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Re: Gear Oil and Transmission Failure
Posted by Brian_Carney/FS/KSG (more from Brian_Carney/FS/KSG) on Fri, 17 Dec 1999 18:36:49
In Reply to: , Kok Chen, Sat, 17 Dec 1988 12:00:00

My $.02 on the little anecdotal fracas over Redline, in light of the
following:

> 12/6/99
> Message from Joe Ek (Jekno39sdcx6spamx782fwi.com)
> Subject: For Sale: 1991 Saab 9000 Turbo
> ==================
> ... I needed a new transmission because I put
> Redline in the old one -- Redline kills Saab transmissions....

As with most things, it is not so simple. I put Redline MTL (not motor
oil, not MT-90, but MTL) in my 1987 900 Turbo at 220,000 miles, not long
after I bought it. The stuff in there at the time was _probably_ 10W-30
non-synthetic _motor_ oil, per SAAB's primary recommendation at the time,
although I could not ascertain this with certainty, despite an attempt to
interrogate the P.O.'s Quick-Lube shop. The stuff, whatever it was, was
dirty. I drained it, let it sit for 3-4 with the plug out, closed it up,
filled it with 3 quarts of Redline MTL (3 quarts is, in my experience, just
slightly too much, btw), and left in for 15,000 miles, at which time I put
in fresh MTL. The car shifts better (at least, that is my subjective
impression--it used to give me great difficulty getting into 2nd while cold
in cold weather (probably a mashed synchro, IMHO), but that symptom is
gone. In winter, I would spend 10 minutes driving around the block in
first until the tranny had warmed up enough for me to get 2nd w/out
grinding. No more.

MTL has been in the gearbox now for 25,000 miles, with one change, which is
not a terribly long time for a gearbox, but since most catastrophic
failures attributed to one gear lube or another seem to occur in <5,000
miles, I no longer consider myself at risk in that respect.

I have no doubt that MTL or other synthetics have given various people
various problems, but MTL also works extraordinarily well for many. So
let's not rush to judgment, eh?

Brian Carney

1987 900 T, 245,000 mi.


Posts in this Thread:

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