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Re: Gear Oil and Transmission Failure
Posted by Larry West (more from Larry West) on Fri, 3 Dec 1999 11:09:33
In Reply to: , Kok Chen, Sat, 17 Dec 1988 12:00:00 

Redline MTL has been used by many (myself included) for many years 
very successfully in Saab manual gearboxes, especially the fragile 
Classic 900 5-speed.

Using GEAR OIL, particularly the mineral-based gear oils that are 
commonly available to the US consumer is believed to contribute to 
shortened life in the C900 5-speed. There are additives that are 
needed for Hypoid gears - not present on Saab gearboxes - that wreak 
havoc with synchros and make shifting very difficult (nearly 
impossible in cold weather).

Redline MTL is a synthetic gear oil that meets the specifications 
Saab gives for  lubricants in the Classic 900 gearbox (SAE 75 W gear 
oil API GL-4 or 10W40 motor oil), WITHOUT the unnecessary additives 
for hypoid gears. Legend has it that the engineer at Redline had a 
Classic Saab 900.

When in doubt, consult the manuals, and stick with that.

One thing to consider. Often, the addition of Redline or gear oil, or 
any number of other 'quick-fix' additives is a last minute, 
desperation attempt to wring some more life out of an already failing 
gearbox. It's highly doubtful that installing Redline in a *perfect* 
gearbox would make it go tango-uniform in only 4k. In fact, I 
installed Redline in a 1991 Classic 900 gearbox that had about 90k on 
it when I bought it, and it has run perfectly for the past 16,000 
miles.

Lastly, do not use synthetic MOTOR OILS (Mobil-1, etc) in Saab 
gearboxes. The owner's manuals specifically warn against this.

Larry West
NJ Saab Owner's Club

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