Gear changes a little agricultural - OIL Change / Type ?

AGB-S3

AGB-S3

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BAM 150,000 miles , Manual gear changes a little agricultural , box is ok, selects etc , but just not too silky in operation

Gear box oil change likely to improve anything ???

Oil type suggestions ???
 
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I'd also be interested to know whether a a transmission fluid change would make any difference to gear changes.

Mine can be a little crunchy at times, I'm on 160,000.
 
Manual box , car is round 155,000 miles , clutch 4000 miles and engine is number 3 at 80,000 miles , changed the haldex oil and filter , that made an improvement .. wondering if g-box would benefit ... is it oil or one of these water like fluids ?
 
75w90 fully synth GL4 spec oil... gears are nearly always crunchy when cold... they tend to get better as the box/oil warms up..

VAG state its filled for life so no service intervals on gearbox or rear diff (not haldex as that does need servicing regularly)... rear diff is 75w90 fully synth GL5 spec

<tuffty/>
 
75W80 no cold crunchy .

titan_sintofluid_sae_75w80_1l_-_single_1.jpg
 
Ha , ha , I knew that old chestnut would come up !

I quote Tim of Opie Oils .

"Containing some sulphur isn't an issue, it's the level in the oil that can be a problem and depends on the overall additive package. In the additive package there will be additives to control the acidity of the oil, if the sulphur compounds do produce an acidic byproduct (based on them breaking down, they might not break down), the buffers should control the acidity of the oil. If the additive package doesn't contain enough buffer, the acidity of the oil might be a problem. In reality, the Fuchs and Castrol do not damage yellow metals, we have sold plenty of both of them to know there isn't an issue and companies like Fuchs and Castrol would not be recommending them for use with synchros if there was a problem.

The problem with additives and yellow metals comes from the 1970s and was soon rectified by reputable oil companies. The problem was that original GL5 oils contained levels of sulphur that were too high for yellow metals, leading to corrosion, but when the problems were discovered, the additive package (used by reputable companies) was altered so that the level of sulphur was lowered to a safe level (basically a higher dose of a GL4 additive pack was used)."
 
Use GL4 as per spec suggests, I don't care what some salesman at opie oils says im afraid.

GL5 in THIS synchro gearbox that's supposed to take GL4 will wear the synchros quicker, period.

GL5 isn't a higher spec oil it's a different spec all together. Different EP levels and different additive package.

For this vehicle vw quote GL4. They don't quote GL4/GL5 so in THIS case GL4 should be used regardless of what any salesmen or any gossip on the Internet says.
 
<tuffty/> said:
VAG spec is still GL4

<tuffty/>
Click to expand...

Tell me the VW oil spec number ?

Sure some GL5's with different EP levels are too slippery for the synchros and are better suited to diffs .

Those that are marketed to suit manual gearboxes won't have those levels of sulphur , a GL 4 will contain sulphur anyway that's why it stinks !

The Internet is a struggle with decades of blinkered thinking with people getting on the bandwagon and quoting the same poo poo .

The 5W40 505.01 Vs 5W30 507.00 was hard work but many have come around to understand and the penny dropped .

And yes my handbook tells me to use genuine VW brake fluid only , it's a DOT 4 , no mention of DOT 4 , DOT 5.1 or Super DOT 4 , it's just a ploy to buy over priced genuine mystery fluids that don't have data sheets .

I remember someone buying a genuine gearbox fluid that was a so called 'fill for life fluid' that doesn't ever need changing to find it had a sub 2020 expiry date on it
icon_shysterical.gif
 
Gazwould said:
The Internet is a struggle with decades of blinkered thinking with people getting on the bandwagon and quoting the same poo poo .
Click to expand...

I am still waiting for a "Gaz's world of Oil" website to be finished allowing the internet to be updated at last...

Feel free to write an oil thread though and I'll sticky it as its a subject that comes up often enough to warrant it...

<tuffty/>
 
Retroman said:
This manual gearbox stuff doesn't have the usual smelly gear oil smell - smells more like nail varnish :wub: plus the fact it is readily available in shops and outlets and comes from a proper GB company rather than that dodgy German FUCHs one :haha:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Castrol-S...692177?hash=item2a2e140c11:g:Wc0AAOSwV0RXrYaZ
Click to expand...

Well you've got the wrong Castrol Syntrans for a start , you've quoted "Multivehicle" which has only Ford and Mercedes Benz performance claims , the one you should of quoted is Transaxle , even then...

With that you are back to not resolving any poor cold shifting current issues because it's thick , 78 Centistokes @ 40°C compared to Fuchs 49.8 Centistokes .

Efficiency gains to be had too .

If you must be a GL4ist , then I suggest Fuchs Titan Sintofluid-FE 75W or Red Line MTL 75W80 , but we need more info as no one including Paul has failed to give a genuine VW oil spec / part number .
 
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No special VAG version of the oil the ? [unlike ford + mt75?]

the transition from 4 to 5 is one of wiped loading , the front diff must use the same oil as the gear box, which will have hypoid gear's and require oil that is deigned for the higher loading under slippage than strait or bevel ...

assume there IS a gearbox drain and filling plug ? level to where ??

Mobilube 1 SHC 75W-90 ??? meets or exceeds the requirements of the API Service MT-1/GL-4/GL-5 gear oil service classifications.
 
We are still missing the all important VW gearbox oil spec , everything these days is manufacturer spec .

The Mobil hasn't any VAG recommendations , and the GL4 camp will be confused by the dual GL4 and GL5 spec .
 
Mobil web site only lists engine oils for this car , [m 1 0-30 sae] ..no transmission oils

Q what is the VW spec [ and capacity ?] is there a gear box code ? , engine is bam
 
superkarl said:
I had some left over coconut oil from the grill pan so I melted it down and gave it a sieve and vuala
Click to expand...
Excellent choice! Full of great Group XXVIII ester oil basestocks, superior detergency compared to a regular chip-shop oil, which is just ****-thin refined severely hydrocracked junk. Coconut basestock is just 0.50 Centistokes away from being a 40 grade !
 
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Gaz would you recommend this one then
 

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shaunevo6 said:
Use GL4 as per spec suggests, I don't care what some salesman at opie oils says im afraid.

GL5 in THIS synchro gearbox that's supposed to take GL4 will wear the synchros quicker, period.

GL5 isn't a higher spec oil it's a different spec all together. Different EP levels and different additive package.

For this vehicle vw quote GL4. They don't quote GL4/GL5 so in THIS case GL4 should be used regardless of what any salesmen or any gossip on the Internet says.
Click to expand...


Going on what Shaun has said it's not just what an oil salesman says that I go by , although he does have used oil analysis and long term feedback at his disposal and if there was a genuine issue with a GL5 manual gearbox oil he could then just recommend a GL4 and still sell oil !

I'm not going to stick just any oil in without a few creditable confirmations .

My own particular requirement for my 6 speed box is VW 501.50 ( G50 ) which is normally a 75W90 GL4 and the approved non genuine oil is Castrol Syntrans Transaxle 75W90 which is a GL4+ .

Now when cold and there is no stiffness in the gear changes then by all means stick the Castrol in .

If there is a smalll difficulty with shift quality until warmed up this usually a too thick when cold oil viscosity issue with normal slightly worn synchro , usually from 1st to 2nd which happened with the genuine GL4 anyway .

Now I've Fuchs Titan Sintofluid SAE 75W80 GL5 in my gearbox , instead of a 75W90 GL4 , because Fuchs recommends it !

http://www.fuchs.com/uk/en/special/product/product/titan-sintofluid-sae-75w-80-3/

Now considering who Shaun's employer is I find the confliction quite interesting !
 
Am confused do I use the fuchs titan 75w I posted above or do I go with the gl5 gaz has recommended. Mine does suffer from crunch in 2nd and I've already changed my dog bone mount to a power flex one.
 
Oh and I did change it last year for genuine oil and it made no difference
 
Lets establish some facts here.... VW part number for S3 8L gearbox oil is G052171A2.

The ONLY oil fuchs recommends for the S3 8L gearbox with part number G052171A2 is
TITAN SINTOFLUID FE SAE 75W which is.... Oh yeah GL4.

The easiest thing for people to do is use an oil finder on a oil manufacturers database.

Fuchs one is here, put your reg in and will come up with what is recommended for your car.

uk - Fuchs Lubricants (UK) plc
http://www.fuchs.com/uk/en/
 
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At last the manufacturer spec I've been asking for so the right Fuchs Sintofluid FE 75W GL4 as selected and mentioned earlier can be matched up .

Now if Paul is using 75W90 it's way thicker than FE 75W , hense his crunchy when cold .

Now my argument and the confliction is my particular spec 501.50 is a 75W90 GL4 and Fuchs recommends and I use 75W80 GL5 .
 
Sightly more stable , slightly thinner grade, less oil drag , less heating and improved wiping load , gl4 has morphed to gl5

Phew , finally its resolved :)
 
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I've got a similar problem with my A3, 8L AGU gearbox. What's the method to changing the oil? Is it possible to flush a gearbox?
 
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