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transmission fluid for vehicles was whale oil in the not too distant past late 1960s early 1970s.
by dghughes 4y ago
transmission fluid for vehicles was whale oil in the not too distant past late 1960s early 1970s.
- dredmorbius 4y agoTIL! "Automatic Transmissions and Detroit's Dirty Little Secret" By the 1960s up to 30 million pounds of whale oil were used each year, chiefly as the main additive to automatic transmission and locking differential fluids. It was whale oil that made these devices so reliable and efficient and it was primarily the auto industry's requirements that maintained the demand for whaling during the mid-20th Century. https://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/725.cfm https://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/725.cfm It was apparently environmental regulations which finally ended the use of whale oil in automobile lubricants. Not the Endangered Species Act, but pollution controls resulting in higher engine (and transmission) operating temperatures, which broke down even whale oil.