Hard to select gears when cold

[Spitty]

I have just acquired an 85 Toyota Pickup in great shape with only 50k on the clock, the truck looks and feels like a 2 year old! I am in the process of changing fluids and hoses, as the truck has sat in-active most of it's life.
The one problem I have found, is that the 5 speed transmission is difficult to shift and Bulks until the truck/transmission is fully warm! 2nd gear is particularly bad, but is not a problem when the transmission is warm.
Remember this is the end of summer typical temps are 60-65F.
Would replacing the gear oil with an MTL (like Pennzoil Syncro) help? Any suggestions?

 

[ex_MGB]

Yes. Do it.

 

[XS650]

Pick something good that at least the lube manufacturer recommends for your truck and go for it.

If you just got the 85, I assume you don't know what's in the transmission, it could be any old gear lube and it may even be thicker than stock.

 

[Spitty]

Yes, that's what I fear, the truck was maintained, but not at a Dealership.
What was recomended for this Truck 80w-90 GL4???

 

[Merkava_4]

I've read some wonderful results about Redline's manual trans oil during cold weather shifting. Guys have said it completely takes the "notchyness" out of the shifting operation, leaving nothing but smooth operation behind.

 

[alanu]

Anything thats 75W90 will make any transmission shift well. I think vitually all 75W gear oils are some sort of a synthetic base so it'll shift well when cold.

Thinner oil wisks away from the sycnros much faster so it spins the next consecutive gear that much easier.

 

[Spitty]

I have been reading the Haynes manual, they say difficulty in selecting gear could be due to low oil level??

 

[XS650]

That's a distinct possibility. You need to find out what you have before you decide what to change, so to speak.

Best way to find out what you have is to drain the transmission and refill with the right amount of a recommended fluid. That will tell you how much was in it.

A useful hint...Always remove the fill plug before you remove the drain plug, because
....sometimes the fill plug is stuck in an old transmission and it's a major inconvenience to not be able to put oil in your transmission after you have drained it.

Then fill it with a good fluid and you will know what and how much is in it.

Stiff shifting could be caused by other things, but one thing at a time.

 

[TurboJim]

"Would replacing the gear oil with an MTL (like Pennzoil Syncro) help?"

Redline's MTL is probably OK if you mix it 50/50 with another product. I had Redline MTL in my '89 Toyota pickup's 5-speed for many years before replacing it with a Amsoil product. In my application Amsoil was noticably smoother.

 

[Spitty]

According to Haynes the system holds 4.5 qts, that's about $100 if I go the Amsoil route :-(

 

[Spitty]

Just put in 3 qts of Pennzoil Syncro (only MTL at the local store) The Haynes manual said the transmission should take 4 1/2 qts ??? We'll see how it goes.
The oil gear oil was full to the filler and very clean (like new) it smelled strongly of Sulphur, I guess it was GL5.

 

[Spitty]

The problem is solved, on a scale of 1-10 the improvement has been from a 2 to a 8+
I'm a happy camper! and a new MTL fan.