StandardShift.com

potownrob wrote:
what is this, a ship forum??

Fickset

I finally got around to changing my transmission fluid. It'll be interesting when I get up in the morning and how my shifts change or if it changes at all.

I've got MT90 in my W58 gear box and cold shifts are nice, little notchy but not bad. Once warmed up it's great, no grinds nor clunks, downshifts pretty good at high rpms. I know redline isn't recommended in some trannies such as the v160/161 getrags, you should search it on car specific forums. If in doubt just go OEM.

No problems running redline heavy shockproof in my torsen diff either, locks up nicely.

Just as an update, I have to say that I'm really happy with the Redline MTL now that I've been running it all winter long. Cold shifts are much improved and not notchy at all anymore, even when it's really cold outside. It was the best $75 I've spent on my car yet. Too bad they don't put that stuff in there as the factory fill.

I am getting Redline MT90 into my trans with the next oil change. Getting oil tomorrow and dealer will do for it for a small fee while changing motor oil. Sonic forum guys have experienced great results with it, completely eliminating the occasional 2nd gear grind under very hard shifting.

My cold shifts aren't as bad anymore. I can finally get it into second when rolling down a hill but it clunks somewhat. Luckily its the only time it does it. I can finally get it into any gear while standing still. I used factory Honda MTF

I like Redline MTL. My former truck, a '95 F150 that had the Mazda M5OD 5 speed, spec'ed ATF in the manual tranny. I tried Mobil 1 ATF, Redline D4 ATF, but it was the thicker Redline MTL (the basic MTL, not the thicker ones that state the weight in the title) that finally got rid of the notchiness in that tranny. I sold the truck a couple years ago with about 190,000 miles on it and I could really fly through the gears in that thing. The MTL was fantastic!

There is some caution in going thicker when spec'ed for ATF but on the F150 the Service Dpt at the Ford dealer said I could run 10w30 in it and that is the thickness of MTL. With the M5OD I understand there is a splash lubed bearing that if you go to thick, like gear oil, you will run that bearing dry and burn it up.

I am running the MTL in my Ford Ranger M5OD-R1 now, which also spec's ATF.

None of the aftermarket lube suppliers have done durability testing on ALL the vehicles they recommend their fluids for. Strange things happen, like specific speed ranges where splash lubing misses a bearing or gear. The OEM fluids have been tested in these conditions. Even the level of the lube at the top of the fill hole is developed specifically for the particular lube that will be specified. Look on some trans case castings and you can see where space was allowed to adjust the position of fill plug hole.

Most manual gearboxes are fill-to-spill, but I read about one where that would overfill the box. A good way to refill the manual box is some clear PVC hose that just fits snugly in the fill hole, run it up into the engine bay, have one guy pour from above, while you are bottomside watching the results.

Use of ATF in manual transmissions rubs me the wrong way. I think they must have specified ATF for reduced drag to help in CAFE, but somewhere I also heard the paper (carbon fiber) syncro liners required it. Regardless, I boldly stepped forward to MTL on both my '95 F150 and the Ranger.

FWIW, I once saw something in PM magazine back in the 80s when they first started using ATF in manual boxes. As I recall the piece said that if you are getting gear rattle in your Chrysler manual box that specifies ATF, the cure is to put a thicker fluid in.

InlinePaul wrote:Use of ATF in manual transmissions rubs me the wrong way. I think they must have specified ATF for reduced drag to help in CAFE,

Why does it rub you the wrong way?

but somewhere I also heard the paper (carbon fiber) syncro liners required it.

http://www.pro-forceperformance.com/t-5_history.htm

WARNING: Using gear oil or motor oil in a T-5 with the composite lined blocker rings found in the World Class T-5's will destroy the blocker ring linings over a period of a few months rendering those synchronizers useless.

Why does it rub you the wrong way?

Automatic transmission fluid in a manual box? Seems as demented as trying to breed a cat with a dog.
You'd think even if that thin of a fluid (ATF is like a 5w20 motor oil) is specified for a manual box, there ought to be some difference so that the product would be labeled specifically for a manual box. ATF typically does not have generous amounts of anti wear additive, though Redline D4 does.


I'll have to read the article you linked tonight. It looks like a very informative article. The question is whether the M5ODR1 in my ranger has the comosite syncro linings. The M5OD in the '95 F150 ran fine with MTL (spec'ed ATF) and the ranger spec's ATF but has been running MTL for the past 15,000+ miles and seems fine.

I am running royal purple max atf in my Saturn it seems to work pretty good. I also liked the syncromax it was pretty good.