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I am in the process of rebuilding my LU 4 winch and I am unsure what lube to use in the gear cases . I have been told 90w gear lube , than somebody said to use "Worm Gear Oil" . The tech manual is not clear , besides things have changed in the last 50 years or so . Now I am confused , bob k

I HAVE USED 85/90 GEAR OIL, THE SAME AS IN MY TRANNY AND T CASE. DID NOT HAVE A PROBLEM AND I HAVE USED MY WINCH HARD AND A LOT. OF COURSE, I ASSUME THAT ENVIRONMENT TEMPERATURES WILL BE IMPORTANT TO THE AREA YOU ARE, IN ORDER TO PINPOINT THE RIGHT WEIGHT OF THE LUBE. THE GREEK MILITARY HAS BEEN USING GEAR OIL ON THOSE WINCHES SINCE EVER ALSO.

If your winch rebuild is nice and tight, then 80-90 should work fine.
For some reason the 80-90 starts to drip out, then John Deere corn head grease would be in order.

The correct lube for the LU4 winch is worm gear lube, ISO 460; unless you will be operating in extremely hot temps, then ISO 680 would apply. We like the Royal Purple brand; however ISO 460 / 680 is available from many brands and is easily found at industrial lubricant supply outlets.

The design of this winch allows oil to pass from 1 housing to the other via the drum shaft. This is the only way for lube to reach the drum bushings. Staying away from corn head lube is a good idea, as it does not flow in snug tolerances like a liquid lube oil does. If you ever have the opportunity to see the drum shaft bushings after a winch has been run hard with corn head grease in it; you will quickly see it is absolutely an improper lube for the application. The drum bushings are starved of lubrication because grease doesn't flow, thus wear takes place rapidly and severely. The oil capacity is 1 quart in each end housing. If your winch is set up correctly using premium quality parts, oil dripping won't be an issue.

Thanks for the info charles , I will look into picking up some of that oil . bob k

I really don't speak of corn head grease from personal experience. Just from what others have said.
What I have personally done is use a product marketed by the local Valley center pivot dealer that is red and sticky. They sell it for basically the same idea, to put in center pivot gear boxes that start to leak.
Sorry, I do not have a name for the product right now.