Club 80-90 Forums

hi folks wonder do any of you know the best oil to put in my gearbox dont know wen it was last changed but needs doin i reckon its a 4 speed box 1.9 petrol 84 and trying to get my mate to do it but is it straight forward or a bit of a pain ?? can i put like a sort of flushing agent in it before i refill?? any info would be great cheers ROB!!

Buy the best you can afford. I've been recommended Redline MT90 (but not tried it yet). These 'boxes can be temperamental in later life, so a good oil with no hot/cold viscosity problems is essential.

VW originally recommended EP80 gear oil. I'd be tempted to go for EP90 or 80W/90 EP instead.

"is it straight forward or a bit of a pain "

Ancient proverb say 'Make sure the 17mm hex filler plug on the side can be undone before taking out the 17mm hex drain plug'

Some peeps use an M12 bolt with several nuts on and a 17mm spanner rather than a rat$hit and hex-driver which can be a tad cumbersome.

According to Haynes on a 5 speed the gear oil should come to 15mm below the filler plug-hole .... now where's a pipecleaner when you want one ??

Ian.

I have been using comma semi synth SX75w90 in my 5 speed for the last 5 years and 80k miles... its a GL5 and supposedly a big no no... yeah the box is tired and leaky.. but you would be too after 200k... the last 80k of hard abuse...

I should be able to offer a very high quality fully synth GL4/GL5 oil that specifically has no affect on the white metal bearings in older gearboxes this will be going in my syncro and 2wd.. + my Audi.. it may even find its way into the tractor too although that only needs a GL1.....

I need to know if there is any interest?? as that will be the key to the availability and pricing...

Redline MT90 is the dogs...but expensive, even with the 15% discount that Mike Ghia wangled. £11/litre plus vat and delivery......if you do order it make sure you stand up for the 15% discount as the importer is now only offering 10% to clubs etc....

wow beaker that is expensive but much less than replacing the whole box cheers you all for the info much apreciated will be on hold for a week or so as my starter motor went today (bummer) but luckily enough steve (gasure) has one in stock gonna pop round and fit it for me in the morning top bloke or wot eh??????

I have Red Line in the Syncro and its coping with 115bhp and 200ftlbs at present without complaining... has done for the last 7,000 miles too!

Good stuff but not cheap.

MG

hi - i remeber reading somoewhere that you can get a gear box oil with additive for worn boxes? Is this the red line stuff, or is red line better?
I have they high pitched whine that indicates a bearing somewhere is worn, and am saving to have the thing rebuilt, poss next summer. The advice was that this additive may assist until the box can be sorted.
cheers
Emma

whilst we on the subject how often should you change the oil anyway???

There's no servicing interval... presumably VW figured that the rest of the van would be pretty much dead by the time it had covered its 100,000-mile design life so it would just be scrapped!

I'd say every 50k miles was a sensible precaution. I'm changing mine every 1500 miles at the moment due to continuing problems with the bl**dy gearbox

Quick fault-finding guide, based on what I've found out from the "experts" so far (applies to 5-speed, but some of it's probably valid for the 4-speed too):

Whirring in neutral with the engine at idle, noise stops when you declutch: Worn mainshaft bearings. Rebuild time.

Noisy in one gear: Worn bearings or damaged teeth. Rebuild time.

Difficult engagement of one gear: Worn synchro baulk rings on that gear. Rebuild time. (Check and adjust the gear linkage alignment first to confirm).

Non-existent first gear, on 5-speed: The bearing in the bolt-on tail-casing has broken up and the shrapnel has minced everything within range. Rebuild time, or if the mainshaft has been damaged, scrap time (as new mainshafts are several hundred quid from VW, so it's cheaper to get a recon gearbox). Ditto for fifth gear.

My advice: change the oil before any symptoms arise, or vast expense is just around the corner. I'm nearly £1000 lighter so far, and counting - it's still not right. Gotta be worth £50 on good gearbox oil and an hour's work instead. Oh, and unbolt the towbar and throw it away.

I hate T3 gearboxes

cheers for that mate wen i got the van i was told it had a recon engine and box around 35k ago now.
my box is fine though just like to keep on top of things before they do c@ck up gear change is fine in all gears (4 speed box) just a bit slow in the mornings but must be the weather was fine in the warmer months so redline it is then may hang on and get it from DUBFREEZE if any there just had to replace my starter as it packed up on me bugger

Only one place to get Redline and that's:-

sales@redlineoil-europe.com

Old Hall Performance

Will improve those cold slots into second gear, but prob. not totally solve problem.. see c80-90 Wiki for more info on that.

As a matter of interest Old Hall Performance quoted 4 US Quarts (3.78 litres) delivered incl VAT at £57.74 net of 15% members discount.
Turbobits.co.uk quoted £57.57 for the same thing -open to all.

Can someone advise me on quantity - 5 speed manual 1986 - they said 3 litres but is that exactly 3 litres - how far from rim?

Thanks
Brian

I've used standard Castrol 80-90 in my box at the moment. Next time I am going to try a fully synthetic breed. Perhaps some of the Evolution Synthetic from here:

EVOLUTION 2 Fully Synthetic Gear Oil

@ £5.94 a litre its cheaper than Redline by some way...

Can you mix synthetic with a mineral oil .Iwas always led to believe you could'nt or should'nt