rworne

Somewhere around 7000-9000 miles I drained the OEM tranny fluid and replaced it with Redline MT-90. This was primarily to get rid of that 1st-2nd notchiness/crunching when the car is cold.

Over the weekend I did a 15000 mile drain of the tranny and replaced it again with MT-90. I planned on doing an analysis of the oil for my curiosity, but those plans were dashed when I popped the drain bolt, lowered the car, then suddenly remembering the sample kit.

This fill was not uneventful. Needless to say I made a real mess on the driveway.

What I am getting to is that the 2nd fill with MT-90 is very different in feel from the 1st. I know about placebo effect and all, but the shifter is now feeling totally different. The 1st-2nd notchiness is even less, the car more easily shifts into 1st and reverse, and a lot less effort is required to move the shifter. So much so, I sometimes put it back into neutral and reshift just to make sure.

There's no real difference between this fill and the last except for two issues:

1. The first fill had residue of the original OEM fluid in it.
2. There was a slight "overfill" on the first fluid change, whereas this change I lowered the car to let all the excess drain out.

I'm curious as to how long this will last. My gearbox has always shifted well, especially after going to MT-90, but now it seems a bit of the effort required to shift has suddenly gone away.

On a side note, the diff change last month from Redline to Mobil-1 resulted in a quieter diff. I expected to get the Blackstone lab results by now, but the Post office returned the sample bottle as "hazardous material" and I had to argue with them and resend it over the weekend.

motokichi

I just did a MT-90 drain and refill yesterday-really surprised at how clean and clear the old fluid was at over 7k miles...may let the next one go to 10k.

S2kracka

I've always been a huge fan of Redline tranny fluids, why are there not more people using the MT-90? It seems like everyone is using either OEM or GMFM.

rworne

My fluid was in for 15,000 miles. It looked just the same as the fluid I was putting in.

This was surprising to me. I know the tranny doesn't get oil contamination or heat punishment like the engine does... but I've done the diff with Redline oil and while the 2nd drain was less sludge-like, the oil looked just like neglected, dirty motor oil instead of the straw-colored look of new oil.

CrazyPhuD

So you may not like this response but I'm willing to safely say you could have changed out your tranny fluid with any fluid(even Honda MTF) and it would probably be shifting the way it is now. The last time you changed it out way 15,000 miles ago, there's no way anyone will remember what shifting was like with the old fluid. It was just too long ago, your mind is playing tricks on you.

I'm sure it's a big improvement in shifting from your 15K old fluid but it's almost impossible to compare the two changes you just don't have a good sample set. Hell I 'noticed' a change in shifting ease going to a TI shift knob, but I don't believe it's really making that much of a difference. I'm just convinced it's my head playing with me.

Picking the right tranny fluid is definitely a hard choice and there may be no easy decision. If a fluid is too effective at lubrication, it will make the synchos jobs harder. If it's not effective enough it'll increase gear wear. It's really a hard balance to have the 'best' one.

LubedKoala

how many bottles of MT-90 would I need to buy to change my fluids?

SC_Highlander

The transmission holds just under 2 quarts.

rworne

[QUOTE=CrazyPhuD,Apr 11 2005, 11:39 AM] So you may not like this response but I'm willing to safely say you could have changed out your tranny fluid with any fluid(even Honda MTF) and it would probably be shifting the way it is now.

Cragspider

Just out of couriosity, where did you all get your redline oil and how much? Cause Im about to do a tranny and diff fliud change this weeknd before I go to WTD3.
Bryan

rworne

I got it for about $9.50/quart at a local store. I think one of the sponsors here sells it, check the S2KI marketplace if you can't get it locally (shipping is a killer).