[Calcifur]

Good evening all,

After my recent post about a noise coming from in or around the gearbox of V6 petrol I have decided now might be the time to finally get round to changing my gearbox and diff oils. Especially as the Treg is fast coming up to 110kmiles and I have not done it in the 60kmiles of my ownership.

I have done this once before on my RX8, but that only had an LSD and a manual box. So this is a bit more of a challenge for me, particularly when it comes to what oils to use.

I watched this and have done some background reading and have a pretty sound understanding of what needs to be done.

From that video, the chap says he used around 13-14qrts of ATF to achieve a fluid change and flush of the torque converter. Based on that I am thinking about just getting a 20ltr barrel of ATF to be on the safe side

So, what fluids do you get, fully synth, semi synth?? Based on Opie Oils' this is the list I have so far..
75w-90 for the diffs, not sure exactly which one, any recommendations, the vehicle does get off-road use and does tow a trailer, in case that's important. I am assuming the same oil can go in the front, centre and rear diffs???

For the gearbox, I am thinking about Motul Multi ATF Fully Synthetic, mainly because it's not too expensive and I trust the Motul brand. 🤷‍♂️

Opie also has a filter and gasket kit for the gearbox.

Is there anything I have forgotten, or should think about before I start, apart from remembering to remove the fill plug first in case it doesn't want to come out!!!

Shopping list so far...
Transmission - Motul Multi ATF Fully Synthetic x 20ltr (will 20ltr be enough for a full gearbox flush and a power steering change?)
Filter/Gasket - Blue Print Oil Filter (ADV182161) Fit & Forget For Audi (says for Audi but also fits the Touareg, and is the only one that has the gasket and the O-ring on Opie's site)
Diffs - Millers Oils Trident Professional MTF 75w-90 Semi Synthetic Transmission Oil x5ltr (Although Opie only lists Castrol TRANSMAX Axle Long Life 75W-90 Fully Synthetic Rear Axle Fluid when searching specifically under my vehicle, but it's £20/ltr instead of £12)

From Opie, all in and including Honey's random discount codes it comes in at just south of £230 (£267 if I use the Castrol gear oil) shipped. sounds OK considering how expensive oil can be. What do you guys recommend if anything?

I have 20ltrs of Castrol Manual EP 80w Mineral Car Gearbox Oil that I hoped I could use here, but I don't think it meets the specs for the Touareg.

Thanks in advance!

 

[capese21]

I used Ravenol on mine good quality and they have an online shop. Type in your vehicle details & it shows you what lubricants it uses.

Ravenol UK - OIL FINDER (ravenol-direct.uk)

 

[NoobyT]

Don't forget the 850 ml stuff you need for the transfer box.

 

[Calcifur]

Don't forget the 850 ml stuff you need for the transfer box.

This is where I am getting confused. Is the transfer case ATF or gear oil, or something different? Some guides I have seen use ATF and some use the diff oil.

I see that Ravenoil site has what it calls Transfer oil, which looks to be posh ATF fluid.

 

[Calcifur]

I have done a little more reading of the specs of various oils and now I am even more confused!! there are so many different standards that appear to overlap just enough to be difficult to work out.

 

[NoobyT]

Just buy the correct transfer case oil from your dealer, and then you don't have to worry about trying to find the right stuff!

 

[Calcifur]

Fair point, it's only one bottle I need.



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[Andrewgrale]

You need 2 bottles of transfer case fluid as they're 850ml and the transfer case takes around 1200mls, as regards spec, my oil man couldn't find a spec either and refused to supply me with an alternative so buy both your transfer and steering fluid from the dealer (not huge money, around 30 quid) . . do NOT use ATF in the transfer case or the power steering as the power steering fluid is the green hydraulic oil and mixing it will make shite of something and probably write off seals too.

I used Mobil 75/90 fully synth gear oil on front and rear diffs, they take around a litre and a half each, slightly overfill them.

For the gearbox i used fully synth Mobil ATF (dextron 3 or 4, if i remember correctly) the capacity of the gearbox and system is about 9 litres, but you will only get 7.5 out of it as the lines and cooler will contain some fluid, when youre doing the gearbox fluid change, you will need an 18mm hex socket and a 3 foot power bar to open the filler plug it is TIGHT and watch out, hot fluid will piss out of it and catch you by surprise!
When I changed the fluid, I didnt do the filter etc, but did around 10k and then did another fluid change and the filter, you will need some bent pipe (or the proper filling tool) and some form of pump to pump up the fluid into the box, fill until it dribbles out, start the car and run through the gears (presuming you are using a ramp or have the car on axle stands??) and with the car in neutral and running, finish topping off the fluid

The drain plugs are an 8mm hex (i think), some will say you should replace the copper/squash washers, i didnt, i turned them over and reused them and have had no leaks

 

[Calcifur]

I managed to find a Transfer case fluid that suits the VW spec and also a Power Steering fluid on the Opie site so I just ordered it all together. I far prefer to get everything from one place than having to place several orders from different places. That way it all arrives at the same time and you can just crack on.

Power Steering Fluid
Transfer Case Fluid

 

[rgh0]

The fluid for the 4X motion transfer case which uses a clutch based differential lock up system is different from the fluid for the 4 motion transfer case that uses a Torsen based differential sysem. As I understand it T1 and T2 used 4X motion and T3 and later use 4 motion unless specifically fitted with the 4X Motion systme as an option so you need to determine eactly what you have.

The 4Xmotion system uses 1200 ml of fluid while the 4 motion system uses 850ml

If you have a 4X motion locking rear diff also a different fluid from that needed for the open rear diff found in 4 motion cars

 

[Calcifur]

Mine is a 2007 3.6 V6 petrol with the High/Low box the dial says 'Auto Diff'. it doesn't have the optional locking rear diff.

According to the Ravenoil link posted above, I need 850ml of VW G 052 515 A2-compliant fluid. THIS is what I ordered.

 

[rgh0]

I have not doen research on the early dual range clutch lock up transfer case fluids for the T1 and T2 but that looks like the fluid for the later single range torsen transfer cases as in my T3

 

[Calcifur]

Are you talking about the Febi stuff I have linked above?

It has the TF-0870 specification the same as the OE fluids, from I can gather from the international forum here

 

[rgh0]

Yes the TF0870 spec you referenced was a shell fluid spec for Torsen centre differentials used in the T3 and later tregs as well as Mercedes and BMW equivalents. i dont know the spec for the early clutch based locking dual range diffs used in 4X motion Tregs

 

[Calcifur]

THIS article from Blauparts suggests they both use the same fluid.

"2004-2017 VW Touareg Center Transfer Case Fluid G 055 515 A2 / G 052 515 A2 / G 052 536 A2"

I will work this out, I refuse to pay dealer prices unless I really have to!

 

[rgh0]

I am not sure I would trust that recommendation as the 4X motion transfer case is a totally different system and the wet clutches in it normally require a different type of fluid similalr to a ATF or Haldex fluid rather than a traditional gear oil as used in the shell TF-0870 spec for the Torsen transfer case. I can not easily find a specific recommendation for the 4X motion transfer case but I am sure with research you may find it.

I would also not trust dealers recommendations either as they tend to rationalise fluid specs as time goes on to avoid holding to many types. Somehow you need to find the original VW spec from back then and relate it to a current fluid specification.

 

[Calcifur]

All the research I have done thus far points me to the same spec of fluid including this post from the other forum.

Automatic transmission, transfer case, front and rear differential fluid changes

Also just received an email from Opie saying they didn't have the ATF i wanted in stock and it would be a 2wk wait so I just canceled it all and reordered all the fluids through Ravenoil, many thanks to @capese21 for that recommendation. It's a very handy reference to have.

 

[Calcifur]

It's all here!!

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[Cass]

Good luck and do a DIY a write up with images if you can 🤔

I got all mine done (2 x Diffs/Transmission/Transfer Case) done for a discounted £600 inclusive at my dealer last year after initially being quoted over £1200 and over £900 by an independent. The dealer price matched the independent and then gave me some goodwill after a service complaint on another matter.

 

[Calcifur]

I'll see what I can put together. But really I don't think it's that hard. The diffs and transfer case are pretty easy. It's basically draining the fluid and filling it up until it trickles out of the fill hole. The Gear box is more involved but this video seems to be very comprehensive, it's what I plan to follow when I do mine,

I'll try and get some photos while I am at it though.