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Decent cheap gear oil for short-term use?

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XC92

Proven Member
1,573
358
Jul 22, 2020
Queens, New_York
I was going to take apart the transmission on my '92 Talon TSi AWD to fix an issue where it pops out of 1st gear, but for a number of reasons I have to put that off for a while, from a few weeks to several months, next spring at the latest. Meanwhile I drained its oil, along with the t-case oil, which had been there for well over 10 years, to drop it to replace a worn out clutch.

Now everything's back in and I need to replace the oil in both, but it seems like a shame to put in high-quality oil only to replace it yet again fairly soon (I bought 3 qts of Mitsubishi gear oil for the trans and 1 qt of Redline MT-85 75W85 for the t-case). So I'm looking for cheap but decent oil that I can use in both in the interim. I came across these two and was wondering if either would work:

Carquest EP 90 GL-4 Gear Oil

Ultra1plus SAE 75W-90 Synthetic Gear Oil, API GL-4

I don't race or do anything too intense with the car, just a fun DD, and we're probably talking several hundred to thousand miles. Of these two I prefer the Carquest only because it's really cheap, $12 for a gallon at Advance Auto with a 25% coupon.
 
So the Ultra Plus would work, but the Carquest is EP 90. Would that be ok too? It's less than half the price.
 
What would happen if I used the Carquest? It's targeted at extreme pressure hypoid gears, neither of which I understand apply to the trans, but perhaps to the t-case.
 
I wouldn't say it's "junk". That would mean that it doesn't work at all and can't be fixed. It works, in all but 1st gear, which obviously has issues that need to be addressed. At worst the 1st-2nd gear hub, sleeve, synchros and gears are shot and need to be replaced, and probably the fork, but I'm guessing that it's not quite that bad. It's an old trans but only has around 78k miles on it, never raced, launched or driven that hard.

I won't know till I take it apart and see what's going on, and haven't been able to so far because of other issues with the car that I've been dealing with. Until I can get to it, I still need to operate the car, for short distances, mainly to get it out of a neighbor's driveway that they need cleared, and to get it inspected so I can park it on the street or elsewhere and then be able to take out the trans and finally resolve this issue, around 5-10 miles

I realize that basically any oil would work for such low miles, but winter's coming and I have no indoor place to work on the trans properly, so I might not be able to work on it till the spring, and in the meantime I'd like to be able to drive the car now and then, so the choice of oil becomes a bit more critical. That's why I asked.
 
Pennzoil Syncromesh works good in my 90.
 
Pennzoil Syncromesh works good in my 90.

What's the weight? I couldn't find it online. And how well would EP 90 work in it, for relatively low miles before I drain it again to fix a trans issue and then refill it with high quality oil? Just looking to save $ on an interim oil.
 
Penzoil is good just to get around for the time frame ive used others forgot the brand, till i got my redline.
 
https://www.autozone.com/motor-oil-...VmQiICR1TYAE4EAQYASABEgIQ6_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
This is where I picked mine up at. It states it is good for some GM and some Chrysler models. It is SAE80 and I put it in my 90 GSX because it's transmission was being finicky and it really liked it. IDK what was in that transmission but I have had Syncromesh in mine for over a year and it shifts great. It isn't a high performance car, just a mostly stock DSM.
 
https://www.autozone.com/motor-oil-...VmQiICR1TYAE4EAQYASABEgIQ6_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
This is where I picked mine up at. It states it is good for some GM and some Chrysler models. It is SAE80 and I put it in my 90 GSX because it's transmission was being finicky and it really liked it. IDK what was in that transmission but I have had Syncromesh in mine for over a year and it shifts great. It isn't a high performance car, just a mostly stock DSM.

Oddly the product page doesn't give the oil weight or if it's GL-4 or GL-5, but it does list it as both for manual and auto transmissions. Do they hire literal monkey's to type in these things?

Anyway, do you know its weight and GL type? I understand that you do NOT want to put GL-5 into the trans because the sulfur additive will eat up the brass synchros.

Come to think of it, when I drained the oil it smelled pretty bad, not burnt, but rather "organic" and sulfury, a bit like ATF. I wonder if that's what they put in there years ago when I replaced all the fluids, GL-5 or even ATF.

This was way back before I starting maintaining my cars, precisely BECAUSE it's hard to know the quality of the work and parts you get at many service stations, also to save money, and because it can be quite satisfying (if also sometimes frustrating).
 
Quote from Pennzoil
"Product Description
Buy it by the case and save. Search PEN-3501-C for case pricing. PENNZOIL SYNCHROMESH FLUID is a synchromesh transmission fluid designed for certain manual transaxles and manual transmissions used by General Motors or Chrysler. PENNZOIL SYNCHROMESH FLUID is formulated with high quality paraffinic base stocks a fluidity modifier multifunctional performance additives corrosion inhibitors a foam suppressor and a shear stable viscosity index improver additive. It provides excellent oxidation stability low temperature performance excellent synchronizer performance and compatibility with yellow metals such as bronze brass and copper components found in manual transaxles and transmissions. This product will satisfactorily lubricate General Motors or Chrysler manual transaxles and transmissions from -40C to +150C. BENEFITS - Exhibits excellent low temperature performance - Meets GM Specification 9985648 - Suitable for use in GM manual transaxles and transmissions requiring GM Part No. 12345349 or 12345577 - Meets Chrysler specification MS-9224 - Suitable for use in Chrylser transaxles and transmissions requiring Part No. 4874464 - Excellent synchronizer performance - Excellent yellow metal compatibility"

It doesn't give a GL spec but I will keep it in my transmission as it shifts nice and smooth, so much better than what ever was in it when I got it, that's for sure. :thumb:
 
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