OK, I have made the decision to go with the Dexron as I had some of that in my garage left over from the last time I serviced the autotranny on the car.
Lifted the platter off the table and discovered there was hardly any oil left in the well!!! What was there had a sludge look to it and this was definitely NOT what was recommended, so I felt fairly confidently that anything I did would likely represent an improvement.
First, took some Q-tips and a rolled paper towel and cleaned the well along with the shaft thoroughly until there was nothing left of the old stuff. Then, as the setup manual Rob Doorack very kindly provided suggests, filled the well a little less than half way with the Dexron and lowered the platter back down. Spinning while lowering it, I was surprised at how easily it spun and as the manual suggests, definitely helped with getting it seated once again. It spun for a very, very long time and that, I thought, was already a good sign.
Hooked everything back up and pulled out a record with which I am VERY familiar in terms of precisely what it should sound like so as to be more sensitive to new sounds, anticipating that there might be some as others have mentioned hearing the difference between the NA oil and other lubricants.
But, "The Nightfly" (Fagen, highly recommended) sounded just as it should. I can't claim it sounded any better, nor did I expect that, but the fact that I have fresh lubrication in the bearing well and removed the old sludge definitely makes me feel better about the prospects of a longer life for the bearing.
So far, so good, and thanks to Atmasphere for the "sound" suggestion and, again, special appreciation is expressed to Rob for the manual. I'm still studying it and hope to become as familiar with this table as I am with my other components. I will definitely keep you all posted should anything untowards develop as result of the Dexron, but based on Atmasphere's comments, I doubt that will be the case.
