 26, 2007
503
85
28
los angeles
www.mtnX.com
thanks guys, I never thought about an alternative until I used my 12th bottle this season and have some track swaps to do and gear changes. plus I have to ship it from either cat or BDX.
thanks
chris
 

SoDakCat

Active member
Lifetime Membership
Nov 26, 2007
304
36
28
Stickney SD
I used Case IH hytran for few years and had good luck. Its cheap so I dont feel bad about changing more often. Ive used AmsOil and have had about the same results for what the oil looks like for flakes and color when i change flush the case and fill it back up. I think someone on HCS did some big writeup on it. I use hytran just because its cheap and we have about 100 gal of it at our farm so a couple of oz. wont be missed.
 
L

lightening800

Well-known member
Sep 4, 2004
1,381
167
63
northern alberta
i have used a synthetic manual trans fluid many times with no issues also, any oil that is used in a gear case of some kind would be fine, a manual trans has high gear and brg pressures so really a fluid for that type of application should be fine.
 

Paul27

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Dec 25, 2008
119
81
28
Reno, NV
2020 update. Used Amsoil "Chaincase and Gear Oil" in my Arctic 2009 M8 and 2011 HCR DD for many years. Both had DD machine work for proper clearance, and a SKF 3203 bearing (which is same size, newer, and much stronger than a 5203). Changed oil this Spring (2020), after five years and 500 miles per sled. The oil was like new. Clean and clear, with only a black smudge on the after-market magnetic drain plug. No sparkles, flakes, or chips.

Agree with Lightening800 (above): transmission fluid / hydraulic oil should work fine, as long as it's synthetic and a high-quality brand.
 

MI1M600EFI

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Premium Member
Nov 15, 2008
298
117
43
50
Mancos, CO
I mix oils for the diamond drive on my sled and the chain case on my wife's sled: 50/50 synthetic Supertec 75W90 and Valvoline synthetic Max Life ATF. Been running this mix for years. No issues ever. Still looks new when I drain it every couple of years. FWIW, On the motor oil scale, 75W90 is about 30wt, and ATF is a 10wt. Synthetic means it flows better when cold, and doesn't break down as fast if it gets really hot. Honestly, I think just about anything oily would work fine... Our motorcycles have gears and bearings, same as a diamond drive, and they get the same Rotella that the engine uses, since it's all one big case. Some manual transmissions use ATF, as to chain drive transfer cases. Or they can use gear lube... Or funky manual trans fluid. It's all oil. For transmissions, the fiberous synchros don't like sulfer, so as long as you stay away from dinosaur squishin's, it's all good. :)
 

Coldfinger

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Nov 26, 2007
2,351
538
113
Nebraska
My understanding when using gear oil is that you should use a GL-4 (maybe lower ones are ok too) because of the yellow metal in the DD.
 

Paul27

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Dec 25, 2008
119
81
28
Reno, NV
Agree with Readymedic, Royal Purple makes very good lubricants, and their 100% synthetic ATF should work great in a Diamond Drive.

MI1M600EFI's home brew lube makes sense (50/50 synthetic Supertec 75W90 and Valvoline synthetic Max Life ATF) in terms of
viscosity, 20 wt overall. I think that's the same as the Amsoil Synthetic Snowmobile Gear Lube I use. Our Diamond Drives spin so fast and operate in the cold, so thin is important. Non-foaming is also important. Mixing synthetic oils is normally not a problem, and as proven by MI1M600EFI's experience. However some older type synthetics are not compatible with modern / best PAO synthetics, and chemical additive packages occasionally can conflict. Don't see any advantage to using 50% Dino oil in the Supertec, other than to save cost.

Agree with Coldfinger, we shouldn't use hypoid gear lubes with
sulfur / phosphorous extreme pressure EP additives for sliding (hypoid) differential gears. Some of those additives can damage brass / bronze. GL-5 has more EP as compared to GL-4.

Overall, IMO thin
Synthetic lube is very important in a Diamond Drive due to: 1) the huge temperature range from cold starts to long, hard pulls, 2) very high-rpm Diamond Drive operation, 3) PAO synthetics are less-affected (less damaged) by water contamination, as compared to any other types of oil, and 4) Synthetics have 10 times the film strength of Dino oils, as needed for the heavily-loaded 3203 bearing.

If you continue to have Diamond Drive problems, reducing the thrust load on the 3203 bearing is also important. The tunnel / track driveshaft mis-match many of us suffered is fixable. And any bearing / lube combination works better / lasts longer with less load.

Good luck, happy holidays & safe riding!
 
M

meierjn

New member
Nov 11, 2008
80
4
8
Agree with Readymedic, Royal Purple makes very good lubricants, and their 100% synthetic ATF should work great in a Diamond Drive.

MI1M600EFI's home brew lube makes sense (50/50 synthetic Supertec 75W90 and Valvoline synthetic Max Life ATF) in terms of
viscosity, 20 wt overall. I think that's the same as the Amsoil Synthetic Snowmobile Gear Lube I use. Our Diamond Drives spin so fast and operate in the cold, so thin is important. Non-foaming is also important. Mixing synthetic oils is normally not a problem, and as proven by MI1M600EFI's experience. However some older type synthetics are not compatible with modern / best PAO synthetics, and chemical additive packages occasionally can conflict. Don't see any advantage to using 50% Dino oil in the Supertec, other than to save cost.

Agree with Coldfinger, we shouldn't use hypoid gear lubes with
sulfur / phosphorous extreme pressure EP additives for sliding (hypoid) differential gears. Some of those additives can damage brass / bronze. GL-5 has more EP as compared to GL-4.

Overall, IMO thin
Synthetic lube is very important in a Diamond Drive due to: 1) the huge temperature range from cold starts to long, hard pulls, 2) very high-rpm Diamond Drive operation, 3) PAO synthetics are less-affected (less damaged) by water contamination, as compared to any other types of oil, and 4) Synthetics have 10 times the film strength of Dino oils, as needed for the heavily-loaded 3203 bearing.

If you continue to have Diamond Drive problems, reducing the thrust load on the 3203 bearing is also important. The tunnel / track driveshaft mis-match many of us suffered is fixable. And any bearing / lube combination works better / lasts longer with less load.

Good luck, happy holidays & safe riding!

Glad to see that you are still on this forum! I read a lot of your old post years ago when I was rebuilding my Diamond Drive. Thank you!
 

Paul27

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Dec 25, 2008
119
81
28
Reno, NV
Bought a larger trailer, and another M-8. Can't quit now!

We had fantastic sledding in the Sierras last winter. Hoping for another good year.
 

Attachments

  • 2020-04-11 Yuba Pass.jpg
    2020-04-11 Yuba Pass.jpg
    1.1 MB · Views: 16
Premium Features