R380 gearbox oil: Texaco MTF-94 vs Castrol Transmax Z

There are thousands of threads on the MTF-94 oil and I know it is the workshop manual oil for R380, but my local reputable independent LR garage suggests Transmax Z. I have used this oil in my gearbox twice (every 2 years) and haven't had any issues.

I would really like to understand, what is the difference between these oils and should I revert to using the original MTF-94? Or could the Transmax Z be better in some way?

Forgive me, if I'm p***ing You off with a cliche question like this

You change your gearbox oil every 2 years! Crikey, how many miles per year are you driving?

Col

About 10 000 km per year, so gearbox, transfer box and diff oils every second november.

Stock_90_TD5_SW said:

About 10 000 km per year, so every changing gearbox, transfer box and diff oils every second november.

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Wow. I must be lazy. I wouldn't consider changing gearbox oil until It had done at least 50,000 miles, not sure what that is in foreign money. Perhaps I've been lucky for the past 45 years but I've never had a gearbox issue.

Col

Colthebrummie said:

Wow. I must be lazy. I wouldn't consider changing gearbox oil until It had done at least 50,000 miles, not sure what that is in foreign money. Perhaps I've been lucky for the past 45 years but I've never had a gearbox issue.

Col

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thats far too long between changes, once a year with an average mileage of 8 to 10 k i would advise

Colthebrummie said:

Wow. I must be lazy. I wouldn't consider changing gearbox oil until It had done at least 50,000 miles, not sure what that is in foreign money. Perhaps I've been lucky for the past 45 years but I've never had a gearbox issue.

Col

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From memory the book interval is 24000 miles. Although I will bow to @jamesmartin superior knowledge on such things and take his recommendation over the service manual.
I tend to do mine about every third service (aprox 18k), and check the levels and (invariably) top them up every 6 weeks or so, but I am doing about 25k a year in my 110.

Unfortunately I cannot help the OP with their question as I run a lt77 which just gets standard ATF put into it.

I might change the gearbox oil in my series 3 about every 5,000 miles, at my current use, that will be in ten years. Rover used to use a sealed for life gearbox that allegedly, never needed oil changes.

Col

Colthebrummie said:

Rover used to use a sealed for life gearbox that allegedly, never needed oil changes.

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Never needed changing, but in constant need of topping-up. Clever marketing!

DAG019, You are right, it is 24 000 miles. But I think in my case every 2 years is a reasonable interval. The approx. 6 litres of oil needed costs about 60 euros here, so not too bad.

This was not the smartest question on my side regarding the differences between MTF-94 and Transmax Z, the problem is I can't find any information about the Transmax Z properties. Then again Land Rover has had a long partnership with Castrol, so I assumed that there more users of this oil for the gearbox.

Both are 75W80 GL-4 oils. The MTF-94 is a GL-4. The Transmax Z is difficult for me to decode. I copied this from the product description "ZF TE-ML 04D, 11B, 14C, 16M". I wonder if it means it's closer to GL-5 (less friction) or maybe something completely different? If anyone can shed some light on this, I will be really grateful

Ashcroft recommended triple qx atf dextron 3 did the gearbox that’s what I use and a few others on here

I just bought a 5 litre bottle of this. It is a GL5 and also complies with GL4. They also do a specific GL4 version which also complies with GL3.
Both versions cost about £26 delivered for 5L which I reckon is reasonable, loads of it on the bay. I got it for my front and rear diffs, plan to put it in at the weekend.

IME of R380's, use the Oil that the gearbox likes the most ....

For example, SWMBO's R380 does like ATF, ( notchy changes with slow synchro, and noisy in 5th ) but it does like MTF except on very cold mornings..... you can guess which it has in

We are longtime fans of Castrol, and I'd advise asking them directly what they think - contact info is on the website.

We recently built a (new) gearbox from scratch, cut all the gears etc, and Castrol were not only very interested, but very helpful in recommending an oil for it

Thanks, Wimblowdriver and Disco1BFG.

Do I understand this correctly, that MTF is more viscous and helps the syncro to engage easier or smth?

My gearbox (R380 from 2006) is generally in a good condition, but the second gear syncro is grabbing a little in cold weather even when the oils in the truck are warm. Meaning that in summer I can shift from 1st to 2nd like in a modern car, but in the winter I have to put it in neutral after 1st, wait for a sec and then engage the 2nd. I have sometimes used double clutching, but I rarely seem to do it well