Whale Oil Kept Car Transmissions Running Until 1973

From the 1940s through the early 1970s, automatic transmission fluid contained an unlikely ingredient: whale oil. More specifically, manufacturers used spermaceti—a waxy substance from sperm whale heads—as a rust and corrosion inhibitor in transmission fluid. By the 1960s, the automotive industry was consuming up to 30 million pounds of whale oil annually.

GM's Dexron Type A and Type B transmission fluids both contained whale oil until 1972. Chrysler used similar formulations in their vehicles. The substance worked remarkably well as a friction modifier and lubricant, keeping millions of transmissions running smoothly across America's highways.

The Whale Oil Ban

In 1972, the Endangered Species Act outlawed the killing of whales and the use of materials derived from them. Manufacturers scrambled to reformulate their transmission fluids with synthetic alternatives. GM introduced Dexron-II in 1972 without whale oil, marking the end of an era.

The timing is significant: cars manufactured in 1973 were among the last to potentially receive the old whale-oil-based fluids as fill or service fluid, though production of the original formula had already ceased.

When the Whales Stopped Flowing

The removal of whale oil triggered a transmission crisis. Before 1972, fewer than 1 million automatic transmissions failed each year in the United States. By 1975, that number had exploded to over 8 million failures annually.

GM's Turbo Hydra-matic 350 and 400 series transmissions were hit particularly hard. At least 5,500 units failed prematurely in vehicles built between 1973 and 1975. The problem centered on corrosion—the new synthetic fluids couldn't prevent rust as effectively as whale oil had. Since transmission coolers were located inside radiators, corroded fittings allowed transmission fluid and antifreeze to mix, causing catastrophic damage.

Finding a Replacement

The solution came from an unexpected source: the desert. Jojoba plants produce a waxy substance in their seeds that's chemically nearly identical to spermaceti. In 1986, Frank Erickson of International Lubricants Inc. partnered with Phillip Landis of Mobil Oil to develop jojoba-based transmission fluid additives.

The jojoba oil substitute worked. Modern transmission fluids now use a combination of synthetic compounds and jojoba derivatives to replicate the protective qualities that whale oil once provided—without harming a single whale.