1997 f350 powerstroke lubracation

[longjohn73]

Hello all this is a great site I am glad I found it. I have a quick question. I have a 1997 f350 with a 7.3 powerstroke and a 5 speed trans. What is the recomended oil for the 5 speed trans,front and rear axels and the transfer case? any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks longjohn73

[gonecheenin]

I have the same truck and have found from my research

mercon V for the tranny & t-case

80w 90 for the front diff

85w 140 for the rear

and i am gonna be running full sythetic Amsoil ATF & gear lube in all those
(especially the tranny since i have heard and seen that the sychronizers like to go in the ZF models)

I've got most of the fluids gathered up but haven't had a chance to change them yet (only had the truck for 3000 miles so far)

[mschn99]

u are right....except the rear diff. the rear diff takes 75-140 full synthetic. 85-140 will probably not hurt anything, as long as its a full synthetic.

as far as the t-case.....regular mercon or dextron is all they take.......Marc

[overl0rd]

Originally Posted by mschn99

u are right....except the rear diff. the rear diff takes 75-140 full synthetic. 85-140 will probably not hurt anything, as long as its a full synthetic.

as far as the t-case.....regular mercon or dextron is all they take.......Marc

Full syn? and 75-140? Is that just for limited slips? I drained 80-90 dino out of my 3.55 open and refilled it with the same. That was 30K ago, no problems.

[mschn99]

Originally Posted by overl0rd

Full syn? and 75-140? Is that just for limited slips? I drained 80-90 dino out of my 3.55 open and refilled it with the same. That was 30K ago, no problems.

if i remember right it was 96 that they went to full synthetic........and if its a limited slip, it also takes friction modifyer............Marc

[longjohn73]

Thanks for the help! I just purchased the truck and finding a chilton manuel for it is like finding a needle in a hay stack. Like I said it is a 97' F 350 regular cab 5 speed and it has 76k original miles on it and the farmer that purchased it new (a one owner truck) had the oil changed every 2000 miles with rotella 15-40w he had the reciepts. So far I have added a K&N intake. I love the truck! I am getting 18 miles to the gallon on the highway. Anyway thanks again to all that replied. longjohn73

[Radio Flyer]

You can run 80-90 regular gear oil in the rear differential, but if you tow heavy Ford recommends the 75-140 synthetic, or equivalent.

The transmission and t-case take plain old transmission fluid, like DexronIII/Mercon. No need to run Mercon V.

The front differential will be perfectly happy with regular 80-90 gear oil.

If your rear differential is limited slip you'll probably need to add some friction modifier. Start with just the oil and turn tight figure-8 circles and see if you get some chatter. If you do, add 1/4 bottle of the additive at a time and drive it a few miles, then repeat the tight figure-8 circles. Once the chatter goes away completely you're all set and don't need any more additive, unless you want a tighter diff, then go easy on the additive but keep in mind the clutches will wear faster without it.

Hope this helps,

Dan-