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Reply to "Procedure to break in rebuilt transaxle"

@dlearl476 posted:

I'm a big fan of Motul.

 I, too, fell down the Samba trans oil rabbit hole and subsequently gave away the gallon of Swepco I had left over from my 911. (I can't remember if it was 201 or 202, but several people suggested it was great for 901/915, not so much for VW axles) 

As part of my regular spring ritual last year, I drained and filled my trans with Valvoline or Castrol synthetic gear lube.  It shifted so poorly I thought my cable shifter had gone out of adjustment. I switched to whatever Motul is Dino (Gearbox300??) and it shifted like butter. And still is after however many miles I put on it last summer.  I'm not even going to change it this year unless I experience shifting issues. 

I tried the Motul "Gear Box" 80/90 mineral oil on @dlearl476's recommendation. It's marketed as an oil for "older, loud transmissions".

There's a lot to love here. My newly rebuilt transaxle has some Erco race gears in it, which are louder than stock VW. I was 100% happy with how the box shifted with the Swepco 201, but I wanted to see if the Motul would maintain the buttery smoothness of the Swepco and quiet it down just a smudge to keep it within the mission of becoming a GT, rather than a GS.

The cold viscosity is thicker than Swepco. It's a very dark/silvery oil, and clearly has a freak-load of molybdenum in it. Cold shifting (such as one can tell in the middle of summer) is quite acceptable. Hot shifting is very, very nice-- perhaps not quite as creamy-smooth as with the Swepco, but I'm not sure if there's a real difference or just a perception because I love the Swepco so much.

What I can say for sure is that the gear/bearing noise is definitely quieter. It's still clearly a older "performance car" design, but it's not overly loud. That's worth a lot in this application.

The oil comes in litre bottles rather than quarts, and has a really nice pull-out spout, so one doesn't need to pump the oil into the box. It's not hideously expensive. All in all, a really nice oil, as @dlearl476 recommended.  

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