Bottle of Lubegard Red in my '03 Passat W8 auto

TiGeo

$50 site donor 2024
Joined
Nov 5, 2009
Messages
7,732
Location
VA
Decided to see if this $12 bottle of ATF additive could help at all with my "Tip-tragic" 5 speed auto in my '03 VW W8. I hate sealed transmissions...but with that said, not too bad to add it with a Harbor Freight fluid pump into the fill port. I'll give it a few '00 miles and weigh in on any benefits. Fluid is somewhat fresh as the tranny was serviced shortly after purchase about 2 years ago and has about 12K on the fluid/filter now. It has a hiccup in third gear that drives me nuts and was curious if this would help at all....probably just need to do a 3x drain/fill as much of a PITA that is.
 
Probably a long shot but why not try it? Unless I have concerns of damage caused from an additive (pretty unlikely) I'm not against trying it.
 
Decided to see if this $12 bottle of ATF additive could help at all with my "Tip-tragic" 5 speed auto in my '03 VW W8. I hate sealed transmissions...but with that said, not too bad to add it with a Harbor Freight fluid pump into the fill port. I'll give it a few '00 miles and weigh in on any benefits. Fluid is somewhat fresh as the tranny was serviced shortly after purchase about 2 years ago and has about 12K on the fluid/filter now. It has a hiccup in third gear that drives me nuts and was curious if this would help at all....probably just need to do a 3x drain/fill as much of a PITA that is.
its probably the valve body and or solenoids , they are known to fail on JATCO transmissions, you can try a rebuild by yourself



I went the easy route and just installed a new valve body, has been shifting fine for over 100 thousand km since
 
its probably the valve body and or solenoids , they are known to fail on JATCO transmissions, you can try a rebuild by yourself



I went the easy route and just installed a new valve body, has been shifting fine for over 100 thousand km since

Not a JATCO, made by ZF but yes, probably a solenoid getting sticky and not fully engaging into third at first.
 
Decided to see if this $12 bottle of ATF additive could help at all with my "Tip-tragic" 5 speed auto in my '03 VW W8. I hate sealed transmissions...but with that said, not too bad to add it with a Harbor Freight fluid pump into the fill port. I'll give it a few '00 miles and weigh in on any benefits. Fluid is somewhat fresh as the tranny was serviced shortly after purchase about 2 years ago and has about 12K on the fluid/filter now. It has a hiccup in third gear that drives me nuts and was curious if this would help at all....probably just need to do a 3x drain/fill as much of a PITA that is.
It's a protectant and likely won't solve any issues. It will make shifts harder and quicker.
 
For $12 or whatever I paid, I can tell you this....it won't make it worse..hahahaha
Then again, it can make it worse....hahahaha. It can't add metal to areas where it wore off neither...hahahaha
 
In before "it will make it worse" - opps, too late! We'll see after a few '00 miles.
 
or sooner...hahahaha
I've driven it about 50 miles so far....no issues....

6vkvcc.jpg
 
Last edited:
In before "it will make it worse" - opps, too late! We'll see after a few '00 miles.
I would be very surprised if the LG red caused any problems. I have used it in various Honda, GM, and Toyota vehicles and they all shifted just fine. I haven't used it in a VW, though...
 
I would be very surprised if the LG red caused any problems. I have used it in various Honda, GM, and Toyota vehicles and they all shifted just fine. I haven't used it in a VW, though...
Of course but this is BITOG....anything you add can either "work fine" or "destroy your XYZ". So far it's been fine and I have noticed that my shifts seem more firm/not as sloppy. The hiccup at low RPMs persists but at higher ones it seems to be gone.
 
It definitely can. Those additives can alter the frictional properties of the fluid, sometimes just enough to cause unusual behavior.
MolaKule has weighed in several times on this and confirmed there are no negatives to Lubegard Red, and it is one of the only additives or oils I’ve seen him recommend- and Lubegard Red is even approved for use by several OEMs. It’s the Lubegard Black & especially Lubegard Platinum that affect FMs & shifting.
 
Back
Top