[V8] Pentosin crisis

[Acadian Lion]

I’m going to check with the NAPA store here in town and see what it will really cost to have them order some in. They told me they CAN get it, and I would like to see if that is still true.  IF not, perhaps you wouldn’t mind calling the NAPA store there to see what they might sell some of their old stock for...if they in fact have any.  

My preference is to keep in the car what it has always had and I intend to do this until I can take the car to the shop and have the system drained completely and refilled.  That will likely be in May but not until.

Roger

From: cobram at juno.com 
Sent: Monday, March 18, 2013 5:37 PM
To: Acadianlion at hotmail.com 
Cc: V8 at audifans.com 
Subject: Re: [V8] Pentosin crisis

Audi also says that the transmission must be replaced as a complete unit.  11S is backward compatible, Napa bought all the 7.1 in bulk when Audi cleared it's shelves more than 10 years ago, there are  a few bottles on the shelf at the local Napa, and they look like they've been around longer than the store.  Mobil 1 synthetic transmission fluid is compatible, several people are using it with no problems.  I haven't put a drop of Pentosin brand anything in any of my Audi's or other Teutonic beasts in decades because of the ridiculous price and the fact that the substitutes work just as well.  Mobil changed the DTE designation, these have all been used with no detrimental effects by other V8Q owners, Chevron and a few others are missing from the list because I have never seen those here in the North East.  

Copied from a previous post on the subject:

Atlantic ISO 10, 32, 46, 68, 100
BP Bartran 10, 32,Â* 46, 68, 100
Caltex Rando HD 10, 22, 32, 46, 68, 100
Castrol Hyspin AWS 10, 32, 46, 68, 100
Mobil DTE 24, 25, 26, 27
Shell Tellus 10, 32, 46, 68, 100
Valvoline Ultramax All Fleet 10W 10, 32, 46, 68, 100
Ampol Tecoma 10, 32, 46, 68, 100

What's the new Gold Infused steering fluid the dealer peddles going for now, $25 a quart?  Not surprised they're not stocking any fluid for the type 44's anymore, as they are more than 10 years old.  I would trust the couple hundred V8Q and type 44 owners with decades of actual experience more as much as any tech who might have seen or worked on 2 or 3 V8Q's in his entire career.  Might be the greatest tech in the world, but you know what you work on regularly, and there's no tech out there anymore who regularly works on V8Q's.  11S and 7,1 are completely compatible, Audi dealers have only been allowed to restock with 11S since it came out, and it uses the same part number as in the Audi Bulletin I quoted. 

If it's a religious thing, let me know and I will be happy to check and see if the local Napa still has the 7.1 on the shelf, if they do I can pick up a couple quarts for you.  No idea of what they're asking for it, probably around $20 a can.

BCNU,
Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.



On Mon, 18 Mar 2013 16:52:25 -0400 Acadian Lion <Acadianlion at hotmail.com> writes:
  Well, all this information is very interesting in that it is so diverse.  Standing in the Audi dealer last Friday, I read the label on the current Audi power steering fluid (which is all they stock), and it specifically states on the container that it is NOT to be used with CHF 7.1.  They stock no 11S nor does anyone else I have spoken to from Belfast to Bangor, Maine.  VIP and NAPA can order 7.1 and VIP will eventually stock 11S once the changeover to O’Reilly Auto Parts is complete, which is a couple of month.

  The reason I search for 7.1 is because that is what is in my car, which was built in mid 1989 as a 1990 model. It is also the fluid the Audi dealer that I do have some trust for, used and was strict in their instructions. The service manager at that time was the service manager in that store when my car was sold new, so I had a certain level of trust.  Also, the mechanic in that Audi store, who was the ONLY Audi dealer tech to have touched my car was trained by Audi at the time of the V8 rollout.  (Yes, their gray hair was grayer than mine!). I have NEVER seen 11S on any of the autoparts shelves I have looked for here, although I have seen 7.1 in VIP and sometime ago, I seem to remember seeing it in NAPA. We have few other autoparts outlets.

  Roger