Conventional Gear Oil Thermal Range

Rut Row

Geezer in Training
Supporting Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2022
Messages
281
Location
North of Keedysville, MD
My Google Fu is failing me today. What is the thermal operating range of conventional gear oil? At what temperature does it start breaking down?
 
Its operating range is what your Jeep does. It breaks down when you're too lazy to change it. DON'T BE LAZY.

EXcuuuse me! Woke up on the wrong side of the bed again today? :ROFLMAO: Or maybe it is getting close to your annual shot of ... from Momma? :rolleyes:

I'm breaking in gears and wondering what "too hot" is in farenheit.
 
Follow proper break in. Then change it.done. if its generating excess heat I'd be worried about an install problem not about oil breakdown.

From Randy's r&p-

Running 250° to 275° is normal for new differentials during the break-in period. It is critical to not tow or take long road trips for first 500 miles as this builds additional heat. At 300° the diff is considered too hot and it should be allowed to cool.
 
There is some discussion about break-in temperatures here.

thanks. My main goal is still to find specs about the oil. It frustrates me that Valvoline doesn't show anywhere what their optimal thermal range is for the oil. I've emailed Valvoline but am not expecting a response.

Their SDS says:
Boiling point/boiling range : > 424.9 °F / 218.3 °C (1013.333 hPa)
Flash point : 394 - 480 °F / 201 - 249 °C

So the 300 degree reference above is reasonable. I'm tired of Googling and give up.
 
Last edited:
amazing that they answered.

Valvoline Product Support answered:

"Thank you for your interest in our products and your question! We don't list a thermal operating temperature for our passenger car/ light duty truck automotive grade gear oils, however we did reach out to our product formulator to try and get a good answer for you. The operating temperature range our formulator provided for our Valvoline High Performance 80W-90 Gear Oil is -15°F up to 217°F."