Results from changing my tranny oil to SWEPCO 201, Comments on transmission oil. Options

['73-914kid]

And all this after spendning $50 on a gallon of swepco. perfect.

[J P Stein]

And all this after spendning $50 on a gallon of swepco. perfect.

Just use it.

I've torn down my trans several times over the years (rebuilt in around 1998) for modification. Everything looks great after years of abuse.....and it's still going strong with Swepco. It's been pushing over 200hp/ft/lbs thru it since 2000 with fat stickey tiars.....now over 300hp/ft/lbs.....with fatter stickies. This crapping on Swepco comes up every few years.

[J P Stein]

I agree with Casto. I have a 993 and have found that using a trans oil with friction moifiers in it does not work well with Porsche synchros. Many 993 folks have found that an oil like Redline 75W90 N.S. which is a synthetic that does not contain any friction modifiers works best. Many transmission guys working on Porsches will guide you away from Swepco for that reason. So, suggest that you look for an oil without any friction modifiers in the formula.

You haven't got "Porsche snycros" in your 993.

[Dr Evil]

And all this after spendning $50 on a gallon of swepco. perfect.

Just use it.

I've torn down my trans several times over the years (rebuilt in around 1998) for modification. Everything looks great after years of abuse.....and it's still going strong with Swepco. It's been pushing over 200hp/ft/lbs thru it since 2000 with fat stickey tiars.....now over 300hp/ft/lbs.....with fatter stickies. This crapping on Swepco comes up every few years.

Swepco is great for boxes that are being torn down and RnRed often.

[J P Stein]

Swepco is great for boxes that are being torn down and RnRed often.

Humm.... funny, I never had to replace a part in it except to change gear ratios and to install an LSD. I learned sumthin' new.

[Gint]

I tried swepco once and I wasn't real impressed. I use cheap o gear oil. Never had an issue.

[Dr Evil]

Swepco is great for boxes that are being torn down and RnRed often.

Humm.... funny, I never had to replace a part in it except to change gear ratios and to install an LSD. I learned sumthin' new.

The detergent quality on Swepco causes yoru box to be very clean inside, no? Is it magic and it causes dirt and particles to dissolve into the ether? No, it is that it keeps such things suspended in solution. Regular dino oil allows crap to fall to the bottom of the case thus keeping it out of your gears and bearings. If you open and clean your case often, then this becomes less of a problem as you clean and change the Swepco. If you use Swepco, you need to be replacing it sooner rather than later. The recommendations for dino oil are 10Kmi, I would change Swepco far sooner.

[J P Stein]

Manny's the time I reused the oil I had drained out.....after all. it's 50 bucks a gallon. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) , a trans is not an engine, and MY usage was at most 300 miles a season after I took it off the street....hard miles but... Contamination consisted of metallic particles stuck the the magnetic drain plug,
Over the years I ran the stuff I bought maybe 3 gallons of Swepco.
I spent a hell of a lot more on engine oil......the best I could find.....I suppose that was an error also?
You do your thing, Doc, I did mine......that meant taking care of my equipment as best I could which worked out pretty damn well.

[Dr Evil]

Your data is far from generalizable. I don't care what you do, but your scenario is not analogous to the majority of people you are trying to recommend swepco to.

[J P Stein]

Your data is far from generalizable. I don't care what you do, but your scenario is not analogous to the majority of people you are trying to recommend swepco to.

AH....now I see... the big frog discounts any experience except his own. My 14 years of using the same trans on & off the street is worthless in your opinion. This is not about trans lube at all, but about egos.
I yield to your self importance.

[mikea100]

I used Mobil 1 75W/90 in 944 and it was very smooth. It's readily available in your FLAPS.

Excerpt from my favorite 944 site http://www.clarks-garage.com/
"The factory service manual calls for the transmission fluid to be changed every 60,000 miles. There's always been a lot of discussion about what type of transaxle fluid to use in the 944 transaxle. The factory shop manual calls for hypoid transmission oil SAE 75 W 90 to API Class GL5 or MIL-L 2105 B, or SAE 80 to API Class GL or MIL-L 2105. What does all that mean? I don' t have a clue.

Better, but more expensive alternatives to the standard transmission oil (IMHO) are Redline Synthetic MTL, Swepco 201, or Mobil 1 75W/90 gear oil. There was some discussion several years ago with regards to Mobil 1 gear oil attacking bronze synchros. However, there's never been anything to my knowledge to support that. Regardless of which of these three you choose, you'll probably notice a marked improvement in transmission shifting and noise, especially when the transaxle is cold."

[bigkensteele]

Your data is far from generalizable. I don't care what you do, but your scenario is not analogous to the majority of people you are trying to recommend swepco to.

AH....now I see... the big frog discounts any experience except his own. My 14 years of using the same trans on & off the street is worthless in your opinion. This is not about trans lube at all, but about egos.
I yield to your self importance.

JP, I will gladly sell you a gently used gallon of swepco for $20 + shipping - less than 200 miles of use. I know how my car shifted before I put it in, and it isn't the oil for me. I am going to drain it anyway. I may as well put it back in the bottle it came from a few weeks ago and let it go to someone who values it. Just PM me.

[Richard Casto]

I agree with Casto. I have a 993 and have found that using a trans oil with friction moifiers in it does not work well with Porsche synchros. Many 993 folks have found that an oil like Redline 75W90 N.S. which is a synthetic that does not contain any friction modifiers works best. Many transmission guys working on Porsches will guide you away from Swepco for that reason. So, suggest that you look for an oil without any friction modifiers in the formula.

You haven't got "Porsche snycros" in your 993.

I think that is a good point to note. While this is 914world and we generally talk about the 901 series transmissions (such as in the 914 and older 911s), it should be noted that I think the 901, 915 and 930 were the last of the Porsche transmissions to use the classic "Porsche" synchro design. Later transmissions such as the G50 and beyond (actually pretty much any new manual transmission these days regardless of manufacture) uses the newer and simpler "Borg Warner" design. Part of this is also why people should not expect older Porsche transmission to shift like those in their econobox Honda or Toyota! In generally those who are new to older cars have been spoiled by modern transmission design. Not that you can't get a 901/915 to shift nicely, you can, but it will never be as nice as newer designs. Anyhow, I digress...

So.... shift quality characteristics are a combo of a specific transmission fluid AND the design of the transmission AND your personal driving/shifting style (I.e. try to speed shift and you will have more problems and do more damage). So a given fluid may work well in your 914, but not in your later/newer 911, or vise versa.

Richard

[dlestep]

...in the late '80s and early '90s, Porsche owners with the "flat face" syncros
were having problems with some new transmission oils emerging, at that time; like Royal Purple,
for example, tested their oils on Porsche transmissions and found that the boundary
layer of their oil was too robust and caused difficulties when engaging gears.
The newer tapered BW types did not have a boundary layer problem.
If one were to talk to Royal Purple engineering, they would have suggested the
use of their RP ATF in the manual transmissions...some did, some didn't.
I for one, did not, even with their documented failure mode tests reports.
Use manufacturer's suggested lubricant, or its' equivalent specification and you
won't need to worry.

[J P Stein]

Many moons ago I went thru many T-10s, Muncies, & Saginaws ( a real POS) so I was familiar with BW syncros. The first time I got into a Porsche trans (901) , I sez to myself "WTF is this lash up". When I figured out how the syncros worked I sez "this is not a better idea" and I understood why the "balkyness" of the shifting and the requirement that the "pause" between the shifts was necessary. Couple that with the Rube Goldberg shift linkage and careful treatment is necessary. In 1988 Porsche started using the BW syncros.....that took em' long enuff to figure out....the NIH syndrome. In my 40 odd years of experience with manual shifting cars, the only time I gave any thought to trans oil was with the 901/915 and their effed up syncros.

[Dr Evil]

Your data is far from generalizable. I don't care what you do, but your scenario is not analogous to the majority of people you are trying to recommend swepco to.

AH....now I see... the big frog discounts any experience except his own. My 14 years of using the same trans on & off the street is worthless in your opinion. This is not about trans lube at all, but about egos.
I yield to your self importance.

Why are you such a dick? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

Big Frog?

Do you deny that your use is far from the usual?

[Rockaria]

I use Swepco in all of my 911/914 tranys. That is, up until my 73 914. It had sat for 5 years and the trany leaked. I was not about to put the expensive swepco in it while I got it back into running condition. I just put in the cheap stuff I use on my truck.

Well, I got the 73 to run and I noticed that it shifts great. Very smooth and nice. I have driven it almost a year now and I can honestly say I am impressed with the cheap dino fliud.

Whoda thunk it.. Oh wait you guys! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif) Now if I can only get the engine to run smooth.

[J P Stein]

Why are you such a dick? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

Big Frog?

Do you deny that your use is far from the usual?

I did the conversion (and trans) in 1998 and took the car off the road in around 2005 so it's about 50-50 but.... my maintenance is far from the 914 usual it seems.

When anything started to act unusual I fixed it. The trans has required none of these steps past the "usual" (initial) sorting out the linkage bits....it seems many folks don't even do that.

As I've wrote before, I give credit to the trans builder for this success and it has
lived far beyond my expectations. All I did was treat it as gently as possible...under the circumstances..... which are well beyond your experience, I believe & keep it full of Swepco.......of course you discount all this and start name calling, Doc. I am not a trans expert. The trans is just another link in the chain and has to be dealt with like any other sub-system of a car.....so I learned to deal with it.

I'll have to go back and look at all this thread but I think my only "recommendation" was "just use it" to someone that already had some Swepco. The rest was recounting my experiences with the stuff and letting folks make their own judgments.

Bigkensteel.....I'll pass, I reused only my own oil if the urge strikes and I no longer have a 914. I just come here to be a dick.

[SirAndy]

I no longer have a 914. I just come here to be a dick.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Richard Casto]

In 1988 Porsche started using the BW syncros.....that took em' long enuff to figure out....the NIH syndrome.

Not sure when the BW design showed up on the scene. I know Porsche has a bit of a problem at times with NIH syndrome (anyone looked at their attempt to design their own caliper brake just so they wouldn't have to license a design from someone else? It had a caliper in the middle with a ring like rotor). Anyhow, I think Porsche apparently made a ton of money on licensing deals for their design until BW came up with a better mousetrap.

Richard