Alright, gonna try to revive this old car. What fluids should I be using?

What weight motor oil (this car is going to be in the Phoenix desert)?
What do I put in the rear end?
Any particular type of coolant I should be using?
Should the tranny (auto) and power steering have Mercon in them?

Any other recommendations?

 

my suggestions are:

tranny at least a 20/80 or 40/60 mixture of lucas trans fluid/reg tranny fluid

i live in a cooler climate and i use 10W30, since you live in a hotter climate, i would suggest a heavier weight to help fight against breakdown.

not sure on the rear end, but would also suggest a partial lucas oil mix in there too.

if your power steering pump is making noise, i would suggest just flat out replacing/rebuilding it, but if you need time, lucas oil is good there too.

i duno about coolant or mixture, maybe Glen (Soaring) can chime in here.

 

get water wetter for your coolant system...it will help with your southern heat

 

If you have an earily model trans and power steering by earily I mean 65-87 anything but type f fuild will burn them up

 

yeah, but the lucas oil will help maintain hydrolic pressure, reduce wear and prolong life and keep shifts smooth. even with an older trans as far as i know.

 

Yeah, as far as the coolant goes, put in more water, because it actually does a lot of the cooling.

 

yeah, antifreeze and coolant is for us in the north (notice i didn't say us northerners! ). it fights freeze over more than anything.

 

need antifreeze becaus eit raise boiling temp and also provides lube to the water pump bearings and helbs curb rusting in the cooling system

 

true, he didn't say, run 100% water, he just said use more water. I would run at least 20W oil. I used 10W in Georgia and experienced real low oil pressure. I put in the 20W and it moved up. and it's alittle cooler out here.

 

For a manual tranny and rear, I suggest 75W90 synthetic gear oil. If the engine is relatively new, then I suggest synthetic oil as well. If not, then maybe either a synthetic blend or dino. Synthetic oil tends to leak through old gaskets. 20-50 oil is going to the extreme IMO. If the engine is up to par, then 10W30 is just fine even in desert heat. Remembering that the engine will not run any hotter in the desert than it does in the cooler climates if the cooling system is up to par.