Penzoil Synchromesh. beware

joecitizennn · Apr 6, 2018

Im not bashing synchromesh oils, they are great. I run synchromesh in my 6 speed cummins and it works fine. A couple years ago i changed the gear oil in my 2000 tdi with synchromesh per peoples reccomendation here. it worked great. 40k miles later it still shifts like a champ, but i have developed ring and pinion whine and discovered accelerated wear in my differential. Synchromesh, it turns out is too light for the diff. Lesson learned.

crazyrunner33 · Apr 6, 2018

That's good to know. The NV5600 hundred is nowhere near as picky as the other transmissions, the older NV4500. That transmission will eat itself up with almost anything other than Castrol Syntorq and shows us that not all 75w90 GL4 oils are the same. I'm not 100 percent sure of what the equivalent is for the VW spec oil.

joecitizennn · Apr 6, 2018

Well i think synchromesh would be fine for the jetta transmissions gearbox. The fact that it is a transaxle with diff gears and carrier bearings to support makes it not ok. My problem now is... where do i find a gl4 oil? i have scoured the shelves at walmart oreillys, autozone and advance and everything says gl5 or gl4 and 5. my understanding is that the additives for the gl5 rating can sometimes eat bronze synchronizers. So where can i find a safe 75 90 gl4 without having to mail order?

crazyrunner33 · Apr 6, 2018

Castrol Syntorq is GL4 75w90 and safe for carbon fiber. Both Chrysler and GM dealerships sell it as their specialty blend oil for the NV4500, but it's just GL4 Castrol Syntorq, and GM's service desk price is cheaper than Chrysler. I believe Blumenthal or Standard Transmission and Gear will also sell the same stuff for half the price if you call.

joecitizennn · Apr 6, 2018

I think i answered my own question. Apparently not all gl5 rated gear oils will attack yellow metal. Valvoline in particular claims that their gl5 does not contain any activated sulfates and will not harm brass or bronze.

jettawreck · Apr 6, 2018

I'm not an Amzoil guy, but have used their 75w-90 GL-4 MTG (Manual Transmission and Gearbox) fluid/oil for many years in my 2001 Jetta manual. It's the only one they have that was a GL-4 spec.
But, personally I don't think SycroMesh did in your differential. Lots of members have used it over a long period of time w/o failures. I plan to use it in the 2003 when I change it next.

tikal · Apr 7, 2018

Also check out this GL-4 transmission oil:

https://www.bgprod.com/catalog/drive-line/bg-syncro-shift-ii/

I am using it in my manually converted 2004 Passat and no complains. In my opinion it did better in the winter when we did a road trip to Arizona when night temperatures got to around 20 F and in the morning it shifted well.

Matt-98AHU · Apr 11, 2018

I've had clunky-shifting transmissions completely transformed by using a concoction of Red Line Shockproof Lightweight (or Super light) combined with OEM synthetic gear oil or even Synchromesh. And the stuff protects very well. Has bizarrely sticky properties to it.

Have had more than a couple transmissions that were grinding gears a little easy or just difficult to get into a gear or two and this concoction completely fix it.

You notice an immediate difference, but I did have a transmission where it still wasn't perfect after the change... But as I drove it daily for weeks, it just continually got better and better until it was just a easy pleasure to operate.

IndigoBlueWagon · Apr 11, 2018

Same experience here with Synchromesh only. Both my son's and my '02 TDIs had gears grinding. Mine was bad enough that I'd already sourced another transmission, and put in Synchromesh as a last resort. 30K miles later it's doing fine. And the grinding on the 1/2 shift in my son's car is completely going, still working great 20K miles later.

I had tried Liqui-Moly gear oil, G070, and Ceratec in my Wagon and the problem persisted, until I switched to Synchromesh. I'm dubious about Synchromesh damaging differentials. But if it does in my car I've only gained another couple years of life from a transmission that I would have scrapped otherwise.

tikal · Apr 11, 2018

Matt, how do you think this concoction would work (or not) in a Volkswagen 012 transmission which needs something like a GL-4+ fluid?

Matt-98AHU said:
I've had clunky-shifting transmissions completely transformed by using a concoction of Red Line Shockproof Lightweight (or Super light) combined with OEM synthetic gear oil or even Synchromesh. And the stuff protects very well. Has bizarrely sticky properties to it.
Have had more than a couple transmissions that were grinding gears a little easy or just difficult to get into a gear or two and this concoction completely fix it.
You notice an immediate difference, but I did have a transmission where it still wasn't perfect after the change... But as I drove it daily for weeks, it just continually got better and better until it was just a easy pleasure to operate.

Matt-98AHU · Apr 11, 2018

tikal said:
Matt, how do you think this concoction would work (or not) in a Volkswagen 012 transmission which needs something like a GL-4+ fluid?

The only warnings Red Line gives is to not use where there's moisture (duh) and absolutely not to be used where there's a pump and filter. Splash lube gearboxes and diffs only (which is exactly what most manual transmissions are, save for some fancy high performance manual gearboxes with an external cooler).

It has solids suspended in it, which gives it the weirdest color. Not at all transparent.

greenskeeper · Apr 12, 2018

I've used syncromesh in all my standard transmissions including my old 98 TDI, which I put over 180k miles on with that in the gearbox.

hey_allen · Apr 12, 2018

I'm going on 40k miles using Pennsoil Synchromesh in my ALH, in a similar situation to IBW above.
I was wincing as I thought about sourcing another transmission and doing the swap, and switched to the Synchromesh as a last hurrah before taking more drastic steps.

boertje · Apr 13, 2018

I have a high mileage 02M trans in a bug that had a grind on a downshift into third. Synchromesh completely cured it now going on 30,000 miles.
In an 02j needing service, it was recommended to use the Liqui Moly GL4+. Turned out to be a big mistake as the shift became notchier than heck. Put synchromesh back in and now as smooth as butter.

Penzoil Synchromesh. beware

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