Subarule Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 I'd like to know how much trans. oil my car holds, as I plan to have it drained & replaced it soon (when the clutch is being replaced). The car: 1986 GL wagon, 5 speed. 4WD, SOHC, carbureted, H4 engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 3.7 quarts of Subaru HPGO 75w90. Buy this directly from the Subaru parts department. DO NOT use anything else. Nothing else is equivalent. GD 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarule Posted April 19, 2018 Author Share Posted April 19, 2018 Thank you, General. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarule Posted April 19, 2018 Author Share Posted April 19, 2018 3.7 quarts of Subaru HPGO 75w90. Buy this directly from the Subaru parts department. DO NOT use anything else. Nothing else is equivalent. GD Amazon has it. This is the right stuff, isn't it? Subaru Subaru 75W90 Extra S Gear & Transmission Fluid - 5 quart Bottles Sti Wrx Genuine SOA427V1700 X5 $59.85 for 5 quarts. From looking around on the Internet this is the best price I've see, per quart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el_freddo Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 GD, what's so special about the Subaru oil?? Cheers Bennie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 GD, what's so special about the Subaru oil?? Cheers Bennie It is a GL-5 that is formulated more like a GL-4. It is specially formulated to work with Subaru's brass syncro's and still protect the hypoid differential gears. Unlike most transmissions the Subaru design incorporates aspects of a manual transmission and a hypoid gearset differential into a single unit that shares fluid. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 Amazon has it. This is the right stuff, isn't it? Subaru Subaru 75W90 Extra S Gear & Transmission Fluid - 5 quart Bottles Sti Wrx Genuine SOA427V1700 X5 $59.85 for 5 quarts. From looking around on the Internet this is the best price I've see, per quart. List price from Subaru would only be 51.25 for 5 quarts if you walk into the parts department. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 The spec in the FSM is for a GL-5 75-90w oil. Doesn't have to be subaru stuff. Add some lucas stabilizer for good measure. 50 bucks for a gallon of gear oil is ridiculous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 The spec in the FSM is for a GL-5 75-90w oil. Doesn't have to be subaru stuff. Add some lucas stabilizer for good measure. 50 bucks for a gallon of gear oil is ridiculous. It's absolutely not ridiculous when all the other gear oils cause grinding and stiffness. We have tried them all. The only thing that works as well is Motul Gear 300. But that's $100 a gallon. And for the record - Lucas products are garbage. Mechanic in a can in general is garbage, but the Lucas stuff does not react inside the transmissions and differentials the way it does in the little store displays. There's quite a body of evidence that it causes failures due to foaming as it changes the properties of the base oil to which it's added. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarule Posted April 19, 2018 Author Share Posted April 19, 2018 I just checked with my local Subaru dealer. They have it, and they want $20.70 a quart. For sure I won't be buying any from them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 Thats crazy. List price is 10.25 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarule Posted April 19, 2018 Author Share Posted April 19, 2018 50 bucks for a gallon of gear oil is ridiculous. Not really, when you consider how long it lasts. The gear oil in my car is the original, from when I bought the car new. The clutch and transmission have never been touched in almost 32 years. There was never a need. My clutch/gear problems only started a few months ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarule Posted April 19, 2018 Author Share Posted April 19, 2018 Thats crazy. List price is 10.25 Yep. Beyond crazy. I hope no one is a sucker and pays that for it. I'm just going to order it from Amazon. 5 quarts for $60 and free shipping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subaru Scott Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 It amazes me in this day and age how much some dealers still try to gouge, when we can compare prices in seconds with our phones! Case in point: I was replacing a lower control arm bushing on our Tribeca, noticed the outer CV boot was torn. The axles are OEM, so I just figured I'd grab a pair of boots from the local dealer so the car wouldn't be down for days. Now, list price was 25 each, and available from an online dealer for 19 each. Called my local dealer: 40 for the outer... 60 for the inner... Advance had a complete new axle in stock for 59, so I threw that in for now, and will take my time rebooting the original. What can they possibly be thinking?!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarule Posted April 20, 2018 Author Share Posted April 20, 2018 It's been my experience that dealerships are always the highest on parts prices. I always check various sources before buying, and I've never found that the dealer is a "deal". 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 I have seen dealerships referred to as "Stealerships" No idea why ?? Here in Aus we have a great company called Nulon who produce top quality lubricants, fluids and a ripper additive for manual boxes - G70 Great stuff. Cleans up shifting, added protection inside is believed. I also use it as an assembly lube They do G60 for autos We have Lucas power steering additive - fantastic little mechanic in a bottle. Resolved all but one seeping oil seal in fifteen years or so. Never had complaints or comebacks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el_freddo Posted April 20, 2018 Share Posted April 20, 2018 It is a GL-5 that is formulated more like a GL-4. It is specially formulated to work with Subaru's brass syncro's and still protect the hypoid differential gears. Unlike most transmissions the Subaru design incorporates aspects of a manual transmission and a hypoid gearset differential into a single unit that shares fluid. GD Thanks mate, this is the first I've ever heard anything about the Subaru gear oil being specially formulated for the synchros and hypoid diff gearset. I've been running Penrite 80w-90 (from memory) without issues. Interestingly, the phase two box doesn't have that second gear cold shifting issue... Cheers Bennie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarule Posted April 20, 2018 Author Share Posted April 20, 2018 If the Subaru 75W90 Extra S oil was what was put in by the factory when my car was being built, then you have to know it's good stuff since it's lasted in my car for almost 32 years. Imagine, over 32 years and the transmission and clutch never needed any kind of servicing or repair. So let's say, when I put the new Subaru 75W90 Extra S in when the clutch is being replaced, that it lasts another 30+ years (as long as the car is still intact and road-worthy), the $59.85 that I paid to Amazon for 5 quarts will cost $1.87 per year (of use). Is there a better bargain? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el_freddo Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 How many miles on your 32 year old subi? My dad's 29 chev hasn't had a gearbox oil change in 40 years so it must be good stuff right?? Maybe, maybe not - it's only done 11,000 miles in that time. So without the miles travelled, what you're saying doesn't really hold much weight. And I bet if you opened up your gearbox the internals would be covered in a grey layer of crud. Most boxes do... Cheers Bennie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarule Posted April 22, 2018 Author Share Posted April 22, 2018 How many miles on your 32 year old subi? My dad's 29 chev hasn't had a gearbox oil change in 40 years so it must be good stuff right?? Maybe, maybe not - it's only done 11,000 miles in that time. So without the miles travelled, what you're saying doesn't really hold much weight. And I bet if you opened up your gearbox the internals would be covered in a grey layer of crud. Most boxes do... Cheers Bennie My Subie has been all over the western U.S. It was driven daily (commuting) until 2001. Then I retired. But it was still driven daily. So let's be real conservative and estimate that it was driven at a rate of 8000 miles per year, X 31 years. That adds up to 248,000 miles. Does that answer your question? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el_freddo Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 Yeah thanks, it does put some perspective on how long your gearbox oil has done it's job. Really if it doesn't get water in it or it doesn't all leak out it should last the life of the vehicle in theory. Cheers Bennie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 It will oxidize with age and heat cycling. It will not last forever unless its vacuum sealed in opaque glass or some similar material that is basically impervious to time and elements. Gear oil should be changed about every 60k or 10 years. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarule Posted April 23, 2018 Author Share Posted April 23, 2018 I have a correction to a previous post. I went back through my records and saw that the gear oil was flushed and changed in May of 2015. That must have been when I first started having trouble shifting gears, downshifting into first or shifting into reverse. Hopefully that will change for the better now that I have a new LUK flywheel and the Exedy clutch kit to be installed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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