<VV> Synchromesh problems.

[Jim Becker]

You guys should take a lesson from "he who knows everything" and maybe see 
what your computer says.

I don't have a bottle of this magic elixir in front of me, so I looked on 
the Pennzoil web site.  They only have 5 products in the transmission fluid 
and gear oil category, so it doesn't take that much reading.  They list all 
sorts of good things about their "Synchromesh Manual Transmission Fluid" but 
nowhere did they mention GL-4, GL-5 or anything even hinting at an extreme 
pressure additive.  Guess what, no EP rating, you will eat up your hypoid 
gears!  You mix some of this in with some GL-4, you may not chew up your 
ring and pinion or you may just do it slowly.

If you want a Pennzoil product, their "Gearplus" (conventional GL-5 only) 
and their "Synthetic Gear Lubricant" (GL-4 and GL-5 versions) are the only 
ones that mention hypoid gears or EP additives.

Jim Becker

-----Original Message----- 
From: Smitty via VirtualVairs
Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2015 11:14 AM
To: virtualvairs at corvair.org
Subject:  Synchromesh problems.

Smitty Says:  Several months ago I reported that the tranny in Spike was 
getting very balky, sometimes not being able to get into third gear. 
Shortly after that the other synchros started blocking gear entry.  I was 
asking about if anybody had the same problem.  I was sure in my own mind 
that the problem was a lack of properties in the transaxle lube I was using, 
in spite of the container saying it met GL-4 specifications.  I checked at 
my local FLAPS with he who knows everything.  (As long as his computer says 
so).  He suggested some gear oil called Synchromesh, made by Pennzoil.  He 
said he had been selling quite a bit to Mopar and GM owners for the same 
problem I was having.  I picked up a 1 Qt bottle off the shelf and knew 
right away it was runny like water.  That didn’t seem right to me but what 
did I have to lose.  If it kept on I was going to have to pull the TNXL 
anyway.  I took it home and added about a pint to my TNXL, overfilling it a 
bit.  Over the next weeks it got better and better, until I could do snap 
shifts or leisurely shifts as easily as one could ask for.  I repeated this 
to VV and one individual responded that he had filled his TNXL with the 
stuff and burned up his ring an pinion.  Not surprising to me as thin and 
watery as it is.
No place on the bottle does it say that it is merely an additive.  I have to 
assume that is what it is intended for.  No place on the bottle does it say 
how much you should add.  The pint I poured in may have been overkill.  All 
I can say is that it worked for me and I won’t be pulling the tranny.  I 
have enough miles and hours on Spike since then to be satisfied it is a good 
thing in judicial amounts.