Differential oil

I want to change the differential oil, looks like I can go with the factory fluid for $27 per quart, which may be a gl-5 75w85. Ravenel makes a direct replacement that is a semi synthetic gl5 that is called MDL with limited slip. I’m contemplating just using a full synthetic gl5 75w90. What do you guys think?

I'd go with the factory fluid.

Which differential? The front and rear use different fluid, and there are even further choices depending on which version diff it has.

My source for FRONT fluid has it available in the aftermarket, but not the rear, which tells me the rear must be something extra special.

Front uses a 75w90 gear oil.
G052145S2

Rear is G052196A2 for locking rear diff, no idea what it is.

On my Tiguan, instead of the factory 75w90 oil, I used Amsoil Severe Gear 75w90, in leiu of G 052145S2

No lockers. I went to the dealer and they looked up the part numbers and came back with the same number for each, the guy was confused. They had no bottles (they take the lifetime fill very serious). I laughed. My touareg is low mileage, but all hard around town stop and go traffic.
Since then, I put 75w90 limited slip valvoline synthetic in and nothing changed. The fluid in the front was darker when I drained it, and both fluids had a good amount of the shiny break in metal. I ordered the Ravenol mdl fluid, I’m going to go 5k and drain to let the valvoline wash the rest of the break in metal out and switch to an approved fluid like ravenol.

Honestly, VW just rebrands German fluids.... pentosin, ravenol, liqui moly, etc fluids and marks them up 50%. Even the vw oil filters say Mahle on them.

Yes, same as every other brand. Be thankful they are not as bad as John Deere. The JD branded screw on oil filter for my Kawasaki engine equipped lawn tractor costs $13. The Kawasaki branded filter (same filter, just different label screened on), is $9, and aftermarket non-branded ones can be as little as $5, but often of unknown quality.

FixedTouareg said:

No lockers. I went to the dealer and they looked up the part numbers and came back with the same number for each, the guy was confused. They had no bottles (they take the lifetime fill very serious). I laughed. My touareg is low mileage, but all hard around town stop and go traffic.
Since then, I put 75w90 limited slip valvoline synthetic in and nothing changed. The fluid in the front was darker when I drained it, and both fluids had a good amount of the shiny break in metal. I ordered the Ravenol mdl fluid, I’m going to go 5k and drain to let the valvoline wash the rest of the break in metal out and switch to an approved fluid like ravenol.

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All the parts diagrams only mention lockers. Though, iirc, the US market 2nd gen Touareg's only had 4Motion, not 4XMotion, so it would have been a regular torsen center diff and open diffs front and rear (using EDL)

Ya, the T3s just have open differentials.

Pay very careful attention to the diff oil levels, moreso in the front. It's common for the front diff oil to get just a tad low, which ends up nuking the bearing on one of the output shafts. It's worth doing a top up every few services.

-J

i did all mine a few months ago used factory because i had loyalty card to use...did the tcase too...diffs were super clean...tcase not so much

The only place I could find the info for he amount each differential takes was the Amsoil website. It had the fill levels in pints, but converted to quarts it was 0.8 for the front and 1.25 for the rear. I think they underfilled from the factory, because i didn’t get 2 quarts total out of both of them. My garage is slightly graded so it drains out the door, I had the car facing in for the front diff and out for the rear, to help with overfilling them a little- I read about that front bearing being starved. I hate how hard it is to find the information on fluids and fill capacities!

I am going to pick up the transfer case fluid tomorrow.

I also cycled about two quarts of pentosin chf 11s through the power steering reservoir, which was also low and not even reading on the dipstick! Did it with a turkey baster.


I’m thinking I might cycled a half a quart of brake fluid every six months too.

Honestly, I have the service plan, but last time I took it to the dealer they used the wrong oil drain plug washer (leaking) and broke the rear tab on the belly pan that locks in.... decided then I needed to take over my usual maintenance I’ve done on all my vehicles, those guys can’t be trusted. I’m a big proponent getting break in fluids out of the car.

Ya, VW says everything but the engine oil is "filled for life" on the Touareg

-J

Fluids are the least of the concerns, really. I would check them at least once in a while, but probably prudent to service them at least once in a while... especially the transmission.

Just did a set of tires on an '08 this morning. $1000. These are the 20" ones.

I hear you those tires, this one had 4/32 left at 18,500 miles. New Michelin 19”... when all said and done $1350. Most expensive car I have ever maintained.

I had a long time customer, well he still is a customer, that bought a T'reg early on, I think it was the second model year they were out. Nothing fancy, base V[R]6 model, the medium sized wheels, no air suspension nonsense, it may have been equipped with a couple minor options cannot remember. But his wife was the primary driver for it, drove mostly city, and it got some weekend highway trips as the family car. He drove a Jetta TDI every day.

Anyway, that T'reg was pretty reliable, but predictable. It needed tires and brakes, like clockwork, every 20k miles. It was not abused, it was just driven, and I personally took care of it.

So, with regular PM, it cost about $2k every 20k miles to maintain. Not including fuel, which even the 6 cyl models consume with great haste. The only thing that "broke" in 120k miles was the prop shaft (common), and the blower motor (also common). That's it. But after 120k miles, when it needed its regular feeding of brakes and tires again, in addition to its normal [not cheap] 120k PM services, the owner had had enough.

It illustrates the all-too-typical issues with ownership of one of these. And at the 120k mile mark, it is often common to see them start to need things like catalysts ($1200 part, 12.5 hour job), thermostat/housing/crack pipe reseal (another 12+ hour job), etc. Things can get REALLY expensive REALLY quickly. And then, you have to ask yourself, if you have to drop the engine out for those above items... do you also go ahead and rechain the engine, since those often are dead by 160k miles, too? I mean, you can EASILY have a T'reg that is in nice condition, well maintained, but need $10k worth of work. Which is why so many of them wind up at the auction yards for cheap.

I mean, shoot, there is a little plastic tube between the oil filter/cooler housing and the block on the V8s, and this is what you have to do to get at it:



That is on an Audi A8L, but the T'reg's 4.2L belt driven V8 (which is probably THE best engine overall in the T'regs offered here) is essentially the same.

Weird i got over 60,000 miles out of my brakes....and tires are at least 40,000 miles and still have plenty left. Not as long lasting as a jetta but i dont have any issue with that at all...Very nice to drive and own

Are you highway or city driving? My touareg is 95% City driving in a very hot climate.

FixedTouareg said:

Are you highway or city driving? My touareg is 95% City driving in a very hot climate.

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For our 2009 driving has been mixed, more highway than city. 138k miles and still on the original brakes; around 40k miles per set of tires. We're not driving for performance -- just average.