# Gear box oil type.



## dcinma (Dec 13, 2017)

Why does Toro not recommend synthetic gear oil for the auger gear box?


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

go by what the owners manual recommends.


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## Oneacer (Jan 3, 2011)

Curious, what year machine are we talking about?


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## JLawrence08648 (Jan 15, 2017)

My guesses, they don't recognize synthetic as being better, nor necessary, more costly to put in initially and not necessary, they may feel no greater performance so why, it's thinner and flows better so it may seep through the seals or bypass the seals, may not have the correct consistency they like.


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## Yanmar Ronin (Jan 31, 2015)

Ya... probably less tendency to leak, and perfectly sufficient.


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## WrenchIt (Dec 6, 2020)

If you match the weight of the oil, and your synthetic has all the approvals that the manual requires, I would not expect it to have a tendency to leak more than the oem oil.


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## Yanmar Ronin (Jan 31, 2015)

It's a funny thing, I've played with it and some machines are fine, and some leaked like a sieve. All in good condition... so I dunno.

It doesn't hurt to try and see, you can always switch back.


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

I have put grease in gearboxes that leak oil because the seals are NLA. Have never had one fail yet............now one will. ( Murphy's Law )


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## WrenchIt (Dec 6, 2020)

Yanmar Ronin said:


> It's a funny thing, I've played with it and some machines are fine, and some leaked like a sieve.


Where were the leaks? The cover? The auger shaft seals?

Seems to me that most leaks are repairable - thought it might not be worth the time and effort to stop a v. small drip.

Didn't old time mechanics once advocate adding potato soup to a radiator and running the car to staunch a leak? Too bad things are not as simple as they once were....


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## UNDERTAKER (Dec 30, 2013)

80/90 Gear Oil, The Seals Will Not Hold The Other Stuff.


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