The major difference between engine oil and transmission oil is that, the engine oil protects the moving components of the engine from wearing while the transmission oil helps to protect transmission components from wearing.
Before understanding the difference between them in various aspects, let’s see briefly about each of them that may help you to understand the comparison clearly.
Engine oil:
The engine oil is used to lubricate, cool and clean the engine components. It also helps to avoid rusting and wearing of the components because of the different additives present in a base oil.
The engine oil also helps for the sealing of the piston rings. The base oil used for engine oil is made up of crude petroleum hydrocarbons.
Transmission oil:
The purpose of the transmission oil is to lubricate the moving components inside of the gearbox. The operating temperature of the transmission oil is comparatively lower than engine oil. Along with the lubrication, transmission oil also helps to cool the components of the transmission gearbox.
Difference between engine oil and transmission oil
| Sr. no. | Engine oil | Transmission oil |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The engine oil is used to protect the engine components. | The transmission oil is used to protect the gearbox components. |
| 2 | The main function of the engine oil is to lubricate and cool bearings and other moving components of the engine. | The main function of transmission oil is to lubricate gears and the bearing of the gearbox. |
| 3 | It helps to avoid the wearing of engine components. | It helps to avoid the wearing of gearbox components. |
| 4 | It works at a higher temperature than transmission oil. | It works at a comparatively lower temperature than engine oil. |
| 5 | It is necessary to clean the engine oil periodically to remove debris. | The transmission oil doesn’t require periodic cleaning. |
| 6 | Mostly the fresh engine oil has an amber colour. | The transmission oil is dark red in colour. |
| 7 | The optimum operating temperature of engine oil is between 230° Celsius to 260° Celsius. | The optimum operating temperature for transmission oil is 175° Celsius to 220° Celsius. |
| 8 | The engine oil is replaced within the running range from 5000 to 7500 miles. | The transmission oil is replaced within the running range from 30000 to 60000 miles. |
Therefore in this article, we have covered all the significant points for the difference between engine oil and transmission oil.
