I'm still pondering what to do with my whining '88 speed, which I suspect has
a worn ring and pinion. So last night I decided to dump the oil and have a
look at it. It has been 3 years and about 28,000 km since I replaced it with
Redline MTL. At that time, there was a fair amount of metal clinging to the
drain plug magnet, but not too much in the oil itself.

Before draining the Redline, I checked the level - it was about 1/2-3/4" below
the filler I would say. I pulled the plug and marvelled at how quickly the *cold*
Redline poured out and overflowed the undersized pan I had chosen, while I
scrambled for the backup pan. (from what I recall, even the *hot* stock oil was
not this runny!)
Since I was putting the old oil back in, I didn't wait for every last drop, but
cleaned off the plug and put it back in. There was a ton of metal shavings on
the magnet, and while the oil sat for maybe 20 minutes, a fair amount more
metal settled to the bottom of each container, including several metal chunks
the size of a pinhead. What does this tell me? I'm not sure, but it can't be
good, especially since this is only after <30k km of driving.

I refilled it with the old oil, leaving the metal in the bottom of each container,
then added another 2/3 liter of MTL I had left over, and about 2/3 liter of
Pennzoil 80W/90 GL5 dino oil I had around (I was curious to see how much
more oil I could add before it reached the filler lip).

So, subtracting the amount I spilled, I would guess that I was as much as 1
liter below the filler before draining it. I know the bentley says it should be
9/16" below the filler (how the heck does one measure that??), but does this
equate to a liter? Could this lower oil level have contributed to more wear of
my tranny?

I drove it afterward, hoping for a miraculous cure, but the whining noise was
still there, and the shifter felt a bit notchier (as I expected with more oil and
some dino oil in the mix). In addition the whining at all gears above 25 mph, I
noticed another noise which was curious: rolling at ~5mph, clutch in, there
was clicking as I slid from N to 1st, but not the other gears. So the 1st gear
syncro is worn, I figured. But the noise continues *after* first is engaged,
regardless of whether the clutch is in or out. (the noise changes slightly, but
it's still there). A clue or just more bad news?

========================
Shawn Wright
Computer Systems Manager
Shawnigan Lake School
250-743-6240
swright@sls.bc.ca