Swepco Engine Oil

[Bob D]

The local Swepco rep is almost evangelical about the benefits of using their engine oil in a 911. While there are lots of discussions of the benefits of the 201 in the transmission, does anyone have any experience/opinions about the engine oil?

[Doug Zielke]

I once attended a Tech Session with the Canadian Swepco Rep (forget his name). To say he was "evangelical " about Swepco products is somewhat of an understatement!

I think few of our local boys do use Swepco 20w-50 motor oil, but it costs as much as a good synthetic. And as far as dino oils are concerned, Shell Rotella T is just as good at half the price, IMO.

[pwd72s]

Sweet Old Bruce says to use Sweepco in the 915 gearbox. Is it the same with oil? We all worship Sweet Old Bruce, right?

[jmohn]

I'm sure it's a high quality oil, but it's not the only one. I use 15-40 Rotella T by Shell and see no reason to switch.

Jerry M
'78 SC

[McDaniel]

In the '74 Targa restore I am doing the engine and tranny haven't been in use in over 6 years. Drained the engine oil, tank
and case. Changed filter, put in oil, cranked over several times,
drained all again. New filter, new oil etc. started and ran some
minutes.
Ok, question....what should I do about the transmission?
Open to recomendations on fluid, draining , ets.
Any comment/suggestions appreciated.
Thanks

[tryan]

i have used redline products.(water wetter is amazing) synthetics make the engine noise a little more pronounced. maybe a good thong on a pcar. if its a freshly broken in motor ,by all means use synthetics. if she it your old mount, i would just use good dino oil. dogs live longer if you don't change their food.

[jmohn]

Originally posted by McDaniel
In the '74 Targa restore I am doing the engine and tranny haven't been in use in over 6 years. Drained the engine oil, tank
and case. Changed filter, put in oil, cranked over several times,
drained all again. New filter, new oil etc. started and ran some
minutes.
Ok, question....what should I do about the transmission?
Open to recomendations on fluid, draining , ets.
Any comment/suggestions appreciated.
Thanks

I can only tell you what I would do. Six years isn't that long, but certainly long enough for anything suspended in the lube to have "settled out". I'd change it now to some name brand lube (Mobil, Shell, Valvoline, etc.), drive it for a while (200-400 miles) and change it again to Swepco; I'd change the engine oil again at that time also, changing them both while warm, immediately after driving so the lubes are well emulsified. Be careful, of course, things are going to be "warm" under there. Keep the engine on a short oil change distance (1000-2000 miles) for a couple of cycles and change the tranny lube again (Swepco) at 4000-5000 miles.

Jerry M
'78 SC

[McDaniel]

Thanks guys. Jerry, not familiar with Swepco in this area.
More info if you don't mind...weight, etc.

[jmohn]

Originally posted by McDaniel
Thanks guys. Jerry, not familiar with Swepco in this area.
More info if you don't mind...weight, etc.

Swepco 801 (Southwest Petroleum Company) 80w90 is the accepted "lube of choice" for the 915 transmission in our cars (the 915 was used from '72 to '86, I think). I haven't found Swepco available here, locally, either so I order it from our host - look under "transmission" in Pelican's on-line catalogue. In a related note - my motor oil of choice is Shell's Rotella T 15w40, it's a high quality, multipurpose oil, realitively inexpensive, available in gallon containers and readily available almost anywhere - here's a website:

http://www.rotella.com/products/rotella_t.html

Good luck,

Jerry M
'78 SC

[pwd72s]

And in the interest of adding to the confusion? I dumped Swepco years ago in favor of TORCO 75-140 with limited slip additive in my 915 gearbox. Despite the dire warnings about synthetics & 915 synchros from the Swepco believers, I've been extremely happy with the much smoother shifting without any synchro problems. I'm also running Mobil 1 15-50 in my 2.4S, changed over to it at about 35,000 miles...and have NOT experienced any of the massive leaks I was told I was going to have. Hey, all I'm posting is what works for me. I'm sure the other products work well for others.

[McDaniel]

Many thanks, guys. Great board, great people, great help, great
answers.
Thanks again

[jmohn]

Originally posted by pwd72s
And in the interest of adding to the confusion? I dumped Swepco years ago in favor of TORCO 75-140 with limited slip additive in my 915 gearbox. Despite the dire warnings about synthetics & 915 synchros from the Swepco believers, I've been extremely happy with the much smoother shifting without any synchro problems. I'm also running Mobil 1 15-50 in my 2.4S, changed over to it at about 35,000 miles...and have NOT experienced any of the massive leaks I was told I was going to have. Hey, all I'm posting is what works for me. I'm sure the other products work well for others.

More info please. Where can we get information on the TORCO product, I'm always willing to learn. As far as Mobil 1 goes, I used it religiously in my turbo car as I felt the synthetic gave added protection when run hard (that turbo gets darn hot!), but since my SC never runs hot and I change every 3000 miles I feel a quality dino oil is sufficient; if I tracked the car, where the engine would see high RPM for extended periods, I'd seriously consider synthetic. I did do one oil change in the SC using Mobil 1 (using up some old stock) I didn't see any leaks and pressure and temp. were the same as with the 15-40.

Jerry M

[pwd72s]

http://www.torcoracingoils.com/products/index.htm Sold by many distributors, but you do need to hunt for it...IMHO superior to Swepco. But Swepco is blessed, according to Bruce. And Swepco works. Good luck in finding a lube that works for you.

[pwd72s]

info on gear oils from the Torco website. This brand is popular with drag and off road racers in the USA...
"Product Description:
Originally these oils were custom made for transaxles in Indy race cars, today they are used in all classes of stock cars, sports cars, formula cars and many classes of drag racing. They are also used in vehicles exposed to extremely low temperatures and extremely high temperatures.

Typical Uses:
SAE 75W90
This viscosity grade will transmit more power to the rear wheels and provide maximum gear protection under the most demanding conditions. Commonly used by Pro Stock drag racers and sprint car racers for the ultimate in power transition. It exceeds all hypoid gear requirements for anti-score and wear protection. Reduces gear case temperature.

SAE 75W140
This viscosity grade has the fluid properties of a low viscosity oil at low temperatures and the thermal stability of high viscosity oil at high temperatures. Commonly used in Top Fuel drag racing vehicles where gear surfaces are subjected to tremendous shock loads. It provides protection against severe shock loads and has many heavy duty non-racing applications.

SAE 250
This specialty high viscosity synthetic grade is for very specific rear axle applications. Please call our tech department for additional information."

The 75/140 is what I run in my 1972 915 transaxle...with the limited slip additive, but only because I have limited slip.

[Bill Douglas]

I know this sounds boring, but on an ordinary street 911 (not in a racing environment) I would use a cheap, but good oil, such as Castrol 20 50 and change it twice as often for the same money.

[ChrisBennet]

I think the quality that makes Swepco 201 better for 915's is that it isn't as slippery as other high(er) quality fluids. The baulk ring syncronizers in these transmissions are different than most any other transmissions out there so be careful when making comparisons.
-Chris