Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Anyone know if this looks ok for the 944 turbo?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/302039190043

It's German made and seems like the right spec. Also, good for my bank balance!

or I have just seen this one:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/302103773617

and is fully synthetic, I think it might be better? not sure.

Or there is Lucas oil

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272188082332

but it's a mineral oil, I think fully synthetic is the way to go? However, I think the SAE rating is good.

Still pondering!..hmm

Which gearbox do you have? Do you have an LSD or an oil cooler?

Personally I'd use something like Fuchs 75W90.

There was a thread on this before.

http://www.tipec.net/_forums/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=19168

That thread is about as useful as a blunt can opener.

I have a normal turbo gearbox. not sure what an oil cooler is.

I think a high rated gearbox oil would be good in a classic sports car box, as it needs something thicker to compensate for the high mileage wear. it's 30 years old, it needs something with more protection than when it was new I believe.

:0(

So I have concluded that as long as it's SAE (not EP) rating 75w to...80/140 (higher rating better for old gearboxes).. (synthetic should be better), it will be compatible with the normal (not LSD) gearbox.

Now to find one that I can afford.

I think it's one of those things, there are so many different types on the market, its difficult to decide which one to trust and buy but I don't really want to over pay for an oil that is not necessary.

Hi Kat,
to be fair, Alpine asked a fair question, you'll need a different oil if fitted with an LSD. The oil cooler is easy to spot, it's an external coiled tube that's very prominent, no tube, no cooler. If you jack the back of the car up you can test to see if an LSD is fitted, turn one wheel, if both turn the same direction the gearbox has an LSD, if they turn opposite directions there isn't an LSD.
Afraid that I can't remember the exact oil in mine, I do recall trying Swepco 201, bad idea, the LSD hated it.

regards

Pete

Always a pleasure.

The 951s came with 2 gearboxes in their lifetime as stated by PSH. Quite a few are removed if the LSD plates wear away so as to save on rebuild costs. The earlier 951s came with an LSD and then they went without out. Fore the 250 cars they reintroduced them as well as the Turbo S cars.

TBH even in high mileage boxes I never found the need to use a thicker oil. My 951 ran on 75W90 after it having 190k on it and that didn't whine, engage awkwardly into gear etc.

While I like saving money on oil and have used cheaper oils for the engine I did notice the difference, and I was doing the mileage to match (around 6,000 miles a month). Maybe it was a placebo but the cheaper engine oil seemed to degrade faster when I dropped the oil. There is a rumour alot of the cheaper oils are recycled as well. It's not like there is a massive difference in oil price either! The Stag really picked out a difference in 20W50 oils even with them being the same API spec ; one would give oil pressure at hot idle, the other wouldn't (one was Valvoline VR1, the other Unipart for reference)! My Escort RS Turbo was no different with the heat that thing generated! I could go on...

As said I'd still run with a 75W90 with a GL4 rating ; If you have an LSD it will be fine with it and it nothing else the products within GL4 tend to help the synchros out a little. I've owned cars with 320k still running the original spec gearbox oil with no issues, albeit adhering to tighter specs (like Ford's M2C specs for example or Renault's/PSA's GL4+ rating).

I also recommend Porsche for the oil as IME the motor factors tend to charge more for a no name oil than the dealers do, and in the case of some cars (like Peugeots and Renaults with the GL4+/BV rating) it makes a considerable difference to gearbox life and shifting quality. But some people will throw anything in because it is cheaper and moan later...

Many, many threads on here about using cheaper brands or products.

As a Yorkshireman I am not in the habit of throwing money away but there are some areas where I will not penny pinch. An engine or gearbox will cost £1000's to rebuild, why take the risk for a couple of quid?

Opie Oils will offer advice and good discounts for Club Members.

A good 75/90 fully synth will do the job. These gearboxes are very robust. If you do have a noisy one you can try swepco or molyslip additive or the like but DO NOT use these things if you have LSD, which is most probably identifiable by the cooler hose or the old spin the wheels test which is distinctly more fun in your neighbours lawn. If you leave 2 identical skid marks you have LSD, simple!

Stuart

If you want pricey try owning an E46 M3!

The rear diff oil from BMW is £80! It's basically Castrol Syntrans oil with a friction modifier added:

https://www.google.co.uk/aclk?sa=l&ai=D ... nwE&adurl=

Alot of people will add the Castrol and then experiment with adding a friction modifier with variable results, and trying all sorts to quieten it down including driving it on full lock etc. They don't have make a grinding noise with certain oils!

AFAIK only the BMW has been known to either quieten a diff or keep it silent, despite people's efforts. Naturally, people are guessing at the quantity of the modifier and the type of modifier BMW now use.

Plus1

Order #3472RACE confirmed

Lucas Oil Synthetic SAE 75W140 Gear Oil 3.79Ltr × 1

£30.99

from Race Engineered

on it's way!

Why go synthetic? I just replaced mine with decent, the normal grade to spec. Have you got the Allen bolts out yet? Do the top one first with a jemmy bar, 17mm. They are torque set but just need a 'pull set nip' when you replace them...

Dave
S2

And why shift so dramatically from the recommended grade?

I have a suspicion you are wasting your keyboard typing mind you Dave.