Audi A4 01A gear oil

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Hi guys, first post here. I have a 97 Audi A4 1.8t quattro with the 01A 5spd m/t. The trans is starting to shift a little notchy and I'd like to change the fluid. I bought 3 qts of Redline MT90 for my other Audi before finding out the p/o changed the fluid before I bought it so I'd like to use that, after some reading it sounds like I'm going to have the same typical notchy second gear when cold problems I have now so last night I ordered a qt of Redline MTL to mix in. Does 2 qts MT90 and 1 qt MTL sound like a good mix or is there something else I should use? the OEM fluid is $40-$50 a litre and I'd like to use what I have already although I would not be opposed to mixing 1 bottle OEM fluid 1 MTL and 1 MT90.

Reason I ask is here in the great white north we regularly see -30C and I just started a job doing lots of long highway drives and I noticed yesterday when I got off the highway it was -23C where I was and it was a little notchy until the fluid warmed back up a bit.

Thoughts
 
FYI
The VAG fluid for the 01A's and some others is G-052911A2 and is priced about 25€/L in Germany at the dealer.
It's commonly known that Castrol Syntrans Transaxle 75W-90, former castrol TAF-X, is exactly the same as the VAG fluid above and it also carry the VW-TL 501.50 spec.

Syntrans Transaxle 75W-90 can be found as low as 10-13 €/L in Germany. Don't know about the availability in Canada though...

Cheers

BTW I don't see why a mix of MT90 and AMZ. MTF shouldn't work
MT90 is primarily ester, right.? But what is amzoil mtf? - pao+ester+group3??
 
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Thanks for the reply, the only Castrol gear oils I can find here are the North American made ones. I'll give the Redline MTL/MT90 mix a try, I'm hoping its better than whats in there now. I'm unsure of the composition other than its a high quality synthetic.
 
If it's that cold there why not run straight MTL during the winter? In the summer you could mix away if you like. I ran a 50:50 mix of MTL and MT 90 in my Mazdaspeed 3 years ago with no ill effects.
 
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Last experience I had with Red Line MT-90 was in my old '95 Maxima 5MT several years ago. I liked it, though not as much as I liked Amsoil MTG; the main difference was that the Amsoil seemed to work better when stone cold.

Any idea if Ford Motorcraft XT-M5-QS will work for you? It's a 75w-90 and suitable for GL-4 apps; it's best known for how it works in certain RWD transmissions but it's factory spec for some transaxles as well. I am LOVING it in my current car.
 
Originally Posted By: double vanos
If it's that cold there why not run straight MTL during the winter? In the summer you could mix away if you like. I ran a 50:50 mix of MTL and MT 90 in my Mazdaspeed 3 years ago with no ill effects.


I want to try to keep maintenance on this car as simple as possible so semi yearly transmission fluid changes aren't my thing.

Originally Posted By: d00df00d
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Last experience I had with Red Line MT-90 was in my old '95 Maxima 5MT several years ago. I liked it, though not as much as I liked Amsoil MTG; the main difference was that the Amsoil seemed to work better when stone cold.

Any idea if Ford Motorcraft XT-M5-QS will work for you? It's a 75w-90 and suitable for GL-4 apps; it's best known for how it works in certain RWD transmissions but it's factory spec for some transaxles as well. I am LOVING it in my current car.


I'm kind of on the Redline band wagon since I've already got 3 qts of MT90 sitting in my garage I'd like to use as well as I've paid for and ordered the MTL it should be here today, if the shift quality is unacceptable then I'm open to changing it out for something else at a later date and not dumping my brand new oil. I just have a really hard time buying more of something when I have a stockpile in my garage currently.
 
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well I just finished changing the fluid, I'm doubtful it will fix any of my issues as the gear oil I dropped out was dark brown and reeked of sulphur like it was a GL-5 oil and had quite a lot of mettalic particles in it.
 
I don't know for sure, but I think the 01A trannys have the same 1-2 synchro issues that plague the 01E 6-speeds that replaced the 01A. No fluid will cure this problem.
 
Originally Posted By: threeputtpar
I don't know for sure, but I think the 01A trannys have the same 1-2 synchro issues that plague the 01E 6-speeds that replaced the 01A. No fluid will cure this problem.


the synchros are different and not really notorious for failing, its a pretty solid trans as long as you aren't putting huge power down. My little 150hp 1.8t shouldnt give it much stress. It was the 02X 6speed that replaced the 01E.

After my cold start this morning it shifts marginally better and I feel better knowing I have good fluid in there now.
 
i used all Redline MT-90 in my 01 jetta O2J tranny, poor syncros for sure. it helped a lot + got better after first 1,000 miles. now driving an audi TT 225Q roadster O2M 6 spd same results. my TT quattro also has a bevel box to drain as well, its connected to tranny but not sure about yours
 
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