Questions for Klotzman

Thanks for the speedy service Rick! I’m not sure when it arrived but it was here before I needed it!

I have a few questions…

Back in the ’70’s when I was into dirt digging cycles, the premium racing brand oils were Klotz and Castrol.

I remember that the dealer said to drain one oil before adding Klotz or Castrol…in a oil injected motor as it didn’t mix well and could burn up the motor. Was that Castrol or Klotz or both?

Lower End Gear Lube:

I’ve heard about foaming. Assuming the lube level is full…how much of a concern is foaming? I’ve always been one to believe that a gear lube is a gear lube (my old rib to Jon Jordan was that a person could use peanut butter in the lower end)
I understand that the grease needs to keep the gears cool and slick…but after that is there any benefit to running other premium gear lubes? Shipmate…or as Jon refers to it…”Shipwreck” lube is something like $4. a quart.

You seem to have a In-Depth (pun intended) knowledge of oils and grease…thought I would pick your brain.

Brian,
Glad you got your order right away.
The Speedee delivery people are pretty good with shipping.

Back in the early – middle 70’s, synthetic oil’s like Klotz were made with products that didn’t mix with other oils, in particular, petroleum oils. They would jell or coagulate and start to turn to a solid. However, technology has changed and the base stock formulas have changed, allowing most all oils, like Klotz to be able to intermix without any issues. There are still some “high performance” oils that will not mix readily with other oils and some fuels, but those are in very specialized applications where someone knows what will and will not mix. For you and most all of the readers here, Klotz oil like Amsoil, Torco, Redline, Merc, Quicksilver, and some of the other brand oils will mix with out any issues.

As far as the gear lube and the issue of foaming, it can be an issue in an application of a lower unit. The Klotz synthetic gear lube has an anti foaming agent in it to prevent this. I am not a boat mechanic, and again do not profess to be an expert at anything, but my understanding is the proper fill level is the most important…not underfilled and also not overfilled. Obviously, water intake is also a concern and needs to be addressed right away.

Quality of gear lube – again, my stance on this is you should choose a synthetic lube over a petroleum – whether it is Klotz, Amsoil, Merc, Evinrude, etc., synthetics are going to be a superior lubricating product. They man make synthetics to do what job needs to be done. You are going to get a higher shear strength to hold up to the pounding in that gear box, smoother shifts, better adherence to the gears, and a higher toleration to heat. Use that as a basis and then compare price. Remember, you can price shop between quality products. Did you buy the cheapest boat you could, or one that you felt would hold up to the demands you are going to ask out of it, to give you your money’s worth and last a long time with out wearing out or breaking down. Don’t follow up on your investment by using bottom shelf motor products whether it’s 2 or 4 cycle motor oil or gear lube.

Hope that answers your questions. Thanks again for the order. I just received another 88 gallons of oil today from Klotz and I am sure it won’t stick around long with the inquiries I have gotten from others here on IDA!

Rick