What came out of my transmission!?

While replacing my clutch cable and helper spring on my 83 SC, I decided to change the transmission oil. I was surprised when I opened the drain plug and something the color (dark pink, almost red) and viscosity of automatic transmission fluid came out. It also appeared that more than 3 liters of the stuff drained out, although I did not measure.

Any idea what this stuff might actually be and why it was in my transmission? Should I be expecting problems now?

I refilled with 80-90W gear oil (3 liters).

It probably was redline gear oil. If you drained a warm trans, it might appear to be ATF.

I just filled my trans with Redline gear oil this weekend, and it did not appear to be reddish or pinkish in color at all to me. It looked kinda golden, like Mobil 1.

Brian

Think it was Redline MTL (Manual Transmission Lubricant) which is red.

Or, it could have been blood.

Redline 'Gear Oil' is different, never used it.

Redline MTL is red, however I switched to Swepco because Redline is to slippery. I had to come to a complete stop to engage first gear with a freshly rebuilt trans.

The stuff I used is not Redline MTL, it is some other kind of Redline gear oil (I don't recall the exact name) that does not have the same "slipperiness" problem as MTL. It seems to work well, although if I were to do it again, I would probably get the Swepco, which I was previously using. I don't know of anywhere local to get the Swepco, though, and didn't want to have to order it and pay shipping, etc. Also, I actually drive the car very little, and the Redline, being a synthetic, seemed a little better for a car that is basically stored a lot, and will not have the lube changed for several years.

Brian

Could also have been Mobil 1 ATF, it's red like you describe and flows "well".