Drill transaxle oil port with trans in-car

[Sodo]

It seems that a good healthy trans runs at about 140 - 160F. If this thermostat runs at appx 140F it would be a good component. If its for car engine coolant 180F etc; it wouldn’t act until the trans is way overheated. And then it would turn the cooling system off; while the trans is still overheated.
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'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[jalan]

Good point about the temp. Yes the Mocal is set at 180F. I'll talk to their tech dept and see if they can be changed. ( Mocal said yes they can be changed)

Mocal has a pump catalog on their website with a variety of pumps as well as the in line pre filter and an adjustable temperature controller. They are a bit less expensive than Weddel for the same pump.
They also carry coolers and mounting brackets as well as a complete line of fittings.

Weddel says both their diaphragm and gear pumps pump approximately 2.5 GPM. The gear pump is probably quieter.

On another note I have been an Amsoil user for over 25 years, so it was great to read that their gear oil came out on top of all the oils tested. Currently running their severe gear Long Life 80-140 in my syncro with 2.5 subie. A bit stiff on cold start up during the winter but warms up quickly. No oil cooler yet.

Here is a link to the test results I found on The Samba. Some of the gear oils completely failed in some testing categories.
http://www.lastgreatroadtrip.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/gear-oil-comparison.pdf

Update after hearing from the Mocal folks and Weddel.

Mocal says my idea of using the thermostat is unnecessary. They said to just run the pre-filter, pump, filter and cooler with a temperature controller to turn the pump on and off.

Sean at Weddel said the concern that the pump will lower the oil level in the differential section is not valid as the passages between the tranny housing and diff housing are more than large enough to keep the levels equal. The most important thing is to get the oil to the fourth gear and main bearing. He also said the tranny can run at 200 even 250 degrees without harming it. At really high temps, over 250, you will get some hardening of the seals which can eventually cause slight oil loss.

A question for all you who have designed and are running coolers and filters.
Does it make sense to turn the pump on and off if one of the main reasons you want a pumped oil system is to deliver the oil to the gears and bearings?. It seems to me the best design would always run the pump and would only cool it when it hit a preset temperature.
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1989 Syncro Hardtop, 2.5 '07 Subaru
1991 Carat Hardtop
1995 High Top Eurovan Syncro

[jalan]

SODO contacted Mocal and they will build us temperature bypass valves that operate at 150F. Have to buy a minimum of 20. Any other interested parties out there?

We are looking at the Mocal OT2. http://50.62.235.225/files/thermos$.pdf

I want an automated system so I am going to use the Inkbird controller to turn on the pump once it is warmed up, 80-90F. Once it kicks on it would stay on pumping the oil through the filter and on to 4th gear. Once it hits 150F the Mocal thermostat would divert it through the cooler and continue to do so as long as it stayed above 150. At high speeds, long hills or hot summertime when it hits 180 then the fan controller on the cooler would kick on.

See the filtering forum for the latest on the bypass thermostat. Found one for $170 that opens at 145 degrees.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...;start=180
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1989 Syncro Hardtop, 2.5 '07 Subaru
1991 Carat Hardtop
1995 High Top Eurovan Syncro

[Sodo]

I'm interested in this thermostat, but not real sure how I'll sell 20 of them . Syncroshop is inclined to filter 100% of the time with the oil-fed bearings, so the bearings always have filtered oil coming from the inside, which will exclude the 'dirty oil' at all times and wash them too. So Mr L wants to feed the bearings full-time but divert thru the cooler only when the oil gets above ~140F. So we're interested, but not yet committed. And we have not seen the price yet for the "custom temp" units.

If you have:
- 4.86 R&P
- clean lube
- quiet trans
- Weddle gear pump
- Weddle 6x6 cooler radiator (Setrab)

....it should stay below 150F.

5:43 runs hotter, and 6.17 hotter yet.

If outside temp is real hot though, such as Death Valley?? The highest oil temp I've seen in my current trans is 146F when it was 92F outside.

But I'll be driving to San Luis Obispo (California) this August & may see some higher outside temps.
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'90 Westy EJ25, 2Peloquins, 3knobs, pressure-oiled GT mainshaft, filtered, cooled gearbox
'87 Tintop w 47k 53k, '12 SmallCar EJ25, cooled filtered gearbox
....KTMs, GasGas, SPOT mtb

[gears]

I'm totally shocked that an Amsoil-sponsored comparison test would find Amsoil to be far superior to all others !!
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aka Pablo, Geary
9.36 @ 146 in '86 Hot & Sticky
'90 Syncro Westy SVX
'87 Syncro GL 2.5
https://guardtransaxle.com