# Gearbox Oil Weight??



## kb0nly (Sep 22, 2011)

I have a 1973 Craftsman Model # 536-82565 and somewhere in the last couple years i lost the manual for it... Doh..

Anyone know what oil weight should be in the auger gear case? It has the cast iron case with a fill and drain plug, i know its been two seasons since i changed it, forgot last year but checked level and it was ok so wasn't too worried. 

Wanted to put in fresh oil this year, not sure what weight should be in there though!

Any source for manuals for these older machines? Been google searching for about two days now, no luck.


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## Snowmann2011 (Apr 5, 2011)

I have a 76 Gilson and was told by one of the local repair shops to use 80/90 gear oil in mine. Couldnt imagine that it would be much different for your machine sine the shop say they use that in all the machines they do. 

Hope it helps
Cody


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## kb0nly (Sep 22, 2011)

Thats probably a safe bet... I have some on hand so i could refill with that until i hear otherwise. Went to drain it, while draining went to grab manual, and looked and looked and looked... Couldnt find it. Sucks... I had the original manual it came with new and now i can't find it.


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

536.918300 manual says to use SAE 30 in the gearbox, 
536.89515 manual also says to use SAE 30 wt, ditto on 536.918800. You can also use the Sears online function to talk to someone there and they can look it up with the model number if they still have the manual.


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

*Gear Lube*

Just thought of one more thing, it's important too. If you consider using regular gear lube then remember GL-5. Some lube that is GL-5 'certified' will attack bronze gears and bushings in the gearbox.

Check it out before putting it in. Just FYI.


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## kb0nly (Sep 22, 2011)

Ok thanks for the info! I will try asking them about a manual. I never looked inside the gear case, does this old one have bronze gears? I assume so since most of the older ones did.


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## kb0nly (Sep 22, 2011)

Well that didn't work, tried their chat, was linked to this manage my life website that they have all their appliance manuals on, of course the search didn't bring up any results so its a dead end. No manual...


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

AFAIK virtually all 2 stage snowblowers with a gearcase in the auger housing have a bronze or similar gear in them along with bronze bushings on the auger and impeller shafts. Looks like the gear was designed to be the weak link so it would break before a gearcase etc, but that's just a guess on my part, especially since the worm gear looks to be steel. Either that or it's to reduce wear on the various parts.

Only reason I even knew of this was I have a large piece of woodworking equipment with bronze gears in it. It required GL-4 gear lube which does not attack bronze parts but is hard to find. I emailed Valvoline asking their recommendations, they said their GL-5 rated gear lube was formulated somehow so it met the specs but didn't attack bronze parts like regular GL-5 lube will. I've been running that in my planer for 4-5 years and it's been just fine.

Not saying to do or not do gear lube. What I'm saying is if you're considering it, then check carefully before you do and check with the lube manufacturer for any side effects.


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## kb0nly (Sep 22, 2011)

I am going to go with SAE30 motor oil and say the heck with it i guess.. Called Sears support line they said Lubriplate GR-132... I was like why would you recommend lithium grease for a cast iron gear case with fill and drain plugs? He was like huh? I was like dude it has fill and DRAIN plugs, which means FLUID not grease. He was like "sir you have to split the case to clean out and relube it". I asked him how do you intend for me to do that with a sledge hammer? Would make assembly interesting. I then explained AGAIN that it has a CAST IRON gear case with a fill and drain plug and was filled with OIL not grease.

******* hung up on me...

So i called a local sears store, explained whats going on, he again said "all i know is our service book says Lubriplate GR-132"....

So dumping in motor oil.. Good enough


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## Flannelman (Sep 24, 2011)

I dug up an old manual as I don't have the exact one for my 70's model but this is one or two models down the line. It says drain by tipping the machine forward after removing both plugs then fill with 30wt sears oil.


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## Snowmann2011 (Apr 5, 2011)

HCBPH said:


> AFAIK virtually all 2 stage snowblowers with a gearcase in the auger housing have a bronze or similar gear in them along with bronze bushings on the auger and impeller shafts. Looks like the gear was designed to be the weak link so it would break before a gearcase etc, but that's just a guess on my part, especially since the worm gear looks to be steel. Either that or it's to reduce wear on the various parts.
> 
> Only reason I even knew of this was I have a large piece of woodworking equipment with bronze gears in it. It required GL-4 gear lube which does not attack bronze parts but is hard to find. I emailed Valvoline asking their recommendations, they said their GL-5 rated gear lube was formulated somehow so it met the specs but didn't attack bronze parts like regular GL-5 lube will. I've been running that in my planer for 4-5 years and it's been just fine.
> 
> Not saying to do or not do gear lube. What I'm saying is if you're considering it, then check carefully before you do and check with the lube manufacturer for any side effects.


I wish I would have known about the GL-5 before using gear oil, but then when you said you called Valvoline and they told you their GL-5 was ok then I felt better, cause thats the brand gear oil I bought.

I was also told SAE 30 works well too but I figured the gear oil would be a little better. 

So I guess its pretty much a toss up as to what you want to use, gear oil or SAE30. There seem to be a lot of mixed feelings about whats better (as there are for most thigns) LOL. So in the long run as long as you dont buy anything that has GL-5 in it (except for Valvoline) you should be just fine.

Take care
Cody


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## kb0nly (Sep 22, 2011)

Flannelman said:


> I dug up an old manual as I don't have the exact one for my 70's model but this is one or two models down the line. It says drain by tipping the machine forward after removing both plugs then fill with 30wt sears oil.


Thanks for that confirmation! That's what i just did this afternoon. The old oil wasn't too bad, little bit of filings in there, nothing out of the ordinary, just a bit of sludge in the bottom, flushed it out with fresh oil.


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

*GL-5 Lube info*

Believe it or not, I had filed away a copy of the email from Valvoline (technically Ashland oil, but that's just informational). Turns out it was a little further back in time than I remembered but that's even a little better. I've been using that lube in my planer since then and everything is still good regarding the bronze bushings and gears in there.

Here's their reply from back in 2007:
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The Valvoline High Performance Gear Oil 80W90 and 75W90 can be used for both GL4 and GL5. The real concern is the type of sulfate used in the gear oil. You can not use an active sulfate for GL-4 applications. Valvoline uses an inactive sulfate that will not harm any yellow metal such as bronze. This allows our products to be used in manual transmissions that have bronze synchronizers.
=======================================================
Hope that helps set someones mind at ease.

Paul


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

The Ariens manual for mine says 90wt oil for the gearbox. My gearbox is cast iron with steel gears, steel roller bearings on the impeller shaft and bronze bushings on the auger shaft. I have some cheap Coastal oil from Autozone 80w90 and 85w140 and they both say they can be used on tiller gearboxes. I didn't know about the GL-5 attacking bronze, but lately I have seen it come up on a couple different forums.


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