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Pennzoil Synchromesh Manual Transmission Fluid

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I'd like to share my input. I just recently did a mini rebuild. I went to the auto store and bought 2 quarts of coastal and 1 quart of valvoline all 75w-90. They didn't have 3 quarts of coastal. Poured it in and noticed that the valvoline stuff is a lot cleaner looking going into the tranny. The coastal stuff looked like it was recylcled lube. Anyhow after filling it up I went to drive around. At first before the car warmed up it was a little tight to get into the gears. After it warmed up it was a different story. Very smooth and engaged better than ever. I love this stuff. I prefer it over Pennzoil Syncromesh. My advice would be to get the better valvoline lube other than coastal. I'm not ripping on coastal but that valvoline lube looked a lot cleaner going in. I'm going to use this stuff from now on.
 
GVR4592 said:
I'm using the pennzoil, it made a very significant improvement. I was going to go with BG but I talked to Shep and he reccomended Pennzoil. It does shift better when it is warm. I'm willing to try anything so, I'll try the redline next time.

Its funny you said shep recommended it,only because after searching allllot,ive seen quotes from people "shep recommended neo synthetic" "shep recommended redline shock proof/bg mix".....so he recommends alot

But a ferther note,he POSTED that hes been running a neo sythetic/amsoil mix and said its the best hes come by....

ams posted they run bg/redline heavy shock proof mix in new or newer trans,and bg/light weight shock proof in higher mileage trans
 
I used coastal to break in the new rebuilt trans and it had a good color when it came out.
 
RavenX said:
I used coastal to break in the new rebuilt trans and it had a good color when it came out.

Im in that book right now,had problems with my first built trans so got another one built...got about 100 miles on it for the coastal 85 90...ill see how it looks when it comes out
 
Bringing this back. What about a mix of MTL + MT90 + Shockproof?
 
The best tranny oil I have found is one quart Penzoil and the rest with Amsoil 75/90 GL5.

The Amsoil is by far the best gear lube out there, the stuff never breaks down and protects well in all temperature ranges. The quart of Penzoil helps combat the "slipperyness" of the GL5 and allows the syncros to grab.

Also, Amsoil now makes a GL4 75/90 specifically made for yellow metal syncro transmissions. I have not experimented with it yet, for 11$ a quart is damn expensive.
 
Wufei said:
Bringing this back. What about a mix of MTL + MT90 + Shockproof?

You know what? Redline had .pdf files on all of their gear oils on their website. I read them.

Basically, the MTL and the Shockproof are not recomended for our AWD trannies. But if you want to know the details, go to their site and read it.

You should stick with GL4 IMHO. That would be MT90. I admit I am tempted to put a little shockproof in mine, I like the thicker stuff, I like the cushioning of the gears affect.

But once you have had to replace your tranny like I did (after putting 35K hard miles on it with BG Synchromesh in it), you udon't gamble as often or as easily; why take chances? So I am sticking with MT90; it's a GL4, and it's the correct viscosity.

Anyone running lighter oil in your tranny; you should change it every 10K miles or so. That stuff is thin. It does not meet any GL requirements whatsoever. Yeah it shifts better when cold, but is it worth it to have to replace the transmission sooner? Not for me. I want to use the fluid that extends the life of the transmssion the most. Basically; the thickest GL4 you ucan get, which to my knowledge is the MT90.

They have some newer thicker stuff; not sure if it is GL4 spec. I heard that all you have to do is email or call them, tell them what car you have, and ask them any questions, and they will answer.

I'd like to mix a quart of something thicker if I new what else they have besides MT90 that is GL4.

MTL is ok in a FWD, but not AWD (Shockload is higher on the AWD)

http://www.redlineoil.com/products_gearlubricants.asp

http://www.redlineoil.com/products_gearlubricants.asp?subcatID=18

http://www.redlineoil.com/pdf/6.pdf
 
Thanks for the links. I actually did see them but thought they were just advertising so didn't read them.

I guess that:
Heavy Shockproof = 75w250, internal fluid friction of SAE 75w90
Light Shockproof = 75w140, IFF of SAE 30
SuperLight Shockproof = 70w90, IFF of ATF

Did some more reading: http://www.teamnabr.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?page=archives.pl&action=view&topic=3545

Apparently Redline might not be that great. Neo RHD is supposedly the ultimate oil...except it's $20/quart: http://bakerprecision.com/neogear.htm

Also, both Valvoline synth and nonsynth are pretty good, I think.

What about Royal Purple, BG SynchroShift II, and B&M TrickShift?
 
I use 3 quarts of Redline Heavy Shockproof. About 10,000 miles on the new rebuild trans with shep parts and no problems whatsoever
 
Seriosly, Amsoil is the best for the money. I just tried the GL4 75/90 and it is unbelievable. My 153K old transmission can shift into second after taking 1st to the top like butter.
 
KeltonDSMer said:
Seriosly, Amsoil is the best for the money. I just tried the GL4 75/90 and it is unbelievable. My 153K old transmission can shift into second after taking 1st to the top like butter.

OK, you got me; how much are they selling this for?
 
Ok I've now done several oil changes with Pennzoil Synchromesh on a few different cars and the result is always the same, the oil comes out so thin it's like Diet Water. Even after only 5k miles and mixed with thicker oils.
 
1fastlaser said:
Its funny you said shep recommended it,only because after searching allllot,ive seen quotes from people "shep recommended neo synthetic" "shep recommended redline shock proof/bg mix".....so he recommends alot

But a ferther note,he POSTED that hes been running a neo sythetic/amsoil mix and said its the best hes come by....

ams posted they run bg/redline heavy shock proof mix in new or newer trans,and bg/light weight shock proof in higher mileage trans
Well this what shep's site has to say
 
I have to agree as well.. I started using the syncromesh from the day I got my GST in 03' EVERYTIME I drained the trans is was gold dust. I finally got wise and spent the cash on better fluid. I am going to try the Royal Purple Max-Gear and see how that works out. today my car got the trans., transfer, and rear end filled with the Purple.
 
RavenX said:
I used BG Synchroshift II for about 30,000 miles. I drove hard during those miles with shifts up to 8,000rpm i ended up sheering 3 teeth clean off 2nd gear. I had my tranny rebuilt by a local member using shep parts and he told me Penzoil/Synchroshift was too thin and even though its great it doesn't provide adequate protection. He has been using straight Redline Heavy Shockproof and so has his other customers with dsm's so thats what i run now with the rebuilt trans. At first he told me it would be a little clunky until it warmed up but thats not the case even at cold temps everything goes in smoothly and ive never had any problems so am staying with straight redline from now on.

I've always used Redline Heavy Shockproof with great results. Had the trans rebuilt (broken clip inside, gears, synchros, etc were all still fine). Shop put BG in it and it feels pretty notchy compared to what it used to. Could be due to the rebuild? Could be the fluid?
 
bringing back the dead again! put penzoil shit in my transmission after a clutch install and it shifted like garbage today. switched back to the castrol stuff and it shifted alot better....
 
dnhieu said:
bringing back the dead again! put penzoil shit in my transmission after a clutch install and it shifted like garbage today. switched back to the castrol stuff and it shifted alot better....

Which castrol? What weight? Synth? Gl4 or GL5?
 
castrol hypoy gear oil and actually im using the wrong weight because they didnt have the right stuff. im using 80-90 gl5right now and still experiencing some knotch shifting and sometimes fighting me to get into 3rd and 4th gear.

i dont understand this one. i pull my transmission to put a new clutch in and it was shifting perfect. i put the new clutch in with 100% syncromesh and it shifts like complete garbage. put the cheap stuff in and it shifts a little better but still not near as good as it was before. i think im gonna try 1 bottle syncromesh and 2 bottles of hypoy and hope for the best...
 
Defiant said:
Meanwhile, mine's still doing fine on Pennzoil at 45,000 miles on it.

C'est la guerre.


yes Defiant you have said it a few times in this thread now. what i dont understand is why did my other talon LOVE syncromesh but this new talon hates it...
 
I can pretty much verify the results from the original poster. I was using MT90 and shifting became somewhat difficult after 15K miles of use. Switching to non-synthetic GL4 75W-90 has made a world of difference and I have no problems with gear engagement, even when the oil gets hot.
 
I've been using Pennzoil for over 3 years now. No problems what so ever. I don't drive my car easy either. Kicks the crap out of the 75-90 the owner had in it before me.
 
I use penz in both my shep tranny and my transfer case..... for the past 2 years now My car has saw somewhere near 250 track passes, hard shifts, and abuse.... mid to low 11s... I'm 25 K on my shep tranny and it still shifts like butter @ 9K like the day that I recieved it.... To each their own.... Oh and This is my only car and I drive it to work Mon-Fri. Daily driver...
 
okay i just picked up some royal purple transmission fluid and im gonna give that a try with 1 bottle of catrol gear oil.

when i went to the store i could not find a GL4 brand of oil. all they sold was GL5! where can i get a GL4...
 
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