Numbchux Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 so, some of you may or may not have heard of Uncle Scotty's cocktail (I believe originated on NASIOC). anyway, it's a mixture of a few different gear oils that really helps shifting in subaru trannies. there's some debate as to the original formula, but the one that I've heard more commonly is: 1 qt Redline Lightweight Shockproof 1qt Pennzoil Synchromesh 2qt Castrol HypoyC 80w90 the redline shockproof and the synchromesh are the more important ones.... anyway, I just switched from 3.5qt valvoline 85w90 and .5qt of rislone to the above listed cocktail. and have noticed a definite improvement. my synchro's are getting pretty worn, specifically 3rd gear. and I can easily and reliably get it into third without a bit of grinding now with the cocktail. the problem isn't gone......but it's definitely better. I think I may switch my dad's fluid over to that aswell ('94 Legacy 5MT. when we bought it, couldn't get it into 2nd gear.....rislone fixed that...but some improvement could still be had). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbone Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 Hey, thanks for the info. My Brat could use a shot of that cocktail. Hopefully I can source all the ingredients. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suberdave Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 that is the mix i have been running for about 10K now. trans use to grind a bit going into 2nd gear. now it goes in with no proplem... its not a brand new trans, but deffantly worth the $35-40 worth of fluid... -=Suberdave=- http://www.suberdave.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Virrdog Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 Don't forget transmission mounts... may sound odd, but I replaced my fluid with generic autoparts store fluid and put in a Group-N tranny mount and it is now my smoothest shifting Subaru I have (93 SS 197k). So replacing the tired mounts along with the old fluid may have a positive effect on your shifting also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted June 15, 2007 Author Share Posted June 15, 2007 Hey, thanks for the info. My Brat could use a shot of that cocktail.Hopefully I can source all the ingredients. I got the Castrol and Pennzoil at the first auto parts store I went to (O'reiley's/bumper to bumper). but wound up searching all over town for the Redline. ended up going to a garage out in the boonies that builds viper race cars that carried a full line of Reline stuff. plan to do engine and tranny mounts this summer along with Poly bushings in the drivetrain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeshoup Posted June 15, 2007 Share Posted June 15, 2007 I ran straight ATF in mine for a couple thousand miles, then threw in regular 80W-90. My 4spd shifts just nice and fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RelicGL Posted June 16, 2007 Share Posted June 16, 2007 Lucas Oil offers a few interesting additives to improve gear lubes. One was very good for the gears inside to carry up the most amount of oil to transfer to the gear above and better lubricate the uppermost shafts and gears while retaining other desirable properties. Sounds viable enough to improve the lubing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooziewhatsit Posted June 16, 2007 Share Posted June 16, 2007 I'll have to write those down and look for them when I'm in town. Way back, I put in Redline 75w90NS, which made a huge difference. Then I went to an ATF flush for a couple thousand miles. Made an even bigger difference. Now I have 1qt ATF and 2.5qt GL-5 80w90. Still grinds a bit in third, but not nearly as bad as when I started, but not nearly as good as just ATF. I can get 4qts of Redline for about $45. If this mix is the same price or cheaper (if I can even find the stuff), I may have to give it a try. -Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phizinza Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 The 5sp I built has pretty nice synchros but I think I might try something like this to keep it in good condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 follow up. ditched the cocktail not long before putting the car away for the winter. was noticing quite a bit of bearing noise from the tranny. enough that I was starting to worry.... so I drained the cocktail, and filled with 4qts of straight Castrol HypoyC 80w90. shifting is a little slower (but better than before the cocktail), but the bearing noise is gone. also have to let it run for a minute in neutral before it'll go in gear in the cold....but I'll deal with that over bearing noise any day of the week. so, I think the cocktail is like running ATF in your MT. great to clean it out for a little while. but not long-term. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbone Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I'm finding that results depend on the tranny condition/mileage. Mt RX is running Scotty's fairly well for several thousand miles now. But I tried it in my XT6 and had not so great results. I tried some Pennzoil HypoyC and it was even worse. I swapped to a Amsoil 80-90w and everything is peachy now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bheinen74 Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I've been runnning Scottys cocktail in my 92 turbo legacy for oh, about 16,000 miles so far. seems great still. easy shifts even in the frigidness of blizzardness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyale 2.7 Turbo Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Long Time Ago, I Was Thinking that Every Gearbox Oil Labeled as 80W-90 Could Perform the Same on my Subies... I was Wrong! Both my Subies got the Manual 5sp Trans... First I Used 85W-90 Gearbox there, Pennzoil, Then Valvoline, etc... (I Change that Oil Around every two Years or Less) ...But then I Found a QMI Gearbox Additive with Teflon (PTFE) ... after the 6 Oz. QMI Additive was Poured in the Gearbox, the Shifting experience Became Harder ... ... The Shift Knob was so Hard to remove from First and Second Gears, less Hard in Other Gears, but very Harder than Usual... :-\ So I Flushed all the Gearbox`s Oil and Poured Fresh 80W-90 There, everything Went Normal Again... Untill I Found a Very Special Gearbox Oil: The Motul 80W-90 plus Moly (Mo2) Additive! ...That Oil seems to be So Greasy and Shiny Black, due to the Addition of Molybdenum For More info, See This Site: http://www.motul.co.nz/product_line_up/gear_box/gear02.html Since the Use of That Motul Moly Oil, my Subies` Gearboxes Performs like New, Smooth Faster & Easier Shiftin` plus no Grinding Sounds... and no Need to Mix anything! I Hope This can Help! ... Kind Regards! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted January 15, 2009 Author Share Posted January 15, 2009 I should mention, I probably put almost 30k miles on it before I started noticing negative effects, I put the cocktail in my dad's '94 LGT at about the same time, and it's still running awesome, but he puts a fraction of the miles on his car than I do. I'll look into that Motul. might be another good option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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