manual trans

[hotrodfeguy2]

What are your views on changing the manual trans fluid from ATF to a gear oil?
The reason I ask is I have a 96 Ranger and was going to change the oil/fluid on the manual trans I tow a bit with the truck and run cold WI winters :0)

 

[Steve S]

gear oil as in 90 weight? if so not recommended .It will increase shifting effort and may not be compatible with the parts if the trans is designed with atf only in mind.

[ April 10, 2005, 12:43 AM: Message edited by: Steve S ]

 

[eljefino]

^ What Steve said. If you want to splurge, go with Mobil 1 ATF... Slightly hard to find but it has great protection (for towing) and cold weather performance.

 

[Whimsey]

Check out Speciality Formulation. They are a site sponsor, you can find them on the home page or at www.specialtyformulations.com . I have a F150 with the 5 speed that also uses ATF. I was not happy with the performance using the ATF. I switched over to SF's SynchroGlide tranny fluid. It's a true synthetic with the additives needed for the tranny gears that ATF does not have. It's slightly more viscous than ATF but it still shifts fine in the cold and shifts 1000% better in the warmer temps. E-mail them. They are very helpful and will advise you as to what's best for you.

Whimsey

 

[mechtech]

Do it.
Just don't go crazy with heavy viscosity.
Like said above ^, contact S.F. and you'll be happy.

 

[Bror Jace]

"If you want to splurge, go with Mobil 1 ATF."

I wouldn't bother with any high-performance or synthetic ATF whether that be Red Line, Amsoil, Mobil 1 or something else.

And I would definitely stick close to the weight spec'd by the manufacturer.

If you want the best for your manual tranny, you need to buy a fluid desinged to lubricate a manual transmission.

That means Specialty Formulations MTF Glide or another syncromesh fluid you know has a cSt (viscosity) around 7.5, the same as most ATFs.

--- Bror Jace

 

[TooSlick]

A synthetic ATF will work just fine, or else the engineers WHO ACTUALLY DESIGNED the transmission would have speced a syncromesh fluid. It's as simple as that ....

Most synthetic ATF's provide gear protection equal to a GL-4 type, conventional gear lubricant. Check out the gear tests that are included as part of the Mercon V specification and you'll see what I mean.

Tooslick

 

[JohnBrowning]

http://www.specialtyformulations.com/

 

[hotrodfeguy2]

Thank you all for the reply.Very good info from all.
Hey too slick were u get the avitar I would like to get mine like that too.Army guy here still in what about you?

 

[mechtech]

I doubt that the engineers who designed the trans thought that ATF is the best possible gear lube for their project. They were TOLD to make something acceptable with ATF, by their bosses. Many trans. were retro'd to ATF, from gear lube, BTW.
Dino ATF shears out rather rapidly to a thinner viscosity, doesn't have any extreme pressure, and minimal anti-wear agents in it. It is not the most suitable [friction wise] for synchros.
It is cheap, however.
I want the best, not marginal, or just acceptable, performance from my lubes.
The engineers who design fluids have done a good job, and I recommend taking advantage of their research, development, and application of their studies. There are products that are better in every aspect than ATF, [except for price], for manual transmissions.

 

[Whimsey]

quote:

---

Originally posted by TooSlick:
A synthetic ATF will work just fine, or else the engineers WHO ACTUALLY DESIGNED the transmission would have speced a syncromesh fluid. It's as simple as that ....

Most synthetic ATF's provide gear protection equal to a GL-4 type, conventional gear lubricant. Check out the gear tests that are included as part of the Mercon V specification and you'll see what I mean.

Tooslick

---

While I respect your opinions and valuable inputs I've got to disagree with you on this matter. At least speaking from an owner of two fairly recent Ford vehicles with manual trannies that both spec'd and came from the factory dino Mercon ATF. In fact for my 1996 Contour Ford actually came out with their own more viscous synthetic tranny fluid as the replacement for the Mercon ATF. For my 2002 F-150 while the shifting quality was ok in the cold temps it was miserable the rest of the time. Lots of grinding and crunching once the temps got into the 30's. I tried Schaeffer's #204S. It improved the "warmer" weather shifting somewhat. I finally tried the SynchroGlide fluid and the shifting quality in cold and "warm" temps is VASTLY improved. As mechtech said, the use of ATF was most likely a compromise by the manufacturer. It shifted ok in the cold temps, thus keeping the complaints down and it is CHEAP. As far as the warm weather shifting goes with ATF, it'll last till the end the warranty

. Ford's answer to the crappy shifting is ..hey they all shift that way

....

And just so you don't think I'm a novice manual tranny user, I've been driving manual tranny cars and trucks since 1971

.

Whimsey

 

[MolaKule]

quote:

---

Most synthetic ATF's provide gear protection equal to a GL-4 type, conventional gear lubricant.

---

I have to disagree with you there Bud.

An ATF has the protection level of maybe a GL1 or a GL2 at most.

In my view, the ATF is specified for cold weather shifting only, not for EP protection since ATF has mostly AW additives and very very low levels of EP additives. In fact, the EP levels in ATF are on the average 1/8 to 1/7 of those seen in GL4 lubricants.

Our MTFGlide offers a true GL4 level of EP protection.

And if a slightly higher viscosity fluid, such as SynchroGlide, offers good shifting in cold weather, then film strength and anti-shear qualitites will be even better.

 

[Kestas]

Manual transmission lubrication requires a fine balance between providing grip for the synchronizers (shift quality) and good lubrication for the rest of the wear components. Be careful with straying too far from the recommended lubricant.

 

[Bror Jace]

Kestas, I think you're on the right track, but you speaking in vague/general terms at a time the discussion has gotten very specific.

Don’t confuse "protection" with "coefficient of friction."

You are correct in that synchros need a certain amount of friction to work properly and a lube which is 'too slippery' can be a bad thing.

However, there are ways of making a lubricant with an artificially raised coefficient of friction protect metal parts. That's where the AW/EP adds come in.

I think the best thing to do is go with a high quality, shear-resistant base oil with a finished viscosity roughly equal to the OEM recommended weight (unless you are in extremes of temperature), enhanced coefficient of friction and then load in as much AWand EP as is chemically realistic (stays in suspension, no adverse effects such as detrimental to materials, TBN retention, etc ...)

--- Bror Jace