Transaxle oil change

Ricardo:

I have many thoughts, but won't mention them here. Probably you should do what the manual says. There may be some metal filings, etc. in there from normal break-in. At least, that's what I think.

Definitely will do it. What type gear oil for my 3:88 swing axle would be appropriate? I checked in the service manual but it doesn't give me a definite specification on the grade, etc. as it does with the motor oil.

Well, the Bently manual tells us to use SAE 90 Hypoid Gear Oil in a manual transmission......

It's drained through a 17 mm plug on the bottom of the case, and filled through a 17 mm hole on the side of the case. You will need a rather large hex-wrench (Mid-America Auto Parts) to remove those two plugs.

When filling it with 90 wt, make sure the car is level and fill it slowly until the oil leaks out through the side hole, put the plug in and then let it sit for a few minutes and fill it some more until, after it sits for a few minutes and you pull the side plug the fluid runs out. The manual says it takes 6.3 pints.

I put synthetic gear lube in mine after about 500 mi- it works fantastic. Shifts are much smoother, my hair is getting thicker, I've lost 10 lbs, and I don't have athlete's foot any more. I'm a true believer!

What did you use? Synthetic 90 wt. or something else?

Go for the good stuff. I put this stuff in my rebuilt tranny after 300 miles.
Red Line synthetic oil.
75W90 High Performance gear oil.

Ron

Synthetic blend 75W/90- cheapest stuff I could find. Works great- seriously.

OK, what the heck......I'll see if I can find redline (or anything, for that matter) since I need to change it anyway.

Stan; I got the Coastal brand synthetic blend. At least it says it complies with GL-3, GL-4 (what my VW manual specifies) and GL-5, has some synthetic additives and it's fairly priced. I guess I can't go wrong. I haven't changed it though, still have 150 more miles to go. I tried to get Mobil 1 or Valvoline full synthetic but they were out of the quantities I need for the 75-90W at Western Auto & Pep Boys.

Stan, does it do anything for B.O. halitosis or gastritis? If so, I may get some for my medicine chest.

how often should it be changed after break-in?

George:

Change it after the first 600 miles or so, and then it's probably good for 90,000. If you wish, you can put in synthetic 90wt hypoid gear oil (mobile-1 90wt. or something like that) after 600 miles and forget about it.

You coming on the Coastal Tour this weekend?

I have the single side cover IRS transmission and it takes just a bit less than 3 liters (probably 3 quarts). You will also need a 17mm Allen wrench to get the drain and fill pugs out and of course a syringe to squirt the new oil in. You will have to jack the front and back of the car up at the same time since it must be level when filling. On the off chance that it might have some benefit I put in some Redline 75W90 but have yet to notice any difference. GL4 or GL5 doesn

Bruce; capacity is more like 2.5 quarts as per the VW manual; odd since it's the exact same engine oil capacity (for a stock one, of course).

At Autozone (Geez, I hate to go there) I found a nifty oil filler tube for transmission fluid that is a clear tube about 18" long with a screw fitting on one end that screws right onto the 90 wt. oil container. It even has an on-off feature. You screw it onto the bottle, then put the snout into the filler hole and squeeze the oil right in. No muss, no fuss.

Found it hanging over near the gear oil and transmission fluid. I think it was about $4 USD.

gn

Ricardo
I have the hex nut for the plug in case you need it...

Thanks JJ I have it too; I'll need to put around 125 extra miles on the car to change the oil. Let's see if we can get together this weekend to seal underneath the cars.

The VW manual states that on rebuilt transaxles the oil should be changed after the first 600 miles. Any thoughts?

I just read the Bentley manual for the cars from '66 to '69 and it says you should change the transaxle and engine oils on new or rebuilt units after the first 300 miles, yet the Bentley manual for cars from '70 on says it should be done at the 600 mile mark. There's also a difference between both manuals in that the '66 to '69 tells you to adjust the valves on new or rebuilt engines at the 300 mile mark yet the '70 on says every 6,000 miles. From '69 to '70 there wasn't such a dramatic change in the design or the materials of engines & transaxles to warrant such a discrepancy in terms of maintenance. Which one is right????....

Maybe the factory specs for the lubricant to be used was upgraded? Sorta like Brake fluid going from DOT 3 to DOT 4? Or maybe VW of America was getting too many lost sales or customer complaints for maintainence on such a new car? Or maybe our lubricants actually were different than the European stuff?
How should we re-interpret the original oil change specs for a Ford Model T using todays lubricants?

Thanks for the insight David; you got a point there that I didn't think about. Lubricants get improved over time....but what about the drastic change in the valve adjustment maintenance requirements?

The bar is continually being raised. If I can digress a bit to make a point here. I've ridden a motorcycle to work daily for about 30 years. One particular section of freeway interchange is a wonderful series of esses and curves, perhaps 2 miles long. Was a time when I passed almost everybody going a constant 70 MPH through that section. I noticed that as years went by I was going the same speed but was passing fewer cars. Today any yahoo in a Hyndai goes through there the same speed I do. Chassis design and tires have improved that much. It is only logical to assume similar improvements in all technical areas.

Well guys; and update: JJ and I changed the fluid yesterday; the car was reading close to 600 miles on the odometer. I took out the two magnetic plugs and found the expected small metal particles adhered to them. Cleaned them up and put the new gear oil in. I can tell you that somehow the car shifts smoother and better with the new synthetic blend 75W/90 Coastal brand. I'm really happy. The tranny still has that leakage coming from the right side plate; I guess I'll have to live with it.