Will Castrol Syntec SAE 75w-90 gear oil work for the gear casings on my ATV? The book calls for Honda SAE 80 hypoid gear oil but that stuff costs 4x what the Castrol does.

 

I run Valvoline 80W90 Semi-Blend gear oil in my Quad and the chain drive for my Sled. The stuff works perfectly! I change the oil every 500 miles on the quad and once a season on the sled.

On the quad - I do it that often due to that fact that the diffs get in the water etc. When I change it in the sled, the oil almost doesn't need to be changed... even after 1500-1800 miles of ripping along it is in good shape! But that sucker only takes 8 ounces.. so 1 quart last me 4 YEARS! haha..

Once I run out of the semi-blend stuff I have, I am going to switch to full sythetic.

 

Never heard of a case were Full synthetic was not superior to convectional in every way but price.

My NGK br9es from a dealership always cost twice as much as a NGK br9es from walmart,

Don,t buy groceries at a corner store like 7/11 because its 4x the price of a department store also.

 

You need to post in the Honda forum. A non-Honda owner might stear you wrong!

First and foremost, the oil must be HYPOID specific. Hypoid gears are very hard on oil, so it needs a very robust anti-wear additive package. As I recall, either GL4 or GL5 is ok. Honda's own oil is called Shaft Drive Oil and is 80W85. The diff and final drive only take a scant few ounces and don't need to (usually) be changed very often, so I can't see why price would ever be an issue for anybody who can already afford the purchase price of even a used quad.

Personally, I run Maxima ester based 100% Syntlhetic Gear Oil, 75W90. In my Ranchers I change it about twice a year, and once a year in the 250's.

 

can you use castrol ep 90 gear oil for honda rancher? in the books says SAE 80w-90 or honda shaft drive oil but dont have those in the camp