Oils and lubricants
The Right Oil for Your Commercial Vehicle Transmission

Modern vehicle and transmission generations are subject to ever more demanding requirements. Ultimately, the same is true of transmission oils. Also, certain oil properties are now essential for certain transmission components to perform at their best (“oil as a component”). ZF-EcoFluid is optimized for transmissions and therefore guarantees optimum performance and shift comfort.

In modern transmissions, the oil is a “component” that needs to match the various transmission functions and materials as closely as possible. ZF transmission oils are developed in conjunction with the individual transmissions and adapted to their specific requirements. Commercially available products usually have to meet the specifications of more than one unit. The compromises involved prevent your ZF transmission from reaching its full potential. ZF oils benefit from ZF's OEM expertise and always meet the requirements of the vehicle manufacturers.

ZF transmission oils contain a matched combination of high-quality base oils and special additive packages. This guarantees excellent lubrication and friction properties even under extreme operating conditions and maximizes the service life of ZF units, often significantly reducing fuel consumption at the same time.

ZF transmission oils are especially recommended for applications with high thermal stress (e.g., demanding topography, sporty driving style, transmissions with retarders/Intarders).

Pay attention to the original packaging and the exact specification. If in doubt, contact a ZF Aftermarket Service Center for an oil sample analysis.

The lubricants approved for ZF units are detailed in the ZF lists of lubricants (TE-ML ...) which are updated every 3 months. You can view them on the lists of lubricants website .

The oil must be approved by the manufacturer. The relevant recommendations are usually provided in the vehicle's operating instructions. Every 3 months, ZF Aftermarket publishes up-to-date online lists of lubricants; you can obtain these by going to www.zf.com/schmierstoffe. Product descriptions provided by lubricant manufacturers should clearly state that an approval has been issued.

Switching over to an oil approved by ZF for the unit in question is always possible. However, residual quantities of the lower-cost oil may have an adverse effect on quality. This is why some ZF units require more frequent oil changes after the initial switchover. The relevant list of lubricants provides more information on this topic.

As a rule, any lubricant approved by ZF may be used. We recommend checking this based on the relevant list of lubricants (see the lists of lubricants website).

During the running-in phase, it generally makes sense to use higher-quality lubricants. The lubricants provided by ZF ex works should therefore not be replaced ahead of time. Generally speaking, oils added at the ZF plant are carefully filtered during a test run, so there is no need to change the oil during running-in.

The viscosity classes approved for the unit are indicated in the relevant ZF Aftermarket lists of lubricants. Other viscosity classes must not be used.