synthetic manual tranny oil...

You sure about that?

GL4 is different than GL5.

My car calls for a GL5. I wouldnt be do quick to tell people to do stuff to their transmission that could potentially damage it.

Somebody call mazda and find out if its a GL4 or GL5 fluid.
 
Yeah, I checked up on the owners manual today, GL4 or GL5 is alright for our cars and as long as it's 75w-90 or 80w-90 it's alright. I get my tranny oil in on monday so I'll let you guys know how it feels.
 
http://www.royalpurple.com/prodsa/mgeara.html

Royal Purple 75W-90 already has the friction modifiers in it, so you're covered either way. I used RP Syncromax in my 540's 6 speed box, it really smoothed things out, especially when cold. The 75W-90 is going in the MP5 here soon.

I'm curious who has been running one of the other various mixtures or products for an extended period of time in their MP5? It occured to me that anyone who goes beyond using what is specified for their gearbox is potentially taking a risk, beyond just smoothing your shifts the lube also serves to protect your syncros, sliders, gears, etc. It may have zero effect on longevity, but blindly throwing in different products to find the one that shifts smoothest that would worry me.

It's like people who put synthetic oil in a classic car, only to find that it performs worse or leaks like crazy. Examples are guys I knew that tried syn in their previously dry classic 911s, which quickly left puddles on their driveway. Also, results of engine teardowns have led most authorities on the BMW M30 motor to recomend dino oil, the engines simply wear better. Synthetic oil may be a better product, but those cars weren't engineered to use it.
 
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If you figure it takes a gallon per change, that's like 58 dollars per change.. that seems more expensive than buying it by the quart, but maybe it's a special race version or something I didn't check.
 
Protege52003 said:
thats a lot of synthetic oil..................WOW!

Synthetic gear oil too even on a racecar do you really need to change it that much?

I guess for like a tuning shop or something it might be a good idea.
 
I have alot of problems with shift feel when its very hot not cold, which seems to be the usual issue. It feels like I'm stiring a pot of glue. Sometimes the shifter wont pop to center when in neutral but stay off to one side, infront of the slot for 1st.

Will a better oil, such as royal purple help smooth shifting in hotter temperatures?
 
that has NOTHING to do with the fluid... it's the shifter.... SEARCH for my posts about it
 
gottacatchup said:
I have alot of problems with shift feel when its very hot not cold, which seems to be the usual issue. It feels like I'm stiring a pot of glue. Sometimes the shifter wont pop to center when in neutral but stay off to one side, infront of the slot for 1st.

Will a better oil, such as royal purple help smooth shifting in hotter temperatures?
Like TheMan said, it's not the fluid there, I think that happens when the heat isn't dissipated from underneath the car and gums up the shifter somehow. I know it only happens to me when I'm not moving around much and it's about 100 degrees outside. For me, I installed an OBX header and took off the stock header which had the heat shield so I think that's the cause. If I'm wrong, someone please correct me on this. So far, it only happens during the summer season, never during cooler times of the year.
 
Tranny oils

I have a problem with my tranny, whenever I want to shift quickly from 2nd to 3rd (esp at high revs) I grind my 3rd gear, and also sometime I put it in 3rd and it comes out of 3rd, and that either makes it grind some more, or it just goes back to neutral.
Please don't tell me I have a blown syncro, will either royal purple tranny oil or synthetic+lucas additive work?
 
:( sucks about your tranny.. mine pops out of third sometimes.. hasn't in like the past 3 or 4 weeks, I think the problem was me not the tranny :P

Welcome to the forums! hopefully someone on here can answer youa bout changing the fluid. I've been running Redline full synth fluid for a long time (well I've changed it but stuck with Redline brand) and it didn't seem to make a difference for me.
 
I'm running something different than most: I have BG Synchroshift II mixed with the lucas stuff. This is the best mixture I have tried to date. Of course "best" only means so much with our trannies.

Still, the shifts are fairly smooth, however, I still have to take it easy and not slam it to much :D

I've really learned to understand what my transmission is doing. It's almost like I "feel" what it is doing, so I've learned to shift smooth.
 
Wow, a lot of good advice on this thread....thx for the insights everyone. Ok, I need to change my tranny oil and need a bit of help, as I've never attempted this before on any car I've owned. When I'm under my car, can someone guide me from the motor oil drain pan to the tranny drain plug? I'm not even sure what I should be looking for. Also, can the refill plug be accessed by just popping the hood? Thanks for the help....I'm looking forward to trying this Syncromesh/Lucas blend, as my shifts are less than smooth right now.
 
Well the drain plug is under the car on the passenger side. It is a big bolt if I recall correctly, like 22mm or something.

The refill plug you access from under the hood, but it's in a weird location. I had to set up a funnel with a hose to pour the new gear oil in. From what I've heard on here, you know it's full when the gear oil starts flowing out of the refill hole.
 
Kansei said:
Well the drain plug is under the car on the passenger side. It is a big bolt if I recall correctly, like 22mm or something.

Like exactly 23mm, same as the fill plug.
 
jimmybrite said:
I have a problem with my tranny, whenever I want to shift quickly from 2nd to 3rd (esp at high revs) I grind my 3rd gear, and also sometime I put it in 3rd and it comes out of 3rd, and that either makes it grind some more, or it just goes back to neutral.
Please don't tell me I have a blown syncro, will either royal purple tranny oil or synthetic+lucas additive work?


If youre popping out of gear its more likely a product of a linkage issue than the actual transmission.

Sometimes the motor mounts start going out and when the engine torques it puts more pressure on the linkage than normal and will pull it out.

Sometimes the linkage alignment can also cause you to grind certain gears at certain places because of where the tranny/engine is sitting in relativity to the linkage.

Check your mounts and your linkage. Make sure your stay brackets and cotter pins are in properly and all the bushings are good. If you have play or the linkage its sloppy it could also cause issues.
 
I just switched out the stock tranny fluid for mt-90 a couple days ago. I've got the kartboy shifter/bushing combo and the shifting does feel much smoother than with the stock tranny fluid. Just remove the two bolts, one of which is directly underneath (for draining) and one at about a 45 degree angle (for refilling.) After you drain it funnel a tube into the refilling hole and fill it up to 2.83 quarts I believe. Simple as that!
 
Update

I put in some normal 75w90 semi synthetic gear oil and about 40% lucas additive.Right away I felt a difference, it didnt jerk at near idle rpm's, it's much easier to get into gear and it's just overall smoother.I still get SOME grind, I guess I shift too quick.
Mind you My old oil was really dark, I didn't smell it tho.
Thanks Lucas. haha.
 

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