Gear oil for stock 4 speed manual trans.

[meyervw]

Sunday the trans is getting the out put seal done and new oil. I can get Redline MTL or a good quality 80-90w gear oil. The temps here are all over so. The qestion is, is redline that good? I have heard great things about but never tried it. I can get redline but am having trouble finding Castrol gear oil or any other good oil. Not sure why. What are you people running in yours?
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Gustav 1987 Wolfsburg Edition

[Pascal]

Do a search on Redline and you will have lots of information from which to make your decision.

e.g. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=332470&highlight=redline

Many use Redline MT 90, which is what I chose to use.
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'84 Westy - 2.2wbx, GT Torque-Biasing Differential
'91 EA Cabby

[meyervw]

Thanks for the link
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Spelling in my post may or may not be correct.
Gustav 1987 Wolfsburg Edition

[westyventures]

IMO, Redline MT90 is fine for a van with stock engine. BUT, if it has a more powerful engine with far more torque, I'd lean toward either their std. 75W90 or another other top branded synthetic 75W90. I've seen failures of gearboxes running MT90 that appear to be oil related. I'm now using Royal Purple 75W90 in my TDI rigs. There is one tranny builder that recommends LE Industry's 9919, but at twice the price it has exatly the same test results as RP or RL 75W90.

[Herr Motorspiele]

Karl,
Can you describe the failures you've seen resulting from MT90? After all the debate I just went with Napa's StaLube GL4 since I couldn't find Redline locally anymore.

[westyventures]

[Herr Motorspiele]

[presslab]

Do not use MTL, it's way too thin.

Daryl at AA Transaxle recommended MT90 which is what I am running in his rebuild. I changed the oil at 10k miles and it was a little dirty, just the new parts breaking in and whatnot. It's been working great.

I'm using an EJ22, which doesn't have much more torque than the stock 2.1, although it does rev higher.
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1986 Vanagon Westfalia EJ25
1988 Subaru GL-10 EJ20G --- 2000 Honda XR650L
2010 Titus El Guapo --- 2011 On-One 456 Ti

[insyncro]

I have tried all the Synthetics and feel Swepco is far superior.

dylan

[Jon_slider]

Im currently using MT-90 in my 86 syncro, as recommended by my transaxle rebuilder, German Transaxle. It does shift more easily, than when it had gear oil, during these freezing months, temp overnight was 19F.

Due to numerous comments that swepco is better for the hypoid gears, I will change out when its not freezing cold..

fwiw, GoWesty uses MT-90 too

And Daryl at AATransaxle also recommends it. His comments are that if you have an SVX engine, the swepco is a better choice.

otoh, I respect Karl's opinion, as well as that of Seth of Mastercraft motors, both of whom report concerns with MT-90

Im using it because its what the rebuilder told me to use, since its a brand new rebuild, I wanted to respect his warranty.

From what I can tell, the MT-90 is favored by folks who deal with freezing temps.

Jonathan

[Wildthings]

I have run last 400K miles I have put on my Syncro, Vanagon, and Bay with 0W-30 synthetic engine oil in the gear boxes. No problems to date. Shift fine when cold, the oil looks good after long use, and very minimal filings on the magnetic drain plug.

[mightyart]

If this thread turns into a fight it will be deleted.

[GWTWTLW]

[mightyart]

[westyventures]

[meyervw]

Well IO found Canstrol 80w-90 and thats what is going in.
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Spelling in my post may or may not be correct.
Gustav 1987 Wolfsburg Edition

[vortex2.71]

I think a major disconnect when people debate tranny fluid (or even engine oil) pertains the the climate that people are operating the vehicle in. It would be useful if people would post their recommendations with a stipulation about climate. Some of us just don't encounter temperatures below 25 degrees and others don't encounter temperatures above 80 degrees. Since most of the debate centers around cold start vs. running temperature this makes a big impact for cold starts.

[meyervw]

The temps where I live range from 30 deg F to 110 deg F. A big range.
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Spelling in my post may or may not be correct.
Gustav 1987 Wolfsburg Edition

[MarkWard]

Synchronized transaxles have two requirements. When shifting the brass synchro ring needs to be able to grab the gear and slow it for a smooth shift. If the synchro ring slips you get that "grind" sound. The other requirement is for the gears and bearings to have adequate lubrication for the loads they see. Here is the problem. The better the lubrication for the gears, the harder for the synchro ring to grab the gear. Too thick makes it hard for the synchro to grab the gear. Cold days make any gear oil thicker. I'd say new or rebuilt transaxles have different requirements from high mileage ones. Climate and age should always be considered. Also remember, GL ratings for lube are not the same as for Brake Fluid. GL 5 is not better than the spec'd GL 4. Where DOT 5 brake fluid would have higher boiling points etc over DOT 4 or DOT 3. I will refrain from making a recommendation. If you have a high mileage transmission with grinding gears when shifting cold but seems to improve when warmed up. Perhaps a lower viscosity might give you better results without having the transmission rebuilt. Was that civil yet informative?
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[gears]