sharpshooter33

Ok I was looking at a Chilton's manual and it said the replace the rear differential fluid and manual tranny fluid every 60k

The book said use Automatic tranny fluid in the manual??? Is that right?
I was going to put in Redline, but I'm not sure what to put in it now. It's an 03 GTI and I believe the tranny is a 3650

Anybody have any input on the types and grades for diff and tranny?

Thanks
SS33

MU71L4710N

yes you use automatic tranny fluid. you can download the ford manual for free. lot of people use motorcraft mercon ATF fluid, i'm using royal purple ATF fluid and its fine for me cuz thats what oreillys had.

trailor

many here find mobil 1 ATF (synthetic) to work the best for the 3650, as does tremec since thats what they recommend. also, fill up to only 3.2 quarts, not the originally recommended 4, as it will cause shifting problems

edit: do NOT put ATF in the differential. it has its own fluid. i would suggest motorcraft and a bottle of friction modifier

sharpshooter33

Where do I download the ford service manual?
Synthetic sounds good. I've been sold on synthetics since I had a turbo car and saw the differences. Diff gets gear oil but what is the friction modifier your talking about?

BTW thanks for everyone's input!
SS33

trailor

friction modifier is an additive that helps keep the clutch packs from binding in the diff. someone could probably give you a better explanation, but thats the best i could come up with without a viable source. you can buy it from your local ford dealership for about $10

04BlueGT

Draining the tranny is very easy, but unless you have a pump, filling can be a pain. I recently discovered an "easier" way to fill the 3650 (and possibly others). I had my shifter out when I pulled the tranny for the clutch sway, so I added the fluid through the top while the shifter was out. Very easy and no mess at all. Just something to think about.

trailor

yeah, until the fluids bubbles and spits out the funnel lol. but seriously, that does sound like a much easier way. wish i woulda thought of that when i got the MGW

smitty2919

Just make a "beer bong" but then it becomes a Tranny filler bong" ahah And not such a large dia. tube. Fill it from inside the car routing it down beside the tranny and maybe have someone get under the car to make sure it does not come out of the fill hole. Then pour away.

The diff. is not the same case. I believe you need the pump style bottles as there is no easy way to get a funnel above the fill hole and have gravity do its thing.

04BlueGT

Yeah, a second person is always a good idea. You have to either know precisely how much you adding, or have someone with the fill plug removed checking the level in the case. I'm glad I did, because apparently I had not added enough when I changed fluid and I lost some when we pulled the tranny. Ended up adding 2 qts, much to my dismay.