Transmission oil question

[Rxsep]

I am fairly new here to pelican and had a question on transmission oil.
84 targa with a slight difficulty shifting to 2nd. I am taking the advise of some members here and will replace my transmission oil since I recently purchased the car.
I was going to put in Kendall but wasn’t sure if I had a lsd on the 915 transmission. Was the 86 targa 915 a lsd transmission? Would it be safe to put the Kendall with lsd additive or just straight 80/90?

[juanbenae]

jack the car up, spin one rear wheel & if the other spins the same direction you likely have an limited slip. or just put swepco in and know you're good shape with both applications.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Another vote for Swepco here. But the single best improvement that I have made to my 915 was a full JWest Rennshift kit. Now it’s easy enough that my wife can drive my SC without issue.

[DRACO A5OG]

It wont matter what type of gear lube you put in, as long as it is conventional gear lube not synthetic.

I prefer Kendall myself.

Your issue will most likely be worn Synchros. Here is a test, Double Clutch, I bet your 2nd will be allot easier to get into. The double clutch method will help slow down the worn synchros so you can mesh into gear allot easier. This will also lengthen the time needed before a gear box rebuild is required.

+1, to check for LSD, raise rear end safely and turn the wheel.

[evan9eleven]

Good advice here. Get the rear end safely in the air and spin a wheel as the other guys suggest. If they both go the same direction you have an LSD. If the other side turns the opposite direction then you have a regular diff. Unless I'm mistaken a LSD was an option.

As Draco says, run a non-synthetic gear oil. I run Kendall. The PO had Mobil1 synthetic in the box and the shifting was crap. The dinosaur oil helped me a lot, but if your gearbox is worn the oil change won't fix it, but may make it a bit more tolerable depending on what oil is in there now. Good luck!

[Bill Verburg]

'84 US 3.2 Carrera had a 915/68 trans. These are made by ZF and LSD was an option, The wheel test is one way to tell, but if the lsd is worn(very likely) it's not definitive

Better to look at the bottom of the trans
this is a 915/73 serial # 74F 03454, the 12 between the 73 ans 74 means in was originally built w/ an lsd


This is a 915/63 serial # 74C 2459, not 12 means no lsd


JMO and what I use Swepco 201 for a 915 w/ or w/o lsd all environments, Delvac for G50(track use)

[proporsche]

My thumbs up for Swepco 201

Ivan

[Matt Monson]

Which Kendall are you guys using?

[Rxsep]

Kendall 80/90 gl5 with LSD added.

[Rxsep]

According to Zimmerman, the lsd additive does not hurt even in non LSD trans.

[john walker's workshop]

Kendall.

[Matt Monson]

Originally Posted by Rxsep

Kendall 80/90 gl5 with LSD added.

Which one?

[SoCalSK8r]

Originally Posted by Rxsep

Kendall 80/90 gl5 with LSD added.

I use the same and have been happy with it, my 915 shifts very nice but then again it only has 60k miles.....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[81SC]

Originally Posted by Matt Monson

Which one?

This is the one I purchase through Amazon.

[Avanti]

So just what is the difference between the Swepco and Kendall? I installed the Swepco on my 77 and noticed an improvement. Never tried the Kendall.

For a 915 box, Is the difference subjective like a Coke or Pepsi preference?

[groovydude]

John Walker told me he thinks the Swepco oil is too slippery for a 915 and might make synchro issues worse. This makes some sense as the synchro is a friction ring.

[RedCoupe]

Having recently changed from Swepco 80w-90 to Kendall 80w-90, the noticeable difference is the shifting when the transmission is cold. It now shifts very well when cold, and it didn't before.

[timchar]

Originally Posted by RedCoupe

Having recently changed from Swepco 80w-90 to Kendall 80w-90, the noticeable difference is the shifting when the transmission is cold. It now shifts very well when cold, and it didn't before.

BINGO!!! Tim