Just had the 5spd in my Z redone, what lube should I use? I was looking at Red Line Oils Gear lube but there are so many different ones to choose from. The car's a daily driver that's driven "spirited". It's not unusual to see me cruisin' the turnpike at 90 plus for three hundred miles. (Only slow down for the pooper troopers)

 

ask the tranny shop what they recommend for there warranty period, i like automatic tranny fluid in mine, shifts so smooth, its an old racers trick. works very nice and is approved by tranny shops.

 

shaddy are u telling him to use automatic tranny fluid mercon v ? to replace 75w90 w fluids ? 4 realz ?

 

yup put mercon dextron 5 in your 5 speed manual or other manual. ford has been doing it for years and years now. it doesnt foam, and lubes even better, gets into tight spots and the tranny lasts longer.

 

your joking right shady ? can u show me any proof ? any web sites?

 

yeah read you manuel...it says use auto tranny fluid on most manuels...but w/e

 

^ Ding Ding Ding Wrecked Wins!

 

yeah i win that power steering pump right...you know what i'm talking aboot!

 

our old 5 speeds werent designed to be used with auto tranny fluid. Most NEWER manual trannys call for ATF. NOT just most manuals. Tranny's from the S130s era an older call for heavier gear oil. The T5 calls for ATF though. The reason being that clearances are tighter and so the heavy gear oil wouldn't be able to lube as well as the ATF can. Obviously if Shady's running it in his Nissan 5 speed then it's apparently not a problem. I'd assume his trans is in pretty good shape though. I'd definitely hesitate to put ATF in a heavily worn Nissan 5 speed from an S130.

 

my tranny was shot!! then using the atf worked it free, now it shifts better, but i need a better tranny, just ask skully and entropy, it grinds just a hair if i dont shift dead on when im givin' it to the wood. slow shifts are o.k, but it feels much better with the atf, especially when its cold. i worked at a drivenline shop for a while, they recommend atf in all trannys

 

RedLine 75w90ns

 

I did a little bit of research on the ATF since I have a T5. Apparently only the W/C T5s must use ATF since they have needle bearings that are sensitive to lubricant viscosity. Non W/C T5s like the nissan unit do not use ATF.

I use Redline MTL.

 

I second that. I use AmsOil Synth gear oil in my T5

 

It helps with the shift feel and ease because its a lower viscosity then the recommended gear oil. Did the grinding start before or after the switch to ATF?

 

no the grinding went away more so when i started using the atf. the atf is a really old racers trick developed by the nascar and roadrace crews to help there trannys along. i did it and it worked, so no more gear oil in any of my trannys

 

Redline it is. No offense but as an old schooler, gear lube for manuals, atf for autos. All of my manuals are 15+ yrs. old and I wouldn't trust the light weight of the atf. Although I feel the need to research now.

 

This is another one of those arguments that comes down to persoanl beliefs and opininons just like the whole motor oil viscosity debate.

Bottom line is that you always want to use the thinnest viscosity oils you can get away with.

I still run 5W30 oil in my car with no issues what so ever but, motors with more wear and tear may need thicker oil.

I know a lot of mechanics and old school race car guys that swear by the ATF in a manual transmission thing. Personally, I have never tried it but I can't imagine it being a problem unless there is already excessive wear of the internal parts.

Use what you are comfortable with.


Rod.

 

Yeah, I went virtually the same route on my T5: Redline MT90 for me.