A-833 Lube help

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StrokerMcG

StrokerMcG

'64 'Cudavert
FABO Gold Member
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Shasta Lake, CA
Friends-
I'm about to install my newly rebuild 273 / A-833 into CUDAVRT. The transmission is dry. What kind of trans fluid do I use, and how much? I found my old owners manual for '64 which indicates 7 pints. Seems like a lot. No indication about fluid type though.
Thanks,
Stroker

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fill it on level ground until it starts to run out the bottom of the fill hole. The service manual says gear oil or ATF believe it or not.I have run both but I have had my best luck with synthetic gear oil 75w90 .I've had a 4 speed A body in one form or another for the past 30 years and tried everything under the sun in it. In real cold weather I have cut the gear oil with ATF about 60 % gear oil/ 40 % ATF and it shifted better but for a car as nice as yours I doubt you will be using it in the cold and snow so high quality syn gear oil is the best choice.
 
Also,seeing as it is all rebuilt I would drop the oil after a thoudand miles and put in fresh oil.Oil is cheap and this is the best insurance you can have to get long life out of your rebuild.It is recommended that the gear oil be changed at 30,000 mile intervals also.I go 50 but never beyond that.
 
valiantwagonguy said:
Also,seeing as it is all rebuilt I would drop the oil after a thoudand miles and put in fresh oil.Oil is cheap and this is the best insurance you can have to get long life out of your rebuild.It is recommended that the gear oil be changed at 30,000 mile intervals also.I go 50 but never beyond that.
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Thanks all-
Does it really hold 3 1/2 quarts?
 
When it was rebuilt were the syncro rings changed, and if so were the synthetic compatible ones installed? I think all new replacements are, but if you have the old style I would not recommend synthetic lube. It is too slippery and will cause hard shifting with the original style syncros.

I have run both regular gear oil, and ATF. They both work just fine. If you are in a warmer climate or plan to tow etc I would stay away from ATF.
 
StrokerMcG said:
Thanks all-
Does it really hold 3 1/2 quarts?
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Just fill it until it drips out the bottom of the fill plug hole in the side of the case.It holds what it holds.I pump it in with a small pump powered by an electric drill .Have 4 qts on hand and use what it needs.Full is when it runs out the hole.
 
valiantwagonguy said:
Just fill it until it drips out the bottom of the fill plug hole in the side of the case.It holds what it holds.I pump it in with a small pump powered by an electric drill .Have 4 qts on hand and use what it needs.Full is when it runs out the hole.
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A small pump is a great idea. A suction gun works as well as a long rubber hose clamped to a funnel.
 
Memory lane is open. Back in '68 I swapped out the factory 90w for Mopars' High Performance Manual Transmission Lubricant. It looks like ATF but is made from Sperm Whale oil. There was an immediate improvement in shifting. Others did use ATF. This did not cause oil leaks. I still have 4-quarts of whale oil. They are for display only, now I use synthetic.
 
StrokerMcG said:
Friends-
I'm about to install my newly rebuild 273 / A-833 into CUDAVRT. The transmission is dry. What kind of trans fluid do I use, and how much? I found my old owners manual for '64 which indicates 7 pints. Seems like a lot. No indication about fluid type though.
Thanks,
Stroker
Click to expand...

As you can tell by now there are multiple opinions and they are all right.
Depending on materials in your trans, and average climate conditions any of the fluids mentioned are feasible.
Myself, in hotter climates I might use 90wt and in Alaska I might use ATF.
It all depends on how the trans works with which fluid.
If you use ATF and you have crunching on shifts, then try gear oil instead.
It can be a trial and error process, but the fluid recommended by the rebuilder is always the best to try first.

Oh, and 3-1/2 sounds about right as already mentioned.
 
7.0 pints US is listed in the 69 FSM, for short tails.

Mine woks best with 100% ATF, but I changed to 50% 80/90 gear oil, cuz I felt so sorry for the cluster pin, the highest wearing item in the box, when abused like I do.
In the 273-vert, I'd run 100% DExtron, cuz the wear on the pin will likely not be an issue.
And that's my opinion.......But I agreed with d55dave in post #6
 
Murray said:
Memory lane is open. Back in '68 I swapped out the factory 90w for Mopars' High Performance Manual Transmission Lubricant. It looks like ATF but is made from Sperm Whale oil. There was an immediate improvement in shifting. Others did use ATF. This did not cause oil leaks. I still have 4-quarts of whale oil. They are for display only, now I use synthetic.
Click to expand...


If that's the same stuff I used it smelled real, real funky. Back in the day Japanese dirt bikes cam with some kind of fish/whale oil in the forks. That stunk too.
 
Lucas 75w-90 here. If possible you can get a hose that will go onto the end of the quart jug and i filled mine through the shift boot hole with good results, its a pita either way
 
Using 90W, you might experience hard shifting in cold weather until it warms up a little. I run 50W motor oil in the Borg Warner T-18 4 speed in my 75 F250.......like the book says. Mine is hard to make that first 1-2 shift in cold weather. I haven't tried ATF, although I am sure it would work well.

I have heard good things about the Pennzoil Synchro-mesh stuff. We sell it at work and people say it's very good. Probably the best of both worlds, so to speak.

Modern lubricants have really come a very long way. I am sure you'll have no trouble finding something that will work well.
 
Another vote here for Pennzoil Syncromesh.
In my stock '72 4 speed synthetic caused the gears to clash.
With the Pennzoil, it shifts great.
And that disappointed me because i'm a synthetic oil type of guy!
I guess it was too slippery for the stock syncros.
I have used ATF in the winter and it works well in cold (40 below) weather, but that was years ago................
 
I spent a lotta time and effort in an attempt to mod my brass and or cones to be able to use synthetic.......all to no avail.
I cut channels, grooves, and deglazed the cones, and even bias rough polished the cones, to the point that,on the bench, the slightest pressure locked the brass to the cones. And it was all for nothing. That trans was out and in, at least three times, in one week. In the end I went 50/50,ATF/85W
In the end I street slick-shifted it, problem solved. Shifts like lightning now at up to 7200, the highest I have tested; and best of all;no more missed shifts...at all, since 2004, ever!
 
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