Standard vs Synthetic Oil in differential

[DB14867]

I love synthetic oils for many reasons and I am interested if there would be any harm in using it in the differentials on a Hustler Raptor Flip-up 54.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Rivets]

Personally I would use what ever the manual calls for. Not going to get into a contest about which is better.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Hydros work because the pressure from the viscious friction applied to the oil as it escapes from the space between the valve chest & the valve plate is greater than the pressure needed to move the pistons.
It is an astoundingly complicated set of equations and has taken decades to get right and you think that you can just splosh in an oil with substantially different characteristics just because it is currently fashionable for those with no understanding about oils to put a synthetic oil in everything ?
The only thing that is "safe" to do with hydro oil is to go to a thicker oil to compensate for wear between the valve chest & valve plate and that only works 1 time in 10 and even then is only short term.

 

[hlw49]

Synthetic oil is better it has a higher sheer strength and with stands the higher operating temps. Most Hydro manufactures list synthetic oils in their list of recommended oils.

 

[clubairth]

I use Mobil 1 Synthetic 15W-50 as called for in the manual. Those Hydro's do run very hot and I was surprised to see it gets so hot that it turns the Mobil 1 black from the heat!
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[350Rocket]

Hydros work because the pressure from the viscious friction applied to the oil as it escapes from the space between the valve chest & the valve plate is greater than the pressure needed to move the pistons.
It is an astoundingly complicated set of equations and has taken decades to get right and you think that you can just splosh in an oil with substantially different characteristics just because it is currently fashionable for those with no understanding about oils to put a synthetic oil in everything ?
The only thing that is "safe" to do with hydro oil is to go to a thicker oil to compensate for wear between the valve chest & valve plate and that only works 1 time in 10 and even then is only short term.

My dealer carries Mobil 1 15w50 for Hydro's. It seems like you have some kind of beef with synthetic and try to discourage all from using it. Give me an example of a manufacturer that forbids using synthetic oil.
Fyi most modern conventional oils that meet the latest automotive specs are actually a synthetic blend because it's the only way to meet the more stringent specs these days.

 

[bertsmobile1]

I have no problems with synthetic oils, only synthetic oil users who have had one too many glasses of the synthetic oils will fix every problem cool aid.
You should use the oil that a product was designed to run.
As the properties of synthetics do vary from those of a standard oil substitiuting one for the other can cause a loss in performance, particularly in hydros .
Prime example is wet clutches where most will not grip properly if exposed to a synthetic oil
And the use of the word "synthetic" itself
There are just a handful of truely synthetic oils on the market that were developed for use in conditions that a mower will never see, mainly F1 race engines & fighter jets .
People seem to think that "synthetic oils " are some sort of magic product where as they are really just Dissassembled then RECOMBINED , a process that we have in fact been doing to a lesser degree from the day we first used oil .
As for mower engines, apart from a couple of EFI engines using synthetic will do nothing but cost you more and do more enviromental damage.
A mower engine is the cheapest nastiest lowest cost shortest life engine it is possible to make so filling it with "magic goop" is a waste.

So the long & short is
If it was designed to run with synthetic oil then use synthetic oil
If it was designed to run standard oil use standard oil
Pretty simple as far as I can see.

 

[Scrubcadet10]

?

 

[hlw49]

Tell that to a friend of mine that has a 1998 Dixie Chopper with a Kohler cv25 that has about 9,000 hours on it running Mobil 1 Synthetic oil in. I'm sure Kohler never recommended synthetic oil back in those days.

 

[350Rocket]

Tell that to a friend of mine that has a 1998 Dixie Chopper with a Kohler cv25 that has about 9,000 hours on it running Mobil 1 Synthetic oil in. I'm sure Kohler never recommended synthetic oil back in those days.

My 1976 Oldsmobile 350 V8 never recommended synthetic oil but I've run nothing but since 2007 for the last 110k miles. Total mileage is probably we'll over 300k miles.
Who knows whether it makes a 2% or 20% increase in lifespan but if you're not planning on replacing the vehicle for 40+ years why not buy the better oil if it's available on sale for the same regular price as conventional?
As far as lawn equipment, people (myself not included) tend to leave maintenance way longer than they should and synthetic will hold up better in those cases.
The hydro in my cub cadet has to be removed to change the fluid so you can bet when I get around to doing it that I will be using full synthetic 20w50 or 15w50 (both recommended fluids for it) because I can't just dump it every couple years.