gear lube

[TFI]

what flavor of transaxle lube would you recomend i get? how thick? what is everyone else running? would good ol' 90 weight work?

-jim-

[John Rogers]

We use Swepco in both 914s and our 1987 Turbo. I used Amesoil too but it is harder to find.

[Early_S_Man]

If you are just now changing gear oil in your transaxle for the first time, or contemplating it, I would recommend Castrol or Valvoline for the first couple of times, then, by all means, switch to SWEPCO 201. A neglected transaxle can have a LOT of crud in it from years of use without oil changes, so it could take a couple of changes to 'flush' out, and you don't want to be doing that with gear oil at $35/gal. SWEPCO (at least I don't like to!) so bargain-priced Castrol is great for that, and not-bad oil, either!

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Warren Hall
1973 911S Targa

[neilca]

You need to look at Redline Products. The MTL lube is a good product for the street, I have used to in race cars and street cars. The shock proof products have incredible cling. I tore down a transaxle in a S2000 after 6 months of sitting in the shop and the entire insides were coated with oil.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

I will agree with the majority here: Swepco.

My mechanic told me specifically not to use anything else. He told me this right after he drained the Redline MTL out of my tranny as he was starting to rebuild it. It was very damaged, but I have no idea if the Redline contributed to that at all. It is likely the damage was done over a long time, and I had only recently switched to Redline.

He told me that Swepco was the only thing they found that would keep the trannies in the 935 going for the full 24 hours at Le Mans. (He was a part of the Garretson's team there for a few years.)

I wouldn't be surprised if the synthetics (like Redline) have improved in the past 20 years, but if it's good enough for my mechanic....

--DD