Hydraulic Systems Performance of Army Engine Oils

A technical evaluation of qualified military specification lubricants was started by the U.S. Army Belvoir Research and Development Center and was performed at the U.S. Army Fuels and Lubricants Research Laboratory (AFLRL) located at Southwest Research Institute. This work was conducted to determine if such lubricants can be used as hydraulic fluids in Army Commercial Construction Equipment (CCE) and Selected Material Handling Equipment (SMHE).

Sixteen military specification lubricants were extensively evaluated using twelve selected tests required by equipment manufacturers and one test developed by AFLRL in conjunction with John Deere. From the data developed, lubricants meeting Army specifications passed 88 percent of all the tests. It appears that the Army engine oils are good potential candidates for use as hydraulic and power transmission lubricants within the Army CCE/SMHE systems. Areas of concern include copper corrosion, wet brake/clutch frictional performance, and final drive gear wear.