[T2] trans oil

[Robert Mann]

	I just snapped up On Special 8-) :-[ 4L Castrol EPX 80W-90, 
intending to breach the 1972 VW T2 Instruction Manual p.36:
...
      When is the gearbox and final drive oil changed?  
      Only at 1000 km.
...

	For all I know, mine has never been changed because owners 
have believed that farthest-out Factory  Fatuity 'do not change 
transmission oil except at 1000km'.
	(It would also qualify as a Factory Furphy.  Gearbox & final 
drive will last longer given new oil now & again, no?  I toss in the 
squib 'change intervals' but leave it aside for the moment. Anyhow 
I'm changing it at long last!)


But then I noticed the Castrol label says differentials etc but does 
NOT say gearboxes!
	ON the other hand, the mfr does seem to say it:
http://www.castrol.com/castrol/multipleproductsection.do?categoryId=8290049&contentId=6007511

	I gather from the young man on the Castrol helpfone that 
additives meeting API GL-5 are more likely to damage brass (?&/or 
bronze?) bushes, compared with e.g  the earlier spec GL-4.  The 
sloppy term 'yellow metal' abounds in www pontifications.  I'm 
investigating whether oil cos have drifted into some confusion along 
the lines 'some olde gearboxes contain bronze bushes which can be 
corroded rather fast by some EP additives, usually accelerated by 
condensed water in that oil; so we should not claim this cheaper oil 
is OK for all gearboxes'.
	Watch this space.

	I assume VW had fully rebuilt the ball-bearing factory at 
Schweinfurt by 1972-3 which is the age of my trans.  I ain't got no 
plain bearings relying on that trans oil, have I?
	Musical tones are generated, mainly in 2nd; I figure drain 
the old oil when *warmed-up* (universal rule for draining trans or 
sump oil), and ease in GL-5 which Castrol is too coy to label 'OK for 
gearboxes'.
	BTW measurements of several metals in drained (or sampled) 
trans oil is routine in many industries & big trucks.  I shudder to 
think what will show up in my old trans oil.

	That's when I've learned what male hex fits in those drain & 
filler screw-plugs :-[ please


	Can we generate an up-to-date Library-type bull on T2 trans 
oils?  I feel one coming on  ...   I can attach to any who will be 
good enough to contribute an article I wrote on gearbox oils for old 
boxes (pre-62).

-- 
Robt Mann
Whangaparaoa, New Zealand
'73 VW 1600dp Devon camper
'53 Meteor V8
various Jawa-CZ and Jawa-NZ strokers