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Date:         Fri, 8 Oct 2010 07:38:29 -0700
Reply-To:     Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Gear oil: One man's impression..Long and kinda Friday
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

No debate here from me.

that being said....I recently had cause to compare Swepco 201 to Redline MT-90 in my 84 2.0liter inline VW powered 5-sp manual tranny van. My impressions:

I will be going back to the Swepco soon. It is noticeably smoother feeling as I drive and shift, both. Quieter under load.

Some history and the basis for my preference.

I've driven my van now about 50k miles, first month or so with the PO's gear oil, unknown type. I then changed to a relatively inexpensive Valvoline synthetic gear oil, ran that for a few thousand miles (to flush out the gearbox) and then I re-filled with MT-90 Redline. That stayed in ( with one more change, same stuff) until last spring. It works fine..it's easy to shift right from start up, in my van. The 'stick' feels really 'light' and the 'gates' when you move from gear to gear, they seem quite 'definate'... If I lived in very cold weather..continually below freezing, that is what I would probably continue to use as my winter time gear oil, for sure. It's very light, no delectable difference in the way it "feels" whether it's below freezing or 100f+. I have not driven MT-90 in very cold temps. Like -40 f...with weeks at below 0 f...but at those temps a synthetic gear oil like the MT-90, probably easier to cold-shift, makes sense. At -40f changing gears becomes difficult with dino-based oils until your transmission warms up. I broke the shifter on my Ford F-250 Pick up one -55 f morning, trying to get into gear to get to work.

I recently changed my motor, my clutch (two tries there) and replaced a seal on the output shaft of my tranny...so I've been paying very close attention to how everything seems to be working in the drive line. I thought some might find it interesting what my impressions are as I drove the two gear oils, back to back with my attention fully-focused, on multiple recent test drives.

Early this spring I swapped to Swepco 201 in my tranny and I drove that all summer. Changing from the MT-90, I noticed that the first few gear selections with cold Swepco are sometime a little 'stiff' but I soon got use to that..or maybe as it got warmer outside, that went away. It was noticeably quieter inside my van..less gear noise come through to the driver and shifting is smoother through the gears. Moving from gear to gear, I don't feel the "H-pattern" at all, where with the Redline...I am aware of that..

When I recently changed my output shaft seal, I drained the Swepco and then put it back in, waiting for some other parts. In the mean time I ordered up some Redline and re filled with that when the other parts arrived. When the Swepco came out, it was still bright blue and really slippery. I found just the normal metal 'hairs' on my mag. drain plug. It had a very faint characteristic "gear oil" smell...very faint..

I decided, since winter is approaching and I lost a little of my Swepco on the floor, that I would go back to the lighter feeling MT-90. The difference in the two substances is mark-ed! One feels like gear oil..one feels like...water?...

I did some reading on the Net about 'what oil should I use' and got all the dire warnings about using only non-sulphur oil in VWs cause it will eat up your bronze synchromesh gears, etc etc. But I also got plenty of Swepco fans' opinions and I personally know plenty of German car drivers and racers who've used it for years without any internal problems.

So I will be going back to that stuff. It shifts better. It sounds better underway. It seems more slippery..more like a lubricant..more expensive, too darn it.

Not scientific at all, am I?

Don Hanson


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