Freelander 1 Freelander 1 Oils [td4] [recommended and substitute]

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blisco

Member
Posts
58
Location
Cumbria
Hi

I have been having a look for lubricants that meet land rover specifications for the td4 freelander 1. Since the texaco oils are harder to come by and [mostly] lack product information i have been looking at castrol/fuchs products to see what the options are.

What i have done is basically gathered the relevant results from both castrol and fuchs 'oil selectors', as well as genuine land rover oils i am aware of, and listed them below. Any relevant product data has also been sourced and listed (where available). Any of the oil manufacturers recommendations that match land rovers specification exactly have been highlighted in bold. I presume the others should be ok as a substitute but i am in no position to say. Hopefully someone can clarify this.

I don't know much about oil. In fact i know very little (no doubt like many car owners). There seems to be a choice whether the oil is mineral or synthetic for some components, i'm not sure which type is best for what component. On some components it seems to be a case of 'having to compromise' on ACEA a*/b* and API gl* ratings. That doesn't sound good.

I hope that this might both prove useful to others and spur some recommendations on which of these results are the most suitable, which to avoid and whether better alternatives are around. Information seems quite scattered with isolated recommendations so it would be good to get some input.

Cheers :)

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Engine: LR Specify 10W/40 or 15W/40 ACEA a3/b3 (the td4 owners manual supposedly says 5w50 / 5w40 / 5w30 / 0w30 are also suitable for lower ambient temperatures)
​
Castrol Edge - 0w40 a3/b4 [fully synthetic]
Fuchs Titan Supersyn - 5w30 a5/b5 [fully synthetic]
Fuchs Titan Supersyn - 5w40 a3/b4 [fully synthetic]
Fuchs Titan Supersyn Longlife - 5w40 a3/b4 [fully synthetic]
​
Note: None of the lubricant manufacturers 'oil selector' recommendations meet land rover specifications exactly.
Note: I do not know if the ACEA a3/b4 rated oil would be the closest match, it appears it might be (see sources).



Automatic Transmission: LR specify ATF N402 (texaco don't say much about it, but it is now ATF 402)
​
Genuine Land Rover - ATF 402 [unknown]
Fuchs Titan - ATF 4400 JASO M315 TYPE 1A [unknown]​

Note: There seems to be no castrol recommendation on their site, unless i missed it. In fact information in general about this oil is a bit thin [pun].



Manual Transmission: LR specify MTF 94 [mineral based] (texaco indicate MTF 94 is a variant of 75w80 or 80w gl4)
​
Genuine Land Rover - MTF 94 [mineral based]
Castrol Syntrans Multivehicle - 75w90 gl4 [fully synthetic]
Fuchs Titan Sintofluid - 75w80 gl5 [fully synthetic]
​
Note: Only the MTF 94 contains needed additives to protect copper and plastic components in the gearbox. Seep post #6.
Note: The titan sintofluid 75w80 does not say it is gl4 rated on the website.


IRD: LR specify 75w90 gl5 [fully synthetic]
​
Castrol Syntrax Longlife - 75w90 gl5 [fully synthetic]
Castrol Syntrax Universal Plus - 75w90 gl5 [fully synthetic]
Castrol Universal - 75w90 gl5 [semi synthetic]
Fuchs Titan Sintopoid - 75w90 gl5 [fully synthetic]
Fuchs Titan Sintopoid FE - 75w90 gl5 [fully synthetic]
Fuchs Titan Sintopoid LS - 75w90 gl5 [fully synthetic]​



Diff: LR specify 80w90 gl5 [mineral based]
​
Castrol Universal - 75w90 gl5 [semi synthetic]
Castrol Syntrax Longlife - 75w90 gl5 [fully synthetic]
Castrol Syntrax Universal Plus - 75w90 gl5 [fully synthetic]
Castrol Syntrax Universal - 80w90 gl5 [fully synthetic]
Castrol Axle EPX - 80w90 gl5 [mineral based]
Fuchs Titan Sintopoid - 75w90 gl5 [fully synthetic]
Fuchs Titan Sintopoid LS - 75w90 gl5 [fully synthetic]
Fuchs Titan Supergear - 80w90 gl5 [mineral based]​

​
==============================================================================​

​
Sources:

LR lubricant specifications: http://www.dingocroft.co.uk/acatalog/Rec_lubes_FRLNDR1.htm
Engine oil viscosity and temperature recommendations (from handbook): http://forum.landrovernet.com/showthread.php/146276-What-oil-for-TD4
Castrol oil selector: http://applications.castrol.com/oil...ndation?data=1fdbd58d1609acd12fcbd26ea0d41f95
Fuchs oil selector: http://fuchs-eu.lubricantadvisor.co...bd58d1609acd12fcbd26ea0d41f95 redline advisor
Texaco product description (mtf 94): http://www.texacobaltic.eu/en/products/cars/mtf-94.html
Texaco product description (atf 402): http://www.texacobaltic.eu/en/products/cars/atf-fluids/atf-402.html
ACEA oil specifications: http://www.oilspecifications.org/acea.php
 
Last edited:
Thanks blisco, that's a useful reference. My humble opinion is that, for gearboxes and diffs, fully synth is the way to go.

For engines, I have done many hundreds of thousands of miles on Comma semi-synth in various vehicles. The heat cycling, carbon and acidic blow-by gases mean that even the best oils should (IMHO) be changed every 6 months/6000 miles. I don't feel comfortable extending this, even with a top-quality oil. To me, the change interval has much more effect on your engine's longevity than the type of oil.

I suspect there will be as many opinions on this as there are forum members reading this thread...
 
The syntrans 75w90 could be a better substitute than the titan 75w80 in terms of protecting the gearbox [from something i read today]. The syntrans 75w90 has the gl4 rating texaco mention, the titan 75w80 product info only says gl5. A gl5 oil could supposedly damage a component that requires gl4 rated oil. Something to do with the type of metal [copper?] used for certain parts in the box if i recall correctly.

The MTF 94 could also have a protecting agent for plastic components that the substitutes might not have.

But that was just what i read. From what little i know i think i would probably prefer to get the more modern synthetic oil [syntrans] over the genuine MTF 94 [which is mineral based]. Not sure yet though.
 
Last edited:
MTF94 has no equivalent, synthetic or otherwise. MTF94 was developed for the PG1 gearbox which has an amount of copper in the thrust washers and plastic cages for the final drive bearings. Ordinary gear oils don't have the necessary additives to protect either. As long as the gearbox oil is changed on occasion, the factory spec oil will be fine.
 
Nodge68 said:
MTF94 was developed for the PG1 gearbox which has an amount of copper in the thrust washers and plastic cages for the final drive bearings.
Click to expand...

That settles my confusion. Ill put a note on the original post for reference, cheers. Which oils do you use for engine/diff/ird?


htr said:
I've used the Penrite products [see here] in my IRD [PRO GEAR 75W-90], g'box [TRANS GEAR 75W-80] & diff' [GEAR OIL 80W-90]. Are they available in the UK? Engine oil is Castrol Magnatec 10W40.
Click to expand...

Moss europe seem to sell some of their stuff for classic cars.
 
Last edited:
For the IRD, a full synthetic is specified, assuming the oil left for the full service interval. In this case any brand will work much the same. I like Fuchs oils and conveniently, there's a good priced supplier just down the road from me.
But provided the IRD is filled with a 75w90 GL5 it will be fine. I like to use Molyslip in there to, just because I think it helps.
The rear diff doesn't actually need to be filled with a full synthetic as it's not that stressed. A semi synthetic will be fine. This should be an 80w90 GL5.
 
Nodge68 said:
The rear diff doesn't actually need to be filled with a full synthetic as it's not that stressed. A semi synthetic will be fine. This should be an 80w90 GL5.
Click to expand...

The texaco multigear specified by LR seems to be a mineral base. Can i take that to mean fully synthetic is also suitable in place of mineral base?

Nodge68 said:
For the IRD, a full synthetic is specified, assuming the oil left for the full service interval. In this case any brand will work much the same. I like Fuchs oils and conveniently, there's a good priced supplier just down the road from me.
But provided the IRD is filled with a 75w90 GL5 it will be fine.
Click to expand...

Would that mean if a semi-sythetic or mineral oil was used for the IRD the service interval would need to be reduced to suit? Not sure i understood that part correctly.

I'll add some more notes to the original post where appropriate.
 
blisco said:
The texaco multigear specified by LR seems to be a mineral base. Can i take that to mean fully synthetic is also suitable in place of mineral base?



Would that mean if a semi-sythetic or mineral oil was used for the IRD the service interval would need to be reduced to suit? Not sure i understood that part correctly.

I'll add some more notes to the original post where appropriate.
Click to expand...
Using a full or semi synthetic instead of a mineral oil just adds a level of additional protection. However it's not going to improve anything.
I'd happily use a mineral in the rear diff. However semi synth are now more common so I use those instead.

If a synthetic is specified and only a semi or mineral is available then it needs to be changed at shorter intervals.
For instance, a mineral in the IRD would have a life of something like 12K miles. That's a complete guess, but you get the idea.
Don't forget that oils today are generally much better than the same spec oil of 15 years ago ;)
 
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