Does My Gear Take ATF?
Along with changing your lube oil and filter haul out is
a convenient time to check the lubricant in your reversing
gear. Be advised that not all marine gears necessarily
take transmission fluid. For instance many Yanmar engines
use the same type of oil for engine and transmission. With Universal
engines that have Hurth gears you do use Automatic Transmission
Fluid.
On a Yanmar engine the type of lubricant used in the reversing gear
is stamped on the bell housing. On a Universal/Westerbeke the
lubricant type is on a plaque that is attached to the gear.
If your engine is older and you can’t find the lubricant
information refer to the appropriate service manual.
As with lube oil there are certain specifications and grades
that you should use. For instance Universal advises using
“Automatic Transmission Fluid, ‘ATF Type A Oil Only’
according to specification Dexron II (General Motors) and M2
C33 G (Ford)”
The ATF standards mainly have to do with the requirements of auto makers. The majority of applications use the Dexron specification.
There are particular ATF’s for Chrysler and Ford products. Most
marine applications use the Dexron specification, if the gear takes
ATF.
The standards that a fluid meets will be printed on the
outside of the container. Just match requirements of the gear to
standards on the container.
When adding lubricant you can either top the gear off, or
drain it and add all new fluid. Gears take on the order of
.25 quarts to just over a quart. You should always use the
same type of lubricant. Finally, to check the level, the
dipstick should just be inserted and not screwed in.
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