1 Lucky Texan Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 (edited) often referenced is a 'cocktail' used to help with shifting, clashing synchros. This mix is ONLY recommended for Subaru 5spd transmissions that are a little balky. It will not repair a broken transmission. It should not be used in any transmission with a filter. If it is not helpful, go back to using Subaru Extra-S or equivalent. 1qt. Redline Heavy Shockproof + 2 qts. Castrol Axle Lmited Slip 80W-90 + APPROX 1/3 BOTTLE of Pennzoil Synchromesh MTF (1qt. size), after checking level, add more to complete the fill if needed. more info available at the extensive thread here; http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=920674 Ibreakstuff USMB Regular Gold Subscribers 269 post NorCal Posted 11 June 2014 - 09:49 AM I blew up the transfer gears, center diff, and reverse gear onmy 07 wrx using Scotty's cocktail @30k miles, I can't say it was thefluid for sure but I do think it contributed to the heat and extra wear.Personally I only use extra-S now, imho it shifts more smoothly anyways.The gearbox has held up for 50k more miles after replacing the brokenbits and only using extra-s. The center diff is sealed so, I don't see how fluid choice could affectit. Still, no one is doubting you experienced a trans failure - all wehave to go on is anecdotal experiences. i think a lot of peopledesperate to get their failing transmission to last longer try switchingfluids. If the trans is failing, vs just having a little clashing dueto stubborn synchronizers, no fluid will save it. Since you experience no problems now with Extra-S , you have no reason to try anything else. ANY deviation from factory fluids/parts/procedures should be considered 'experimental' - but, that doesn't mean folks have not had good service from different parts/fluids/procedures. Lifting/lowering cars, different coolants, different oil types/viscosities, brake fluids/pads, etc. Edited June 16, 2014 by 1 Lucky Texan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Scotty's cocktail has been known to cause a lot more damage than good in the long term. I'd just stick to extra-s if you want quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share Posted May 27, 2014 Scotty's cocktail has been known to cause a lot more damage than good in the long term. I'd just stick to extra-s if you want quality. Is one of those products inferior or detrimental in some way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratman18 Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Some people have the opinion that it works great, and some people say it doesn't. Much like most things. It's all personal preference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibreakstuff Posted June 11, 2014 Share Posted June 11, 2014 (edited) I blew up the transfer gears, center diff, and reverse gear on my 07 wrx using Scotty's cocktail @30k miles, I can't say it was the fluid for sure but I do think it contributed to the heat and extra wear.Personally I only use extra-S now, imho it shifts more smoothly anyways. The gearbox has held up for 50k more miles after replacing the broken bits and only using extra-s. Edit: Just to add some clarification.. I purchased the car in 2008 with only like 13k miles on it. The shifting was super crunchy, I thought the transmission was going due to the previous owner so I switched to the cocktail. This per the advice of several subaru friends (who each drove the car) and my own research on nasioc and other forums. I did 4-5 changes with the cocktail and the last 2 I started seeing broken gear bits on the plug. In hindsight, the first thing I should have done was replace the suspect fluid with extra S when I first bought it.. As I believe it was not extra S in there to begin with. This I know to be true: The transfer gears where crumbling months before the diff blew up (yes I know vlsd's are sealed). Subaru looked at it and told me basically to run it until it breaks. They didn't want to pay for the removal/demo/inspection. They also failed to acknowledge the problem during many test drives. Ironically, this is the only reason they honored the warranty repair on it later.. as I broke the center diff at an SCCA rallycross event (subaru sponsored even) and racing usually means they won't fix anything. I still believe the damage to the transfer gears and the diff to be unrelated, so I got lucky there with it all being repaired on their dime. All this said.. I can't blame the cocktail. The damage or issues with the gearbox could have been caused before I ever used it. But I will say that it does turn extremely acidic after a few months, I had 2 buckets next to each other in my garage.. one with used extra S, the other with used cocktail. Its pretty impressive how jacked up some of the bolts/metal, I fished out with a magnet, that were on the cocktail side. If you change at regular intervals fine, but I wouldn't want to store a car for any period of time with it in my gearbox. There is another cocktail floating around too, by Andrewtech (as an alternative to Scotty's):3 Quarts Redline Shockproof + 1 Quart Motul Gear 300 Edited July 14, 2014 by Ibreakstuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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