[Tigers] Toploader trans fluid Question Clarification

[Thomas Witt]

>From the David Kee website (note sure how it will formaat in "plain text"):
  OILING SPECIFICATIONS

BREAK IN

  Fill your Toploader with any quality 75W-90 gear lubricant until the oil 
level reaches the fill plug opening. It should take approx. 2 quarts. We 
recommend changing the gear lube for the first time between 500 and 1000 
miles to remove the grease used to pack the needle bearings that has 
dissolved, Permatex, break in metal, glass beads etc. We use several new 
parts in our transmissions and they will seat in with each other during the 
break in period. It is not uncommon to see very fine metal on the magnetic 
drain plug when you drain the oil the first time.

MAINTENANCE

  We recommend changing the gear lube every 20-25,000 miles in normal street 
driving applications. If you have higher than stock horsepower or drive your 
car aggressively you should change the gear lube every 10-15,000 miles. For 
stock type applications 75W-90 should work well in all climates. In heavy 
duty applications and hot climates 80W-140 will work best.

ROAD RACE TRANSMISSIONS

  Toploaders used in racing applications need a break in period. Put some 
EASY laps on the transmission at low to mid rpm lightly accelerating and 
decelerating in each gear. This will give the gears a chance to break in and 
dissolve the grease in the needle bearings used during assembly. After a few 
laps, drain the transmission and clean the magnetic drain plug, then fill 
with 2 quarts of high quality gear lubricant. Once completed, the 
transmission should be race ready. 80W-140 seems to work best for 
competition applications. Change the gear lubricant after every race event.

SYNTHETIC GEAR LUBE

  Synthetic oil is very popular in the automotive industry today. The way a 
Toploader is designed it needs a certain amount of friction for the blocker 
rings to synchronize shifts. We have had people try synthetics and say it 
works great and some say it doesn't work at all. Everyone agrees that 
standard gear lubricant does work. The biggest determining factor as to 
whether it will work or not is the driver. If you drive your car normally 
and shift it normally synthetic would be a great choice. If you drive 
aggressively or want to shift fast then synthetic may not work well. If you 
try synthetic gear lube and it does not work for your driving style drain 
the transmission and try standard 80W-140 gear lubricant.