Fulvia Gearbox Oil

[Tim Ray]

I contacted a Lancia specialist in the UK to ask their advice on what oil I should be using in the Fulvia gearbox.Their response was "if you want the best, we recommend Mobil  fully synthetic gearbox oil." I translated that to be Mobil 1 SHC 75w90. Not exactly cheap!
I contacted Smith and Allan in Darlington  www.smithandallan.com and asked their opinion on using fully or semi synthetic gearbox oils in a Fulvia. They sell several options and I have used this company on several occasions for various products.
They replied saying, that having checked the original Fulvia data, they could not recommend either the semi or fully synthetic oils. The reason being that "the original spec. is a mineral oil to API GL3, which is a very mild additive oil. All synthetic gearbox oils are to API GL4 or GL5, meaning much higher sulphur levels, deeming them inappropriate for use in your Lancia"
They went on to say that if I couldn't find a direct replacement for the original spec. "a low specced monograde engine oil may suffice." They offered to suggest an oil if required.
They finish off by saying " don't let anyone tell you GL4 or GL5 will be OK, because it won't be over time. The "time" was not specified.
Next stop www.mobile.co.uk  to see what they had to say.
The only possible information relevant to a Fulvia I could find was under Applications where it states "not intended for automatic, manual or semi-automatic transmissions for which engine oil is recommended" which I think Smith and Allan are saying.
Does anybody have any thoughts on the matter? Could I be possibly be handing on a problem to future owners/generations.
Regards
Tim

[roddy]

Hello Tim

That information is most interesting.  I am of an age when Hypoy 90 meant something, whereas GL4 and GL5 took a little longer to learn........   GL4 is really for conventional (in line) gearboxes, whereas the Fulvia box with its integral final drive needs GL5 for is hypoid gearing pressures.  For over 25 years I have used Mobil 1 SHC in an S2 box, without any problems - I don't think! - and recently purchased some Redline 75/90 GL5 (again, full synthetic and not cheap).

Do please post any further relevant information you manage to get on sulphur levels and reactions, etc. as we never really stop learning, do we?

Regards - Roddy 

[nistri]

I don't know if it helps answering the question, however, as advised by the late Barry Waterhouse more than 15 years ago, all my Fulvias (S1 and S2) use 75W-90 oil with no problem whatsoever. I do know a few friends who run their Fulvias with 80W-90 with the result of having a bagpipe noise in top gear. When the oil is changed (hopefully at regular intervals), it is important to drain it from both holes, Andrea

[lancialulu]

Hi Tim

I followed the mobil route for both my Fulvias (1600 5 speed)and a previous s21300. I have nothing adverse to report on this and my Sport has done 12000 miles since last change. The benefit as i see it is that fully synthetic will not degrade over time (which marches on in the life of a classic car) - just with use.

The reason for gear selection was to try to improve 1st gear to second when cold. Interestingly this only was a problem on the 1300, where the mobil oil made a marginal improvement. On both 1600's this has never been an issue. Strange as the sam gearbox design....

Tim

[peterbaker]

I don't know if it helps answering the question, however, as advised by the late Barry Waterhouse more than 15 years ago, all my Fulvias (S1 and S2) use 75W-90 oil with no problem whatsoever. I do know a few friends who run their Fulvias with 80W-90 with the result of having a bagpipe noise in top gear. When the oil is changed (hopefully at regular intervals), it is important to drain it from both holes, Andrea

Why are there two drain holes?

[nistri]

Because the gearbox floor is not flat and it would be difficult to drain all the oil, Andrea