ZF350A Transmission

Hence, where I see them on the lower shelves. I'm still not calling them bad.

Why not just use the ZF filter??? It's $16,000 to rebuild one of those gears, start to finish. Just the oil pump alone in that gear is close to $4,000 installed. Is it really worth $40 s in savings, honestly???

When in doubt or protect your investment; Skippy J has a good point. For hits & giggles, Take note of what comes out of the ZF box. As I stated a few back, I opened my TD box and there was a Baldwin filter.

It's just a very overpriced white filter with a ZF logo and the part number.......no other markings.

That's true, but put a filter that doesn't do it's job, or one that explodes or leaks and you will have a very overpriced rebuild at $16,000. I think I'd rather pay for the overpriced filter and have piece of mind. Look up Kafue's thread on his gear rebuild and look at how much hassle, money, time lost, and 2 rebuilds later, over having the wrong filter in his gear, which was installed by the rebuilder by accident........

That was the wrong type of filter not the wrong brand, there is quite a difference.

True, but if a fram is as good as the automotive ones, you might as well have the wrong type of filter in there. The fram cases are very weak and crush easy, the bypass valve gets stuck on them, it is definately an economy filter I wouldn't want installed on anything of mine.

Skip
I think you use a separate oil cooler for your clutch. If so, warming up the oil will take a long time (if ever) at the dock.
However, The synthetic oil you have in there now will flow the same warm or cold. The important thought is to ensure any sediments is suspended in the oil and not on the case bottom. Running and clutching a few times dock side and drawing from the bottom, should work fine for you.

What were sodium and iron levels?

Skip
Does you MAN displays show gear pressure or temp data? Interested to know if any conditions have changed with the new oil.

Did the ZF filters have any OEM labels or part numbers?

I am curious as to why the viscosity dropped by nearly half after 400 hrs.

Old post but just read the thread and couldn't help but to comment.

What color does unburnt fuel add to a diesel engine's lube oil?

What color is a diesel engine's lube oil after running long enough to acquire a measurable percentage of fuel dilution?

What color is diesel engine lube oil after running for 2 or 3 hours?

What makes diesel engine lube oil that color?

I am also curious how the viscosity dropped so much ... was a sample of the new, unused, oil submitted at the same time for comparison? VI shear? Wrong type oil?

carbon was on his mind but got lost in translation

L0003 translation buffer error?

Could be. Source seems to have a very high miss rate ...