ATF for VW 01M

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Gf has a 98 Bug, it's got 150,000Km on it. It's got issues, but I'm sorting them out, sorta like playing a game of wack-a-mole. Anyways...

I need to know what kind of ATF I can put in this thing, I really don't want to spend $12 a quart on the Amsoil, when it's probably going to end up getting pumped out in a week or two. Wallymart has 5L jugs of Valvoline Dex/Merc Maxlife 100,000+km, that are dusty, $18 and the one I looked at had some VW specs on it.

But hard info is elusive... Any help is appreciated.
 
The best thing to do for the VW 01M transmission is use OEM fluid or Pentosin's ATF-1 fluid.

These transmissions have durability issues and rarely last past 150,000 miles (240,000 km's).
 
Originally Posted By: FowVay
The best thing to do for the VW 01M transmission is use OEM fluid or Pentosin's ATF-1 fluid.

These transmissions have durability issues and rarely last past 150,000 miles (240,000 km's).


Lovely... I can't find the Pentosin up here, and the dealer is brutal with their pricing.

Hmm... I'll let her know about the reliability issues.
 
A mixture of original fill OEM VW ATF and Maxlife ATF is in my '00 GTI 01M trans. This mixture has been in for 25k miles now, and I have no complaints.
 
Originally Posted By: wavinwayne
A mixture of original fill OEM VW ATF and Maxlife ATF is in my '00 GTI 01M trans. This mixture has been in for 25k miles now, and I have no complaints.


This is good to hear, I might go by wallymart and pick up a few more jugs, seems Valvoline has reformulated the stuff, and it's lost about half of the supported cars. The jug said, after like 15 brands of cars and specs, even more listed on the site, and now the site lists the usual suspects... But no VW, BMW, and AMG... The jug also says that it uses synthetic base oils.
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http://www.valvoline.com/products/Maxlife ATF.pdf

So... I wonder what the changes are... Maybe the Valvoline north of the border is different than south?

So I'm thinking a 1 part Amsoil Atf + 3 parts Maxlife for the first fill, then slowly transistion it over to a complete Amsoil Atf. So that what's in the tranny is 60/40 Amsoil/Maxlife.
 
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FWIW, the Maxlife sold here in the lower 48 has also lost the VW spec's on the bottle. Don't know what they did to change it??? Luckily, I've still got 12 qt's of the stuff that does list the VW spec.
 
I have a '01 Jetta TDI and heard through the TDI website that Valvoline MerconV Full Synthetic is compatible. I contacted the Valvoline tech line and they agreed that it meets the VW spec. I have run it for 35,000 miles and it shifts great with no problems. Plus it is ~$5 /qt. It is also compatible with Dextron III.Contact them yourself and they will get back to you fast.
 
I only use OEM VW ATF in my late model VWs and change it and the filter religously every 50,000 miles. Make sure you suck out that final drive lube as well...........
 
Its a real pain in the rear to change out the fluid. My wife has a 97 Jetta 2.0L and at 90K we did the fluid and filter change at the dealer. The tranny acts pretty weird somtimes.
 
VW rant to ensue. VW did make changing (and checking) the ATF a real pain. Changing the final drive lube is a real bear too as VW did not put a drain/fill plug on the differential part of the automatic transaxle-at least not that I'm aware of. That would've been too easy. And I still can't believe that there isn't a conventional dipstick on the trans. It's just stupid to have to get on the ground to check the fluid level. VW rant over.
 
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Oh my god... Changing that fluid was [censored]... Then a pan bolt snapped off. So I said [censored] it, put the vise grips on the pan and tranny, clamped where the bolt should have been. Filled er up, started it, ran it for about 30 seconds, shut it down and went to sleep.

Next day, I pulled the drain plug, I put in 4L of clear red cough syrup with that lovely atf smell to it. What came out of the pan looked like mud and didn't smell too pretty either. The magnet had already started picking up stuff. I drained out the filter(new the day before and it already had a blackened section), spun out the old bolt, put in nice new allen heads. Filled it up, and ran through the process of checking the level.

Notes:

The bolt had the look of stretching to it, I think the metal itself fatigue over time, and initiated a slow leak. I noticed dirty atf on the dry side of the seal around it's area.

The oil that came out on the first dump, was black. What was sitting in the bottom of the pan, was grey. :|

The Bug shifts and drives a [censored] of a lot better now. This spring, I'm going to change out the filter and do another dump of the atf. While I'm in there, I'll change out the diff fluid, and do the pressure mod for more definitive shifting, and less slip. Comfort < Longevity + Performance. :)
 
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Mom's 96 Passat 4cyl is going in for it's first ATF change at about 110k. Mechanic suggested the oem fill, since it's "synthetic". I suspect it's over $15/q. Even though labour cost is high, I'm going with the under $4 MaxLife based on price and convenience.
 
Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
Mom's 96 Passat 4cyl is going in for it's first ATF change at about 110k. Mechanic suggested the oem fill, since it's "synthetic". I suspect it's over $15/q. Even though labour cost is high, I'm going with the under $4 MaxLife based on price and convenience.


Make sure your Maxlife is the old formulation, seems when Valvoline redid the formula it lost it's compatibility with almost all of the european cars.

Also, Amsoil ATF is better than the semi-synthetic made in Germany stuff, and costs about $5 a quart less. lol
 
To change the differential fluid you would take out the speedometer drive. The speedometer drive is also used as a dipstick to check the fluid level. This is located toward firewall and there is likely a silver heat wrap over it. Disconnect the electrical connector and use a deep socket to unscrew the speedometer drive.

Since there is no drain plug, pump the fluid out and refill, it takes ~0.8L so a bottle of 1L is enough. I pump out the old fluid using those pumps you screw onto the motor oil/gear oil bottles. I believe it takes 75W-90 gear oil which is very thick and has a distinct smell.
 
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