anyone know about the later model sm465's using atf in them also? iirc, there was a thread discussing the use of atf in the later sm465,..the consensus was that the factory had indeed started using atf in the sm465's and there wasn't any difference in the trans when they swapped to atf.....if that is indeed true, then you could use either atf or gear oil in both the sm465 & the np205, you'd just need to make sure all the old fluid is flushed out and then you can fill both w/either atf or gear oil...i wonder how atf would stand up to being run in a axle differential? you may could find that thread here that discussed the atf in the 465 trans with the search feature.
i don't know how true that is, but i had a transmission guy tell me that atf has friction properties(for the clutches & bands), whereas gear oil has more of a non-friction property/lubricant. i had asked him if i could put 2-3 qts of gear oil in my derby cars auto trans to make the fluid really thick so the trans would pull harder. thats when he explained that atf has friction properties and the gear oil would probally make the clutches slip before to long, but in theory it should work for a little while...
i drove my derby car in the 1st heat and i lost the radiator and trans temp got so hot it would barely pull itself b/c the fluids viscosity was so thin,....so i figured why not try it, & we put 3 qts of 90-110w gear oil in the trans, started it up and went back and forth between D & R for about 5 min,..then like hitting a switch the trans came back alive.
i drove it during the consulation heat & won, then in the final heat, i lost a rear axle shaft & tire, i kept going, but got pinned on the wall and 2 cars took turns hitting my front end..1 would hold me pinned while the other car would hit me, then he held me while the 2nd car hit me, then repeat,..they broke my TRE's and that plus missing 1 driveing tire i was stuck and had to break my stick...the gear oil didn't cause any slipping & after i got pulled off the wall it drove out of the arena & up on the trailer while a couple guys kept my tires kicked straight.
2 months later, my cousin wanted to take the standard out of his 4x4 and asked about the th400 i had run in the derby, i told him what we had done and he said he would have it rebuilt. so, they tore it apart and it wasn't that bad and was rebuildable, so i swapped him the trans for a ford 31 spline 9'' full spool and a set of 5.83 gears for the 9''....ever since i quit welding my spiders(we welded them completly into a rectangular block, but left the c-clips acsesible, to swap axles)
once i started useing the 9'' rear w/spool, yukon 5.83 gears, & yukon axles in a big bearing housing, i quit breaking axles(i guess we were getting them brittle when we welded the spiders up), & the ford 9'' doesn't use c-clips, but rather a bearing retainer at the end of the axle tubes, that way if i do break an axle the tire stays on the car, it turned out to be perfect for the derby, & w/5.83 gears i can now push the other cars around w/ease, almost feels like i'm in a tank. and i can hit alot harder w/o having to have as much of a running start!
i used to pull my engine and trans and scrap the rest of the car, now i pull my rear axle out also to use in the next derby car. my current 9'' has been through at least 8 different derby's and have only had to replace 1 axle shaft, not b/c it broke, but b/c the wheel flange got bent, everyone has learned that a good hard hit straight in on the rear tire usually breaks the axle, alot of people have asked me what i'm doing b/c my axles don't break, i smile and tell them i run titanium axles @ $1000 a side, i get all kind of reactions,...lol!
