TDI coolant and transmission fluid what works best?

[Neil O'Malley]

I went into the dealer with a smile on my face to get radiator fluid and transmission fluid and came out with coolant and a sour disposition! I paid 26 dollars for coolant and they wanted 32 dollars for 1 quart of manual tranny fluid. I had to count to 10 about 10 times to keep steam from coming out of my ears. The coolant can be returned if unopened so I am asking the experts... Is it necessary to use VW coolant or is there an equivalent without a blood donation? How about 32 dollars for a quart of oil for the tranny. Any other solutions ??? It is a 98 New Beetle TDI
Thanks,
Neil O'Malley

[jdesigns]

Hello and welcome to the Org!

This thread should go in the TDi forum, not the Joke thread. No big deal, one of the moderators will have to move it over there, that way the knowledgable people can answer your question.

I don't know enough about the TDi to answer your question.

[CrazyJames]

This thread has been moved to the TDI forum so that more people can view it and help out!

Cheers!
James

[The Cheat]

Hi Neil,

Justin G. here...TDI forum mod. Unfortunately, $26 for a gallon of G12 is about right. It is, in fact the only coolant that one can use in our cars due to the fact that VW has special additives that when combined with other coolants turn the mix brown and useless. As for $32 for a liter of tranny fluid, Impex says $21, so I figure that $32 is about right. It's the nature of the beast unfortunately with our cars...the little stuff adds up. I personally like Valvoline Racing's 75/90 for gearboxes myself...it does the trick and it's under $10/quart. You need 3 quarts to do a drain and fill.

Any other questions, you know where to find me.

Justin G.

[mgwerks]

Originally Posted by Neil O'Malley

Is it necessary to use VW coolant or is there an equivalent...

Use of this exact coolant, along with other fluids meeting the correct VW certification, is probably the most important thing you can do to keep your car running well. This is not the area to scrimp - The Cheat has it right.

[hannaco]

The only caution would be that a good synthetic transmission fluid be used. Depending on where you live, pick a fluid to match your weather conditions. I have had very good results with Red Line MTL, a full synthetic oil. About $7.50 a quart.

[The Cheat]

Originally Posted by hannaco

The only caution would be that a good synthetic transmission fluid be used. Depending on where you live, pick a fluid to match your weather conditions. I have had very good results with Red Line MTL, a full synthetic oil. About $7.50 a quart.

Redline is great as well. Good call on that. I usually use the Valvoline Racing because it's readily available, but I have Redline in my 97 Jetta and it's doing its job of quieting synchro 3 well.

[Neil O'Malley]

I am cool on the coolant now and the synthetic gear oil is just the info I was looking for. Thanks
NeilO

[Occams_Razor]

Actually the coolant price is a bit high even for a stealership.

I just paid $19.48 for G12 at my friendly neighborhood stickup artists. (as well as having to pay $6.42 for a $3.14 Coolant Temp Sensor.)

[The Cheat]

Mine charges 22.95/gal for G12...not bad, but not great.