Re: substitute hydraulic oil

[DeWitt Harrison <de@aztek-eng.com>]

On Thu, 9 Oct 97 09:55:14 EDT, Gary wrote:

>Ref:  My post of 19 September 1997, 21:49:58 EDT
>
>I sent the following note to lube@swepcousa.com
>    "...Please fax information on the compatibility of your Swepco
>    715 Hydraulic oil with that specified by Audi as type "G 002 000"
>    or Pentosin 7.1 hydraulic oil...A local distributor handles your
>    product but has no information on its suitability for my
>    application..."
>
>>[ ... ]
>>    Our recommendation would be to thoroughly flush all lines of
>>    Pentosin before switching to SWEPCO 715.  I am confident you will
>>    experience the same superior performance, with SWEPCO 715 Power
>>    Steering/Hydraulic Oil, that many customers worldwide have seen.
>>[ ... ]
>
>For your information, the company web page is http://www.swepcousa.com/,
>and now you know as much about them as I do (standard disclaimer here).
>
>The local parts place sells the Swepco 715 for $6-7 per quart, while the
>Pentosin 7.1 is $12.

I'm not suggesting that Gary is advocating this substitution, but the
general idea of avoiding the expense of Pentosin comes up regularly.

I don't understand the basic cost/benefit rational behind the notion of
experimenting with the car's hydraulic system in this way. Consider
that the potential damage may be, say, $1K to $2K to the system, how
could it make sense to save $6 per quart if the odds of a successful
outcome are unknown? For example, if the odds in favor of success
were 9 in 10, you would need to be looking at the purchase of 15 to 30
quarts of Pentosin to have an even bet. (Please forgive the sloppy math.)

Maybe, I'm being a bit silly with my numbers, but I do think it is hard
to make a good case for bothering to find a Pentosin substitute.

DeWitt Harrison    de@aztek-eng.com
Boulder, CO
88 5kcstq