VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1912-1928 600W gear lube

I recently started looking for a modern equivalent for 600W gear lube. Yesterday, I was given a phone hookup with someone at Chevron back east by our local jobber. He said that the modern oil "Cylinder Oil W460" is the same as the old 600W. Anyone know different?

Thanks,
Bob D.

Bob
make it easy on yourself http://www.20schevyparts.com/
ask for JG Special #99 gear lube 600w
designed for antique cars gear boxes, transmissions, differentials, and steering gears

thats what I did.

Ken

Mobil 600W is still produced. I bought a 5 gallon drum of it and my 1927 LM truck loves it in the steering box, tranny, and rear end.

I asked the VCCA Tech Advisor about it and he gave his blessing. For more info about this lubricant, see: http://www.exxonmobil.com/Poland-English/Marine/PDS/GLXXENMRNEMMobil600WSuperCylinderOil.aspx

Cheers, Dean

600wt is what was used in steam engines years ago. It is acually lard oil with preservatives and some petroleum additives. Lard oil was what machine shops used to cut threads and machine parts also. Here is the good thing about it. It is compatable with water! in other words it will cling to the parts and block water so parts won't rust so if you get consensation in the trans or rear end the parts will be well protected even if some water gets inside. It also contains no sulpher so it won't let sulfuric acid form and eat the bronze bushings out of your tranny like modern type gear oils which contain sulpher as an anti-shear additive can. It also keeps its lubricating properties at high temps which is why it was used in steam engines. The stuff you buy today is basicly the same as it was years ago and is still used in power plants on steam turbins to this day. Last year a power plant north of Terre Haute Indiana had an oily discharge it released into the Wabash river. I saw it on TV and recognized it as steam oil I own a steamboat and have seen the same residue if I ran the displacement oiler too much. so I called the TV station and let them know. The EPA later said it wasn't as bad as if it had been petroleum oil and no cleanup was ordered but the power plant did send a boat to skim it somewhat anyway to be a good neighbor. I have a 5 gallon bucket of the Chevron 460 for the steamer and they did tell me when I bought it it was the same as 600wt. In my 28 I use Lubriplate 600wt. Slickest stuff going. Just to clear up one thing, Steam cylinder oil is not to be confused with what used to be called cylinder oil. In the early days motor oil was called mineral type cylinder oil and oil for steam engines was called steam cylinder or steam chest oil. Steam oil is never to be used in a gas engine as it will gunk up in the rings because of the very high heat of the piston kind of like the gunky oil residue left in popcorn poppers and deep fryers. It also gets gummy if it sits too long and the smell of it changes with age. I have to add fresh steam oil to my steam engine every year and roll the engine over to keep it from getting gummed up. It is great for preserving parts on the shelf!

Call the Filling Station in Lebanon, Oregon or go here: www.fillingstation.com

They have the 600W in stock!

Hi all,
Thanks for the answers. I have been waiting for our local jobber to get the price before I gave you all the last report on this subject.

The reason for my search was to find a less expensive source for the oil Matilda needs.

My 1931 fire truck used 600W in its gear boxes. I had a half full pump lubricator of 600W that a friend gave me in 1991 which he had used on his Cat years ago. I used the last of my stock when I drained and replaced all of Matilda's old lubricants. I had to buy a couple of quarts of 600W from The Filling Station to finish the job. Then, a couple of you folks informed me that she was to be lubed with 600W at all of her joints. (Due to the thick covering of paint over every Alamite fitting it was apparent that her chassis had NEVER been lubed except her steering box and her universal joint ball in at least the past 37 years!!!)

The sources I found had prices ranging from $6.95 up $9.00 a quart. You have to add shipping and handling to that price and that is $7.00 minimum at the one source I have been using.

The only oil dealer here in town gets Chevron products. They will get me a 5 gallon bucket of their Cylinder Oil W460 for $62.60 and no freight if I wait for their "regular" restocking shipment (could be 2 month wait depending on their ordering needs). Their price works out to $3.13 a quart.

Needless to say, since no one here said NO, I have a bucket coming. I probably will not use it all before I kick the bucket but I will leave instructions for that bucket to go with the car when my wife or kids sell it. LOL

Bob D.

That was true when the car was new, however, if you would like to see your garage floor nicely coated with a cool black slick oil then lube all of the joints with 600W. A better method is to lube all of the car's joints with chassis grease instead. The 600W should still be used in the transmission and rear end. And the steering box can be a mixed blend of 600W and chassis grease.

Like the dog says, I mix chassis grease and heavy oil in steering boxes also. Seems to work fine and I haven't had them leak very much if anything. I know some cars like Dads 21 490 had oil cups on the king bolts which took "heavy oil" only, but I am sure it would run out in short order. I know when I was cleaning the front axle and steering knuckle area on the 490 when I was about 10-12 years old, it sure was caked from the old heavy oil leaking out and collecting road dust. It was fresh out of the barn back then parked since 1930. One solution might be have a fitting where you can use chassis grease and then put the oil cups back on if yours uses those. From that point, heavy oil could still be used sparingly, just have to wipe everything down a few days after oiling. I remember when as a kid greasing and changing oil on Dads 69 Chevy Impala every 3000 miles, then I was trying to figure out how anyone would get gun grease in the cups on the 490! Dad cleared it up for me after he saw me studying the arraingement for quite some time. The cups on his car have twist tops on the king bolts to keep the dust out and then when twisted the small hole opens up to put oil in. I think the spring shakles had flip top cups on the shakle bolts. That is not a bad price on the Chevron oil. I think I paid around $50-$60 for 5 gallon bucket over 15 years ago. They could order it in as a "sample" is what I was told by the Amaco/Marathon jobber I went through.

Found this topic very helpful as I try to figure out just what to use in my '31 tranny/U-joint, rear-end, steering box, and misc chassis joints. Have used chassis grease for chassis joints, but still looking for the recipe for the tranny, rear-end and steering box. Have searched FS site and haven't found 600W (may be a problem shipping internationally anyway), but would like to find a local source of something equivalent, or a recipe.
A Model A owner uses Castrol 75W140 in his tranny, a match to discontinued GM #12346140, but it appears too thin an oil for what I expected(NAPA locally has synthetic Quaker State 75w140).
So what I would like from Bob or Dawg (or others)is a recipe for mixing chassis grease and heavy oil to get the approximate proper consistency for these applications. i.e. half and half, or what. Heavy oil I have (about 150Wt)ran out of steering box in about 24 hours due likely to bushings being a bit worn and oil not being thick enough. Any advice appreciated as usual!

I would use the 150 in the transmission, U-joint and rear end. You could use some of the 150 and chassis grease mixed for the steering box.

I purchase Lubriplate 600W 5 gal pail form F. Bacon in Montreal. Way cheaper than purchasing by the quart from the US. http://www.f-bacon.com/main.cfm?l=en&p=04_100

Look up SPO-299

Could not find a supplier for Lubriplate in my area, so SPO-299 not available here. AM, when chassis grease and heavy oil are mixed together, do they stay mixed or does the grease settle/seperate out over time? I may have to try a little experiment to see what consistency looks right. My problem is I don't know what the original 600W looked like? Am tempted to order a gallon from Gary Wallace, but expect shipping would double the price ($42/gal). I can buy 5 gallons of 150W locally for about $85.

I use track roller grease for these types of applications. It is a semi-fluid grease and could be available from Cat dealers or anyone specializing on old crawler tractors/dozers. Great for old steering boxes too. Shell do it and I would think there will be others.

Regards
Al

The SPO-299 is not only thick but sticky like honey. I found modern oils are not sticky and tend to run easier, which for our leaky cars is not a good thing.

Gunsmoke,

I mixed 90 wt. oil and bearing grease about 50/50 for my '34s steering box. Like yours it leaked before with a thinner mixture. The mix above has not leaked and the steering seems to be fine.

My recently purchased 490 leaks a lot of trans oil. What would happen if a previous owner or servicer had put modern 90w in? Would it leak a lot more readily?

90W is water compared to 600W.