Urgent! Best Top Up For Hydraulic Gearbox When I Have Run Out Of ATF?!

[Shanaly]

hi i have a borg velvet drive showing vv low on ATF. i have run out and have a 2 hr motor to home port, the only topups i have are nulon 46 used in my steering, and.. water!
what are my options and what are the consequences?!
thanks
J

[Stray-Cat]

Use the hydraulic oil, the nulon 46
No consequences , just drain after and refill with ATF

I have seen atf ,hydralic and motor oil used in transmission's over the years

[capta]

You can use motor oil, 30 weight I know for a fact; multi-grades not sure, but suspect so.
I've run many a yacht and commercial vessel w/ 1 oil in everything. I might empty the ATF first, but that may not be critical in an emergency; later, yes!
Run it dry and you will lose your trany for sure, very quickly.
Good luck.

[shakey doug]

You can use multi grade engine oil as long as input speed is below 3000 rpm.

[Irish rambler]

Lots of good advice from helpful folks, for me I'd use the Nulon to get me home, once back flush out the system with ATF, clean the filter on the bottom r/h side of the g/box and refill with ATF and check regularly. For your onboard spares kit I would recommend a screw on hydraulic pipe repair kit to suit the pipes to the oil cooler. I have in the past brought my boat home (4 hr) on cooking oil ! flushing on return.

[atoll]

i once heard of a landcruiser with a hole in the sump in botswana that lost its oil.

after plugging the hole the boys used what they had in the back of the truck as lubrication................an arm of bannanas!.....i guess they must have peeled them first before pushing them into the oil filler,got them the 200 miles home!

[S/V Alchemy]

Just say no to bananas...

I agree that if you proceed slowly (2000 RPM or less), two hours on 30W is unlikely to do much damage.

Hydraulic would be better, if you can lay hands on it, however. A good choice is AT-4, a Shell product also used in small aircraft landing gear hydraulics. It's what I use in my Marelon hydraulic steering.

[colemj]

Oh please, please, please shove bananas in there and tell us how it worked! Someone must be a pioneer here!

Mark

[atoll]

Originally Posted by colemj

Oh please, please, please shove bananas in there and tell us how it worked! Someone must be a pioneer here!

Mark

it is called "bush mechanic's!"

[IslandHopper]

Originally Posted by colemj

Oh please, please, please shove bananas in there and tell us how it worked! Someone must be a pioneer here!

Mark

In the car scene banana peel in gearboxes and differentials was a common trick to quieten them down, just before selling the car is usually the best time.....

[Acushla]

A good indicator as to how different fluids react to one another is to mix a small amount of each in a glass container, shake it up and rest it to see what happens.

High temperatures and loss of lubricating properties is what you are trying to avoid. So do your mix, don't overload the drive on the way home and keep tabs on the temperature.

Flush, change filters and refill once home.

Acushla

[Shanaly]

Hi I such home ok using all your ideas, except for the bananas (mostly).

I have now overfilled it, is that a major problem?!
thanks

J

[Stray-Cat]

Drain out the excess
Overfilling can cause the oil to escape the dipstick tube/breather
btw...did you find the leak?