Obscure MT fluid question......

[Zesty]

Ok the car is a 1992 Nissan 240sx with KA24DE engine with over 213,000 miles.

I ordered some Redline MT-90 for my transmission, which is supposed to arrive on Wednsday(3 days), and I have a couple questions.

First, the car specs GL-4 for the trans and GL-5 for the diff. I have some Valvoline dino GL-5, MT-1 rated 80w90 that I plan on using in my diff. My questions are 2-fold:

(1)I think my transmission fluid may possibly be low. I plan to get the car up on ramps tomorrow to open the transmission fill plug and see exactly how much fluid is in there. If it is in fact low, I was thinking(with you're approval!) of adding some of the Valvoline GL-5/MT-1 gear oil just until I get my Redline in(3 days max).....would the GL-5/MT-1 gear oil be okay in my transmission for this short of a time? or is there a risk of damage?

(2)Along those same lines, I was thinking about doing a "flush" with the Valvoline gear oil, if it is safe. I was planning on draining the old stuff, filling with Valvoline, driving for a bit, and draining and filling with the Redline. Opinions?

Thanks in advance.

 

[The Critic]

1) Yes
2) Good idea if the transmission is VERY dirty, but its usually a waste of time/resources.

 

[Zesty]

Dang, thanks for the fast reply!

Just to clarify, do you mean "yes", as in it is safe to run the GL-5/MT-1 Valvoline in my GL-4-spec'd MT? Or "yes" there is a risk of damage?

Thanks again for the super-fast help. I really appreciate it.

 

[Gary Allan]

I say don't bother to do either. If your trans is low ..it's been there for a lot longer then 3 days ..and 3 days, unless it's almost empty, isn't going to alter the outcome.

Just change it ...use the savings to change it again in a year or two ..instead of three or four.

 

[Zesty]

^That's a good point. I guess I overestimated how much damage could be done by low-tranny fluid levels. I like to have the "warm and fuzzies", as some of you guys call it!

 

[Zesty]

OK, sorry to bump this, but I might as well give us all some "closure". lol

My 3 quarts of Redline MT-90 finally arrived yesterday, and I did the swap. The old fluid was looking pretty "glittery", and there was a little piece of brass synchro that I noticed....but overall, I was pretty happy as I was expecting the worst. I also was happily surprised to find that my car already had a magnetic drain plug, and it had caught a bunch of metal particles. Good deal.

Now I have only driven my car probably 50 miles since the swap, on a couple of different short drives. It feels like the Redline is still working itself in, because it seems to keep getting better and better! I am already able to downshift into first with no problem(main reason for the swap), and I notice my car just behaves MUCH more like how it should....less gear whine at higher RPMs, smoother/easier shifting, quicker launches.

Overall, it's probably the best ~$27 I have spent on my car so far! And I only used about half of the third quart. If you have an older Nissan whose MT specs a GL-4 fluid, I really don't think you can go wrong with Redline. Awesome stuff!