ZF5

[sle2115]

Has anyone ran Royal Purple Synchromax in their ZF5?

I was in the parts store picking up my flywheel and the oil rep was there. I asked him what he would run in a ZF5 for gear lube. He just so happens to have two ZF5 trucks and said he's been running it in them for years with VERY good luck, quiet operation, etc.

I'm going to run ATF first to clean things up (tranny has been sitting a while, but looks very clean inside and out) and then switch to this. I have four quarts on the way to the parts store, should be there tomorrow.

Here's the sales pitch on it:

"Synchromax is a manual transmission fluid that increases performance and the life of your equipment. It improves shifting, reduces gear noise and increases power transfer to the wheels. It also lowers operating temperatures and provides outstanding wear protection for longer transmission life.
Synchromax is recommended for manual transmissions that specify an automatic transmission fluid. It’s also ideal for 4×4 transfer cases and motorcycle gear boxes. Synchromax is fully compatible with all types of friction materials. It provides excellent corrosion and oxidation protection without affecting the soft metals commonly found in manual transmission synchronizers.
Synchromax is formulated with Royal Purple’s proprietary Synerlec technology for unsurpassed performance and protection."

from http://www.royalpurple.com/manual-transmission-fluid.html

I've had good luck with Royal Purple products in the past.

 

[DeepRoots]

huh. a salesman plugs his own product and uses it to good effect.... astounding.

I'm sure it's good stuff, I run mobil1 synthetic atf. I'm sure any synthetic atf would be great for these trans.

 

[6 Nebraska IDIs]

I run Archer in everything on my brown truck. I think you'll be happy with just about any of the reputable synthetics.

 

[sle2115]

huh. a salesman plugs his own product and uses it to good effect.... astounding.

I'm sure it's good stuff, I run mobil1 synthetic atf. I'm sure any synthetic atf would be great for these trans.

He's not a Royal Purple rep...he's an oil salesman with 100's of product lines at his disposal, of them, he plugged this product, there's a difference. I read about it on another forum as well in searching where several guys were running it with good results, I had never heard of it, but when the guys on the forum recommended it, then the rep who has many synthetic lines, some more expensive to choose from said the same...I ordered it.

I've never heard of Archer, but I've read where you use it. I'm not even sure where I would find it. I've run Royal Purple products before and am in fact running several in my truck now, T19, rear axle, etc.

 

[6 Nebraska IDIs]

Yea I've heard nothing but good reports on royal purple.
Archer is a semi local company for me, they are in near Council Bluffs IA and there are dealers all over the place around these parts. The stuff is mainly used in farm and industrial equipment. I figure those guys beat the hell out of their stuff and hardly ever service it on time and are still doing great so it can't be bad. But my grandpa is the one who got my family into using the stuff. His 83 that we still own never had any other oil in it other than Archer and I'm convinced that oil helped it make the 650k+ mark on the odometer.
If you've been using Royal purple, there's no reason to stop now. I'd just keep using what you know.

 

[Sycostang67]

I was using RP ATF in the ZF in my 85. I didn't have any problems with it. It made the usual gear rollover noise. We did start carrying the synchromax at work though, I may try it as well since I still need to change my tranny fluid.

 

[Hybrid455]

Has anyone ran Royal Purple Synchromax in their ZF5?

I was in the parts store picking up my flywheel and the oil rep was there. I asked him what he would run in a ZF5 for gear lube. He just so happens to have two ZF5 trucks and said he's been running it in them for years with VERY good luck, quiet operation, etc.

I'm going to run ATF first to clean things up (tranny has been sitting a while, but looks very clean inside and out) and then switch to this. I have four quarts on the way to the parts store, should be there tomorrow.

Here's the sales pitch on it:

"Synchromax is a manual transmission fluid that increases performance and the life of your equipment. It improves shifting, reduces gear noise and increases power transfer to the wheels. It also lowers operating temperatures and provides outstanding wear protection for longer transmission life.
Synchromax is recommended for manual transmissions that specify an automatic transmission fluid. It’s also ideal for 4×4 transfer cases and motorcycle gear boxes. Synchromax is fully compatible with all types of friction materials. It provides excellent corrosion and oxidation protection without affecting the soft metals commonly found in manual transmission synchronizers.
Synchromax is formulated with Royal Purple’s proprietary Synerlec technology for unsurpassed performance and protection."

from http://www.royalpurple.com/manual-transmission-fluid.html

I've had good luck with Royal Purple products in the past.

Since I have been running the SMF I have a lot of rollover and grunt noise on take off. I'm running MerconV right now but am considering a change myself. I have read that regular 30w motor oil goes a long way to quieting them down but I am not convinced yet. If you try it let me know how it works. If anyone else has any comments along these lines they are appreciated.

 

[sle2115]

Since I have been running the SMF I have a lot of rollover and grunt noise on take off. I'm running MerconV right now but am considering a change myself. I have read that regular 30w motor oil goes a long way to quieting them down but I am not convinced yet. If you try it let me know how it works. If anyone else has any comments along these lines they are appreciated.

It's ordered, but the ZF5 is not installed yet...I'll let you know when that happens and when I switch to the RP.