is there any technical differance between oil, fluid, and lube? we had a pretty heated discussion at work today about this. i say there isn't a differance, other than the spelling. all started when i called trans fluid oil. some how over the years i've got to calling it oil. several guys maintaned the lube was thicker than oil, as in gear lube, and fluid was thinner than oil, as in trans fluid. on a some what related matter i've noticed some members here posting about radiator fluid, so what's that all about? thanks for you time and attention in this matter of little or no importance.

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ICON Motorsports

1st & 3rd
MM Black Diamond 538 F&AM

 

Isn't English funny who certain words can mean the same thing, yet also have slightly different technical meaning?

It's like the words "potentially and realistically". My nephew asked what the differences about those words and I took him with me to ask him mother, sister and dad whether they would have sex with Bill Clinton for $1,000,000. His mother and sister both said yes, and the father, after thinking about it for awhile also said yes.

I asked if he now knew the difference and he said yes. Potentially, their family could make $3,000,000 but realistically, his mother and sister were ****** and his dad is a f@g.

[This message has been edited by Glenn91L98GTA (edited April 16, 2001).]

 

New World Dictionary of the American Language: flu-id adj. 1. that can flow; not solid; able to move and change shape wihout separating when under pressure 2. of a fluid or fluids 3. like a fluid; that can change rapidly or easily; not settled or fixed. (Note: there was no noun defination for "fluid")

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms: fluid [phys] An aggregate of matter in which the molecules are able to flow past each other without limit and without fracture planes forming.

ebid: fluid coupling [mech eng] A device for transmitting rotation between shafts by means of the acceleration and deceleration of a fluid such as oil. Also know as hydraulic coupling.

ebid: lubricant [mater] a substance used to reduce friction between parts or objects in relative motion.

ebid: oil [mater] Any of various viscous, combustible, water-immiscible liquids that are soluble in certain organic solvents, as ether and naptha; may be of animal, vegetable, mineral, or synthetic origin; examples are fixed oils, volatile or essential oils, and mineral oils.

Technically speaking, air is a fluid. Lube is short for lubricant. I'd say you are just as technically correct, the other things have come into general use but have no technical basis. "Gear oil" is correct, but it's typically called "gear lube". Why didn't anyone mention "grease"? Did you know grease is oil with soap in it?

Is it an engine or motor? I've said for years I have a small block Chevy "engine" that has a starter "motor", for instance. But, this board has a "motor swap" forum...

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82 Berlinetta, orig V-6 car, now w/86 LG4/TH700R. 2.93 limited slip. Cat-back from '91 GTA, Accel HEI SuperCoil. AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Daily driver, work-in-progress (LG4 w/'87 LB9 block, ZZ3 cam and intake, World 305 heads, Hooker headers & y-pipe, 3" Catco cat).
57 Bel Air, my 1st car. 0.030 over 396, Weiand Action+, Edelbrock 1901 Q-Jet, Jacobs Omnipack, 1-3/4" Hedders, TH400 w/TCI Sat Night Special conv & Trans-Scat shift kit, 3.08 8.2" 10-bolt w/Powertrax, AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Best 15.1 @ 5800' Bandimere w/open diff & slipping tranny. Daily driver while Camaro was being put together.

 

Ed,

Tell those guys they're all wet, with fluid.

Fluid in its technical sense has been accurately dscribed by the 57. I've been in disagreements over air and other gasses being a fluid (it is) and over the fact that gasoline isn't really "gas", and that hydrogen is actually a metal (even though it is a gas, too).

In terms of automotive products, "transmission fluid" is a fluid. So is engine oil, coolant, fuel, etcetera. The transmission "fluid" is also an oil, just like the engine lubricating fluid is an oil. The differential "fluid" is also oil, as is the power steering "fluid". The oils are essentially the same base stock refined from crude oil. The differences really begine when the additive packages are blended into the oil.

Automoatic transmission oil is a turbine oil formulation, with antiwear additives (esters and zinc) for the hydraulics and foam suppressants (anti-chealators). The red coloring is a nice touch, too.

Power steering fluid is similarly a hydraulic oil, but at a slightly lower viscosity and a bit more sulphur and parrafins to protect the more severe pressure of the recirculating ***** in the gearbox.

Engine oils can have any imaginable number of formulations and additive packages.

Manual transmission oils and differential oils have more heavy parrafin for extreme pressure, plasticizers for adhesion to parts, and light metal additives for corrosion and extreme pressure protection. That is what makes the oils seem more viscous, not the base oil itself.

Greases are a slightly different game. They are typically a soap, vegetable or animal fat, or parrafin base with metals, esters, olefins, and oils in suspension to provide the lubrication.

Check your mail. I'm sending a couple of things that might be interesting. Note how the actual measured viscosity (not the SAE ratings) are actually the same for 75W gear oil and 10W engine oil. The ISO and SUS viscosity scales don't lie. The differences are only in the additives. The articles on oils and synthetics might be of interest as well.

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Later,
Vader
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"What a Day..."
Adobe Acrobat Reader

 

Vader and 5.7 pretty much cleared up the fluid business, and as for the motor and engine thing they really are two different things. No one's car is propelled by a motor unless it is a hybrid electric vehicle with an electric motor in it. Or just a straight up electric vehicle. I'm pretty sure all of us here have engines, unless there is a large battery pack on board and our vehicles make use of regenerative braking for energy conservation. Technically speaking, an engine converts thermal-fluid energy into mechanical energy, whereas a motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. So they are not the same thing (I had an automotive engineering professor once upon a time who cracked down on me several times for calling engines "motors"). We could also discuss internal and external combustion engines, etc., etc...

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1990 IROC 350
Mods: Too busy trying to make it run right to mod it.
Airfoil, Dynomax cat-back, Accel coil, 180 t-stat, Bald Eagle tires,
Hypertech fan switch, Accel 23# injectors, Holley AFPR, ported plenum,
Ruger P95DC, hot wife, new oil filter, thick rubber floormats.
18.0 @ 85MPH since I'm one big-a$$ MF
"It's better to have and not need than to need and not have."

 

jethro i've always been one of the few to say "engine" when refering to the thing under the hood of my car and "motor" when refering to the thing that powers my bench grinder. along the same lines is concrete and cement. if you don't know cement is one of the ingredients in concrete, along with water, sand, and gravel.

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ICON Motorsports

1st & 3rd
MM Black Diamond 538 F&AM

 

Right on .

 

Dammit Glenn!! You owe me $20 for a new keyboard!! I just happened to be drinking an OJ when I read that last line...

Hold on, let me get back up into the chair...

Jeezus that was hilarious!!

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Kevin Irving
85 Trans Am WS-6, 305 TPI, custom burned '86 PROM with '87 "165"ECM, Accel Supercoil & 8.8 Wires, MSD 6AL, Aluminum Driveshaft, Wonderbar, TB Coolant Bypass, Ported Plenum, Modified MAF, Syclone Fuel Pump, JET Airfoil

15.556 @ 86.65mph, Nov 10, 2000.... I know it sucks.. but it will get better!

http://www.geocities.com/transam85tpi/

Member - The Tidewater Trans Am Club, Norfolk VA http://www.geocities.com/ttacva/

 

Kevin, potentially, the cheque is in the mail. Realistically, don't hold your breath.

Glad you liked it.

 

Would that be a check that was made from unobtanium? (Sorry for being a copy cat, I just thought that rare element was so cool!)

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Working on:
'84 Z28 LG4 305 with 200,000 original miles!
Added dual elec fans.
145 MPH IROC Speedo
Building 430 HP 350 (ZZ430)
using primarily GMPP parts.
Short block sitting on a stand. (Man, those Fast-Burn heads sitting on it look good!)

Starting to look like the Kicker poster child!

ASE Certified Master Tech

 

No, I prefer nonexistium. It's even rarer.

 

LOL @ Glenn
What you learn on the internet, i tell ya.

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89 IROC-Z 350 TPI

-Flowmaster Catback
-Performance Resource Chip
-700R4 (Rebuilt) Too much done to actually list
-K&N Airfilters
-Ported Plenum
-2.77 Gears (not much to brag about but eh, its there)
-MSD 8.5 mm plug wires
-Gutted cat
-!AIR
-Gutted Air Boxes

 

2 molocules of nonexistium + 1 molocule sarcasm = 1 @ssload of bullcraparium. A lesson I needed to learn to pass the 5th grade (the 4th time). I'll never forget it now.