TheSamba.com :: View topic - Best Manual transmission "fluid" for cold weather

Sun Nov 25, 2007 10:03 am

Before draining the manual tranny I had no problems shifting gears from 1st to 2nd during the cold weather...now after putting in new oil from "amsoil" it needs to drive a little to warm up and then shifting becomes completely smooth...are there any recomendations from experience as to what kind of oil will eliminate the difficult cold weather shift...had the same problem with my diesel jetta..used 10/30 synthetic in the tranny and that fixed the problem..but this is not the route I want to take with my van...someone told me that the original tranny oil that came with the van was thinner to begin with then other "off the shelf" oils obtained here

Sun Nov 25, 2007 10:30 am

Is your gearbox filled to the bottom of the fill hole? Current recommendation is underfilling by a bit (1/2" or so, IIRC). Apparently, this can affect gear engagement.

Might be worth a try.

I use RedLine MT90 with no issues.

Cheers!

Sun Nov 25, 2007 10:55 am

riceye wrote: Is your gearbox filled to the bottom of the fill hole? Current recommendation is underfilling by a bit (1/2" or so, IIRC). Apparently, this can affect gear engagement.

Might be worth a try.

I use RedLine MT90 with no issues.

Cheers! ..I did not know that was important ,but I have re-checked the oil level and it sits below the "fill" opening

Sun Nov 25, 2007 11:38 am

I have an old beater diesel Vanagon with 160K on the trans alone. We thought it would be cool to drop the dino oil out and refill it with synthetics.

All sorts of shifting issues from hard to get from 1.st to 2 while it was cold. Even after warming up the old turd motor it still was a cold beast.

Back to 75-140 and a snort of Lucas Oil "Snot" was inserted. Back to "normal". The clutch likes to chatter when cold, but I doubt the oil change caused that.

I did have a 84 waterleaker with 220k on the clock. Redline only engine. No head gasket failures, no oil use---impressed me. Costly, but impressed.

I attribute the long life of head gaskets to Walmart antifreeze. :lol:

Sun Nov 25, 2007 2:22 pm

One quart ATF then the rest 80W90 gear lube,lets you shift down to -25F

Sun Nov 25, 2007 6:31 pm

In some areas of the north country people change to straight ATF for the winter months, some leave it in year around. I have been running 0W40 or 5W-50 synthetic motor oil year around in my 091 and 091-1 trannies for over a decade now with no problems. At first I worried a lot about doing so, but having put a lot of miles on them by now and not having found an abnormal amount of filings on the drain plug magnets I no longer give it much thought.

Sat Apr 04, 2015 11:59 am

Hey guys, dusting off an old thread here.

I am pulling my transmission today to replace the rear main seal on my EJ22. I drained my (manual) trans today to find my gear oil full of shiny copper/bronze colored metal dust. Magnet on the drain plug was coated in fine dust as well. I have been running Royal Purple synthetic 75W-90 for the past 15k miles. I know that I will get yelled at because I am not running MT-90. Bottom line is I need a rebuild.

I am saving for AA to do my rebuild with taller gears for the EJ22 and install a TBD within the next 12 months.

Here is my question. I want to flush my trans so that I can clean all the fine particles out of the gear box. I would like to run some ATF in the trans for a hundred miles and then drain it only to refill with more ATF and flush it again after another 100 miles ...repeat until the fluid runs clear. Then switch back to the gear oil. It this acceptable? Does it make since? I am looking for a solution to clean the dust out and get another 8k miles out of it this summer. [-o<

Sat Apr 04, 2015 1:20 pm

Happy Easter :-)

Do NOT use MT-90 :-), Flush with Dinosaur GL5 gear oil, then switch to Swepco 201 or Mobil Delvac.
Discussion about Redline

Do NOT use taller gears with an EJ22
Discussion about Tall Gears

Do NOT fill and drive with ATF!

Either get your bronze shedding tranny rebuilt Now, or pay more as additional parts get damaged by continuing to drive it. Your problem will get worse, until something breaks and forces you to stop driving, which will be even more expensive.

Im going to have to add this post to my soapbox links :-)

Sat Apr 04, 2015 3:19 pm

Well.....aren't you full of wonderful news. ](*,)

I read though the threads and there is lots of great information about the effects of taller gearing. Looks like a rebuild and a TBD are in my immediate future.

The transaxle is out of the van and I pulled the bellhousing to get a look at the R&P. It looks good but lots of bronze fluid that looks as iridescent as a bottle of glittery nailpolish. Guess my problems are deeper than I can see.

I put an email into Daryl at AA to line up shipping this one to him. Looks like the Westy is down for the Spring.

Have a blessed Easter all!

Sat Apr 04, 2015 9:12 pm

Contact Samba member Bigbore and see what he can do for you. He is in or near Anchorage somewhere, IIRC.

Sun Apr 05, 2015 10:43 am

AKWesty wrote: Well.....aren't you full of wonderful news. ](*,)

I read though the threads and there is lots of great information about the effects of taller gearing. Looks like a rebuild and a TBD are in my immediate future.

The transaxle is out of the van and I pulled the bellhousing to get a look at the R&P. It looks good but lots of bronze fluid that looks as iridescent as a bottle of glittery nailpolish. Guess my problems are deeper than I can see.

I put an email into Daryl at AA to line up shipping this one to him. Looks like the Westy is down for the Spring.

Have a blessed Easter all!

Daryl Christensen passed away a year ago. His very capable son Matt has filled his shoes at AA Transaxle.

Sun Apr 05, 2015 11:08 am

Noted. Thanks.

The email contact on their website has not updated. Thanks for letting me know.

Sun Apr 05, 2015 1:55 pm

AKWesty wrote: Noted. Thanks.

The email contact on their website has not updated. Thanks for letting me know.

Matt's really busy!!

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=585978&highlight=daryl+memorial

Tue Apr 07, 2015 7:23 am

Jon_slider wrote: Happy Easter :-)

Do NOT use MT-90 :-), Flush with Dinosaur GL5 gear oil, then switch to Swepco 201 or Mobil Delvac.
Discussion about Redline

Do NOT use taller gears with an EJ22
Discussion about Tall Gears

Do NOT fill and drive with ATF!

Either get your bronze shedding tranny rebuilt Now, or pay more as additional parts get damaged by continuing to drive it. Your problem will get worse, until something breaks and forces you to stop driving, which will be even more expensive.

Im going to have to add this post to my soapbox links :-)

I am planning to use Motul 75w90, API GL4, GL5 and MIL-L-2105D in my 5 speed. Turns out this is the same gear lube for the Vespa....not LS.

Tue Apr 07, 2015 2:38 pm

Talked to Erica at AA today. Looks like they are 6 weeks out right now. I packed up my transaxle today to ship it down to them. $2600 for a rebuild and Peloquin. I did talk to German and GW about their transaxles also for comparison. All seem to back their rebuilds and Peloquin install with great warranties. I decided to go with Matt at AA.

This will get strapped to a pallet and barged from Haines down to WA where it will freight to their shop. No UPS or FEDex here.

Tue Sep 19, 2017 1:07 am

That's one of the most awesome field packing jobs I've ever seen, above..

=D> =D> =D>

Tue Sep 19, 2017 6:26 am

I have been using Swepco 202 full synthetic with great cold temperature results. Check this thread... :popcorn:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...highlight=

Tue Sep 19, 2017 7:30 am

^^^^^^^^^^^^^ x2!

Tue Sep 19, 2017 8:54 am

I've tried quite a few transaxle oils.

I am using the VW Dealer synthetic now. It seems a bit thin to me. Similar in shifting feel to Redline. Slightly grabby at higher temps, only noticable coming off a hot high speed run. I wouldn't even have noticed if I hadn't tried some Amsoil that was worse. You can't get out 100% of the old oil when you drain so this feeling could be attributed to some leftover Amsoil in there.

Amsoil felt bad (grabby at higher temps). More deeper reading makes me skeptical of their claims, especially after trying it.

Staylube GL4 Dyno oil felt decent but I like easier shifting synthetics and the price of Staylube has climbed so there is no reason to get it now.

I like Mobil Delvac 75-90 Synthetic the best so far of the ones I've tried. I will either go back to that or try the new Swepco 202 synthetic. I change oil like I am changing my underwear, every year or so whether it needs it or not.

Tue Sep 19, 2017 8:55 am

That is indeed an excellent packing job. Points for ingenuity and a gold star for thinking outside the....er...box. Cough.... :lol: