psx said:

soo is the tranny fluid changed with clutch

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Yes most people change the fluid when doing a clutch job. But if your unsure of previous history of the car, it won't hurt to change it again.

I would change it for sure with the Evo fluid, you can pick it up from jacks trans for a good price. I wouldn't trust someone else's word on it to much, plus you already got everything apart. Might as well start fresh and know the mileage of your trans fluid, so you can know when to change it next.

Do you put in your old oil after an oil change..

New fluid wil never hurt anything..

thats funny
this is like asking do you reuse oil after a filter change .
yah i might as well
would this fluid work?
Redline Transmission Fluid Cocktail for Mitsu (DSM/EVO) 5-speed Transmissions - Modern Automotive Performance

New oil can "hurt" depending on your situation. If you know for a fact that your tranny fluid has really high mileage i would actually suggest that you re use it because when people don't do proper maitenence (changing fluid at proper intervals) The transmission will actually become accustomed to the viscosity of the oil because it will get thicker with time due to metal and brass shavings that would normally be removed with a fluid change. It has happened before, people will put new fluid in and get on here and say "my tranny shifts like sh@# now" If you know it has been changed before though i would say go for it but if it is 100+k old oil then put it back in

Well I'll add that I just swapped clutches a few time in the last couple months. I reused the fluid every time, because I know it's got very low mileage on it. I also used a few paint filters to strain fluid before putting back in. But like I said before if your unsure of mileage definitely change it.

Before saying anything about what fluid to use it would help if your clear about what car trans this is?

Also Ill add to what is said before with if you didnt change the fliud yourself you probably dont have a clue when it was changed.

And it needs to be.....
Clean oil is what you need not a bunch of crap to further damage your trans... anyone who puts clean fliud in their trans and has shifting problem s either put the wrong fliud in or had already damaged the trans or has some kind of unrelated problem....

My general rule of thumb with liquids is if its coming out might as well put new stuff in. Unless its only like 5k -10k miles


Armin

sugarfree said:

New oil can "hurt" depending on your situation. If you know for a fact that your tranny fluid has really high mileage i would actually suggest that you re use it because when people don't do proper maitenence (changing fluid at proper intervals) The transmission will actually become accustomed to the viscosity of the oil because it will get thicker with time due to metal and brass shavings that would normally be removed with a fluid change. It has happened before, people will put new fluid in and get on here and say "my tranny shifts like sh@# now" If you know it has been changed before though i would say go for it but if it is 100+k old oil then put it back in

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First off, this is a manual transmission. The clutch swap is a dead give away. Second, what you speak of is a clear myth. Clean fluid is ALWAYS better than old burnt fluid any day of the week.

I would change it no doubt. You could always put the old fluid in the new empty bottles just in case.

These cars are all about maintenance. Change it.

If it hasn't been changed then yes. But if you changed it and 2k miles later your clutch goes out- I'd keep the old one.

psx said:

would this fluid work?
Redline Transmission Fluid Cocktail for Mitsu (DSM/EVO) 5-speed Transmissions - Modern Automotive Performance

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Redline Makes MT 85 now so you dont have to mix them.

"Transmission fluid" is usually used in reference to automatic transaxle hydraulic fluid, where gear oil is what standard gearboxes use. You mention changing a clutch so we'll assume it's a standard and you're wanting to know if it's cool to reuse the oil. It's up to you. I'd suggest it though, for peace of mind. I run Redline MT-90 in the trans, Heavy Shockproof in the transfer case and rear diff.

Funny hearing some 'DSMphiles' rant and rave on doing belts religiously including replacing parts, but when it comes to transmission-the "soul" of the vehicle to make the vehicle move-that some will reuse the tranny oil if doing a clutch changeout simply on the case of low miles on the oil ... and the oil gets more severe use than any tooth belt operating by any kind of motor - both electric and fuel- can even think of experiencing.

It may look good, but the viscosity could be reduced by the flowing inbetween the gear teeth along with picking up very minute, to almost invisible metal flaking from metal to metal contact by the gears themselves.

You spend tonnage of money on engine mods, why not spend the 30 to 40 bucks on 3 qts on good synth tranny oil?

Agreed. Just take the time and put the extra 3 quarts of fluid in the transmission. Have a little pride in doing the job right. You'll sleep better at night.

If its got low miles and you know it it's ok. I your not sure or has high mileage you better change it for sure. I mean what's the difference if you say run it for 50,000 miles without changing it. Your telling me that say you do a clutch put new fluid in, put everything back together only to find out a bolt came loose or the clutch is of alignment. Your telling me you would drain the fluid and throw it away even if you only drove around the block. Op in your case I'd change it because you really have no clue what mileage really is. From now on keep a record of everything you change and mileage, trust me I do for everything. I have a strong running 240,000 mile stock motor that runs 12's to prove it. And this year should be in the 11's!!

I've dropped my trans 4-6x in a racing season, due to various issues, here and there. I ALWAYS re-used my trans fluid. I never accumulated enough miles on the fluid to consider it burnt, or worn out, or whatever. At close to $40 every time I drain the trans....I'm not changing fluid every time. Pulling the trans isn't the same as pulling the motor.

Those are both valid points. My reply was from the standpoint that OP doesn't know the condition or mileage on the fluid, and at that it's just one less variable to eliminate when trying to repair something.

I think I recently spent $8x3QT of Penns Syncromesh at O'reilly. They had it on sale, so it's not that expensive. I would still say if you don't know how many miles it has, or the condition it's in (age) I would just change it.

Now if you road race, the like the above poster, and you KNOW what you're working with and you can salvage the fluid it will be much more cost effective to reuse it without issues that may or may not arise.

bryanwheat said:

First off, this is a manual transmission. The clutch swap is a dead give away. Second, what you speak of is a clear myth. Clean fluid is ALWAYS better than old burnt fluid any day of the week.

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There is an in between. This rule normally applies in an auto but he is correct for the most part. New fluid in a trans that is going out will make things worse. Atleast in an auto. Ive expirienced this first hand. It was basically described to me as all the friction materials are worn into the fluid and the trans is shifting okay because of the materials worn into the fluid. So he is correct to an extent. Im not sure if myth is correct wording though Brian, as what he stated does deem some validity.

I was a machanic for many years and whne not asked to do the fluid but servicingsomthign where we'd lose some, the rules we played by were that an auto, if we didn't do it that week/month or it smelled burrnt at all, we changed it fully upon servicing (and the thing about a trans sipping after a flush is a myth, usually you just realize after the flush that the trans is trash because it's washed clean and won't work at all - i still hear that one to this day)

as long as the correct fluids are used a good auto will be good no matter how old an putting in new fluid

as for manuals.. no matter if we knew whne the fluid was done or not, if it was still thick andnot really dirty, we would replace what leaked during R&R or servicing of CV's or whatever. but if it was black it was swapped out

Myself, i like to change all fluids with every major service, i installed my used AWD 5 spd a month and a half or so ago, when i pulled it the other day to tighten the flywheel i just topped it back off, the stuff was still like new.

my adviuce to you If you don't know the history, change it, it's cheap insurance and maybe taking the wrong out (who knows) and putting in the correctfluid it might perform better

If it's nice thick and clean try not to loose any and replace what leaked if it's really fairly new fluid and you're on a itght budget, but if you've got the dollars do it anyway (i go back and forth don't i )

Unless you have already changed it not too long ago then you could re use it. If your not sure the when the last time it was changed then yes put new in.

im going to change the clutch and reuse the fluid.....
strain it with coffee filter or something
if between the break in period i put everything back together
and do not have to mess with the tranny anymore
ill flush it out and put new one in

solution!!

I don't see how that is a solution. Straining fluid with a coffee filter will not change the viscosity or lubricating purposes. But that's just me.