Found a direct replacement for TUTELA GI/R fluid - Spider hood oil

[Cool Jesus]

Hey peeps, not having found a direct answer to this question which has been posed by several web enquirers in various forums, I too have been holding out to locate a suitable substitute for the OE fluid of my Spider's roof motor before committing to OE prices.

Anyhow I've found an aftermarket direct substitue for Alfa Romeo's recommended Tutela GI-R fluid. Its used (in my case) for the 916 series Spider hydraulic auto roof, I've also found its used for auto leveling suspension and power steering within the Alfa marque. Its specs are also made for use within Ford, Chrysler, GM and Mercs to just name a few other vehicles that use this fluid.

Well the roof would only ever properly go up once in a blue moon, always failing to completely lower the 5th arc and lock in place on top of the hood cover. Obviously a hydraulic or switch problem and having been unable to locate a dogdey switch my hunt for a more readily available fluid then AR OE commenced. I bit the bullet when I had to fix the locking mechanism of the hood cover and found a direct spec aftermarket alternative. Made by a local company the Penrite LDAS fluid is an exact copy on spec for the OE Tutela GI-R and at half the price it was a no brainer for me. Even better, its a stocked item at auto parts retailers, I would call just to make sure its on the shelf and if not they can have it there within half a day if you call in the morning. So, I got my fluid from Repco, in this instance, for $27 AUD, compared to the $50 + AUD for the OE, both in 1 litre bottles. OE seems to be much cheaper in the EU, I've seen it for 10 GBP, however once you factor in shipment your back to that $50 + AUD price. While I was at the retialer I also needed a fluid syringe/syphon of sorts and found they had a nifty item that screws directly onto the bottle itself, just place the hose at either end to suck it out, or pump it in 

In removing the fluid, and it is more of a fluid than an oil, out of the resorvior it did appear a dirty very dark green. The new oil is also a dark green colour, however it is very clean and transparent compared to the old oil I removed. The reservior is stated to hold 0.61L, mine had less than 0.5L. Measured out the 0.61 and having filled it out to the maximum mark I still had about 100ml. I ran the hood sequence 3 or 4 times as the manual says and found it needed the remainder to reach its maximum mark. Hey presto, the auto roof is back into fully automated operation, no ore having to jump out and hit the manual switch to finish it off.

The manual states that the system doesn't require any regular maintenance. The oil isn't hydro... hydro...., whatever that word is, it doesn't absorb water like brake fluid, and in the roof system it isnt really working hard. If anything its more a matter of checking the level to make sure you haven't sprung a leak somewhere in the system???

[Neil Choi]

"The oil isn't hydro... hydro...., whatever that word is"

Hygroscopic.............

I am a chemist.

[Cool Jesus]

show off 

[John Hanslow]

Neil does know stuff !

[Cool Jesus]

I'll keep it in mind if we ever play scrabble, BWAH hah. 

[colcol]

Don't mess with Neil!, Hydroscopic means that it absorbs fluid readily like brake fluid and can cause rust in components, thats why you should regulary change your brake fluid, it looks like the oil should be change on a regular basis in a Spider, good old Penrite, you goota luv em!, has a replacement oil for nearly every thing, the Victorian Alfa Club had a technical night at Penrite about 15 years ago in Wantirna, and the range of oils, Citreon and British Leyland Hydrolastic oils, old motor bike shock absorber oil, special greases for 1920,s water pumps on cars, the list goes on, and Penrite are good supporters of Motor Racing as well, Colin.

[Evan Bottcher]

Hydroscopic means that it absorbs fluid readily like brake fluid and can cause rust in components...<snip>

No it doesn't.  Hygroscopic does. 

[Cool Jesus]

Blame the spell check Col, I knew what you meant