Transfer case Oil

[Chris@FreedomMotorsports]

I kinda think its just a case of developing a better job specific oil over the years. There is nothing special in the tc (like clutch plates etc) Mercon v works...but the t-case oil lasts longer


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This is true. As manufacturers move forward in development and testing, they sometimes find that a different viscosity lube works better than another. That is the main difference between the different fluids for the TC.

 

[Ruger]

@ogdobber and @Chris@FreedomMotorsports:

The properties of Ford Transfer Case Fluid are evidently a ********* proprietary secret. If we don't know what it is, how can we compare it with anything?

 

[Humvee21]

I tried to compare the Motorcraft XL-12 vs the Valvoline Transfer Case Fluid (XL-12 compatible) but couldn't find any good data to compare. Nevertheless, I decided to run the Valvoline anyway since it does specifically state the fluid is XL-12 compatible and it is a full synthetic, which gives me a little more comfort.

One thing to note is I have only needed 4wd a handful of times and 4lo maybe 2 or 3 times. My transfer case fluid still looked good and did not have any bad or burnt smell to it at 75k miles. Still glad I changed out that old fluid though!

http://content.valvoline.com/pdf/transfer_case_fluid.pdf
https://www.fcsdchemicalsandlubricants.com/main/msds/us179944us.pdf

 

[Ruger]

@Humvee21, your transfer case operates whenever your truck is in motion - 2WD or 4WD. You might want to replace the factory fill plug with a magnetic one. I did when I changed the fluid, and 35K miles later when I changed the fluid again the magnet was covered with metal particles.

We don't know what Ford Transfer Case Fluid is. It might be synthetic, it might not be. It might be rhinoceros spit for all we know. Ford won't tell.

 

[Humvee21]

@Humvee21, your transfer case operates whenever your truck is in motion - 2WD or 4WD. You might want to replace the factory fill plug with a magnetic one. I did when I changed the fluid, and 35K miles later when I changed the fluid again the magnet was covered with metal particles.

We don't know what Ford Transfer Case Fluid is. It might be synthetic, it might not be. It might be rhinoceros spit for all we know. Ford won't tell.

That's strange, I thought it did have a magnetic drain plug. I might be getting that confused with the rear diff as I did those both at the same time. And you're right. There's literally such little data on the XL-12 fluid that you can't compare to anything. The Valvoline was the only one I could find that stated XL-12 compatible though.

 

[Ruger]

@Humvee21, I got my magnetic drain plugs here:

MAGNETIC DRAIN PLUGS