There is a service bulletin from VW, #93-11,  June 15,1993, which says
that henceforth SAE 75W/90 synthetic oil must be used in final drive
units of automatic transmissions: 010,087,089,090,096, and 098.
  I found Mobil 1 in this weight.  Note, this is for the differential,
not the trans itself.

Larry A.

Steven Dodson wrote:
>
> Hello all! Just wanted to clarify the fluids issues. I have been scrounging
> through the recent archives because I had remembered that there was some
> talk about oil and filter recommendations in the last week or so. After an
> hour or so, I was finally able to extrapolate the need info. I can't
> imagine what it would be like to search through months and years of
> archives for this info. A lot of the time info it hidden inside some
> obscure thread with an unrelated topic. Anyway, I was wondering if one of
> our illustrious Vanagon guru List members could provide us a simple list
> (not looking for debates on the subject, though hardly avoidable) of the
> best fluids for a Vanagon (WBX) with 100K+ or 200K+ miles on it. (mine has
> 206K) Please fill in the blanks.
>
> ENGINE OIL: 20-50w (Brand?)
>
> OIL FILTER: Mann or Mahle (Bosch?)
>
> COOLANT: Halvolene Dex-Cool (phosphate-free, ethylene glycol based,
> Orange), Blue Stuff? (what is it? who makes it?)
>
> MAN TRANS OIL: ??
> (for syncro, if different)
>
> AUTO TRANS FLUID: ??
>
> BRAKE FLUID: ??
>
> POWER STEERING FLUID: ??
>
> Anything else I'm missing? Anything to specifically avoid?
>
> This way, it will save me (and others) hours upon hours and this thread
> might be more easily found at a later date.
>
> Many thanks!!
>
> -Steven Dodson
> Kneeland, CA
> "Inga" the 87 Syncro