And a nagging question to add to Robin's question: is it acceptable
to replace dino-based tranny oil with synthetic without completely
draining the transmission of the old dino oil first?  With the tranny
in the car, and draining out the drain plug, some oil (as much as a
litre?) is left inside.  I understand the transmission case has to be
turned upside down to get all of the old oil out.

So what's the deal?  Okay to leave some dino in there and refill with
synthetic?

T.

At 9:09 AM +0100 11/24/00, Robin Oomkes wrote:
>On a side note:
>I asked the VW dealer's to fill the tranny with synthetic oil but
>they wouldn't
>do it. They just use minerals, and even then they were reluctant to change the
>gear oil "as it's not necessary"!
>
>Guess I'll do the drain and fill myself. Anyone ever done this on a 5speed
>diesel transmission? Pitfalls? I think I know which orifices to use,
>but what's
>the best way to get the stuff from the can into the van? Thanks for any help.

--
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Tobin Copley        Bowen Island, BC, Canada      49deg 23'N-123deg 19'W

'82 Westfalia 1.6L NA diesel ("Stinky")
'97 son Russell                                   =============
'99 daughter Margaret                            /_| |_L| |__|:| clatter
1995: 'Round US, Mexico, Canada 15,000 mi       {.            .| clatter!
1996: Vancouver to Inuvik, NWT   7,400 km        ~-()-==----()-~
Previous buses: '76 westy deluxe (Daisy), '76 westy standard (Mango)
http://www.sfu.ca/~tcopley/vw/