WARNING!!! Redline MTL

[Dan Simoes <dans>]

[86 VW Jetta GLI, 5 speed, 150+k]

You may recall a thread a few months (years?) back about someone putting
in MTL and having the tranny seals leak.  He called Redline and was told
that basically tough, MTL was wrong and MT90 was the correct application 
for his car.  I think his tranny ended up shot too.

I wanted to try Redline, but was concerned about the right application, so 
I called and was told that yes, MTL was right for my car, since it is an 80w
oil and my car calls for 75w90.  So I put in 2 qts of it.
Now about 3-4 months later, I suddenly discovered my tranny was leaking, which
explains why 5th was having a hard time going in at times.  I feared the
self-machining problem (86GLI, 150+miles) but to my delight it's only the
seals.  These seals (or tranny flange seals as they are called) cost around
$10-12 a side, but require 2-3 special tools to put them in.  So I pulled
my axles (ordered rebuilt ones since I'm in there) and I'm having my mechanic
come and do the seals.

Now I need oil...  Called Redline and asked whether they thought MTL had 
anything to do with the seals.  So she looks it up and says 'oh no, MTL is
wrong for your car, need to use MT90' (!!!).  I told her this whole story and
that I was calling to order more oil, but was uncomfortable with their 
products.  I asked if they'd be willing to send me some MT90 for free as a 
replacement, and to my surprise, she called back and said yes.  

Moral of the story - do NOT use MTL in the VW trannys.  If you've got it,
I would take it out asap.  The same may apply to Audis as well.

Of course, my seals could have leaked simply due to age,
but I find it a strange coincidence.  If it turns out my tranny is
shot, I'm going to try to make them pay for it. 

0-90k: stock oil
90k-145k: Synthoil
145k-150+k: Redline MTL ---> leak

| Dan |
-- 
Dan Simoes			          dans@ans.net
ANS CO+RE Systems, Inc.		  http://coimbra.ans.net/dans.html
100 Clearbrook Road  			(914) 789-5378 (voice)
Elmsford, NY 10523			(914) 789-5310 (fax)